I don’t believe there can be a ‘best’ part of something unless there is also a ‘worst’ part of it. This applies to many things- entertainment, events, food… and AP Literature.

As I mentioned in my last post, I was most excited to read Lord of the Flies in AP Lit, because I had heard great things about it from my two older sisters who had taken the same course in years prior. However, where there is a “most excited”, there is always a “least excited.” Their reviews of one book in particular stuck out to me; they could find nothing positive to say about it at all, and they typically had a mix of good and bad to share about everything. Suffice to say, I figured I’d spend most of the year dreading the day I’d have to read this book–but at least it probably wouldn’t be first, right…?

It was, in fact, the first book we covered in class. It’s England’s favorite classic, it’s my English teacher’s favorite book, it’s…

I wish I could provide you with a proper plot summary, but Wuthering Heights is fundamentally about horrible people being horrible to each other. The book’s arguable main characters, Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, form the best example: they seem to be deeply in love, but treat each other terribly and ultimately end up marrying (and practically torturing) other people.

Now, Wuthering Heights is a perfect poster child of classic literature (it’s a “deep, dark, rich chocolate onion”, as my teacher would say), and that’s no question—from themes of revenge to messages on the inseparability of passion and hatred, Bronte’s book seemingly possesses it all. What I could not understand, however, was this: how could anyone stand the horrible ways Heathcliff and Catherine behaved, let alone how they behaved to each other?

I don’t believe I understood the answer until this fall, when RCL-137H introduced us to the idea of something simple: lenses. In the very same way that we can view various topics through a lens, we can also view people–and people can view us.

I find it hard to fathom how horrible people (such as ruthless leaders, merciless killers, or selfish narcisists) can manage to maintain relationships with family or loved ones despite their true nature. Wouldn’t they mistreat their family, too? Can’t their family tell how horrible they are?

I believe the answer is no. They present a different version of themselves to their loved ones, and their loved ones perceive them through a much more sympathetic and understanding lense than we outsiders do. Neither of these lenses necessarily present false information, but instead present multiple insights into who a person is.

In this way, I believe Wuthering Heights proves a great representation of human nature. Even when we may see only the worst of someone, there is undeniably still a best part of them deep inside.