Log #8

Page read: 253-344

Heathcliff insisted to bring Linton back to Withering Heights after Elizabeth’s death. Linton and Catherine had both grown up by the time, and Heathcliff’s new plan for revenge is to make them get married for he could own the Grange. Eventually Catherine married Linton and Heathcliff earned the inheritance of Grange. However, he was not satisfied with the result. He felt empty, lonely and numb since hate was the only reason to make him alive but now there was nobody to hate and nobody to love. In the end, he died from depression and buried himself beside Cathy and Edgar.

“Even though I had everything that I wanted, it was meaningless without you.” 

During the discussion we had come up with this conclusion. Heathcliff won a huge amount of money and property, but what did he really win? He lost the love of his life. He didn’t have a person to share all the laughters and sadness with him. We then raised the question- Was it really worth it? Would it had been easier if he had just moved on? I remember a teacher of mine during high school sent us a letter before she resigned, and there was a line which had a huge impact on me which is “Life is too short, you need to forgive and forget.” Maybe if Heathcliff forgave Hindley’s ignorance and moved one, he would had had a happier life. Instead of planning for revenge, he could have focused on making himself happy.

Like I talked about the line from my teacher’s letter, I think that is the main idea of the whole book. I think the author wanted us to forgive the bad and forget the sadness. I was bullied a lot when I was in 5th grade and 6th grade. I was chubby and people would make fun of my weight, hurting me physically and mentally. I was unhappy. I couldn’t not be. I was in despair everyday and I refused to go to school. I cried myself to bed every night and I was filled with anger. But then I left for New York for 2 months, which was a trip that changed my whole life. Being in a completely different and new environment changed my whole perspective towards things. I moved on. I left my sorrow behind. I was never happier to be myself. Now, I don’t even talk to most of my classmates back then, and I realized yes, it hurt so much but also it means nothing to me now. I have people who love me and care for me. I lost some weight in the end, I felt healthier and for the first time in my life, I started to like myself. Maybe my experience is not necessarily the same as in the book, but I do know and learn from the book that if you forgive people, you are also setting yourself free to seek for happiness you deserve.