2. Discuss Emily Bronte's careful attention to a rigid timeline and the role of the novel as a sober historical document

[Jen]

2. Discuss Emily Bronte's careful attention to a rigid timeline and the role of the novel as a sober historical document. How is this significant, particularly in light of the turbulent action within? What other contrasts within the novel strike you, and why? How are these contrasts important, and how do they play out in the novel?

[Lynn]

The novel is somber. It's also historically reveals the rigid class distinctions observed.

[Pip]

I first read WH as an impressionable teenager (the Grand Passion of my life was a contemporary Heathcliff) and then I chose it as a text for a High School English class I once taught. What I remember from teaching the novel was the impressive timeline. Emily Bronte had plotted the action with extreme care so that every date was accurate to the story. The timeline was an anchor to hold the story to a verifiable history despite its drama. There were many contrasts, the most obvious one being the wild life of the Earnshaws compared to the more civilised world of the Lintons.

[Diane]

I think Pip, the teacher, hit the nail on the head. Much more insight than I got about time. Class distinction was very clear to me.

[Kristel]

I think I would like to take a class with Pip. I did not pay particular attention to this fact when I read the book.

[Pip]

I only taught English a couple of times. I was a PE teacher for almost all my career, but I remember the occasional English classes I taught with much affection. I remember introducing Bob Dylan's He's My Brother to teach metaphor to a class of girls in the Commercial stream.