Raian Yousif
ENGL-2320-01
Dr. Jeffrey D Thompson
April 30, 2013
One of the most irritating phenomenon’s of the 20th and 21st century is the apparently
compulsive need of screenplay writers to alter and change the characters and plots of
novels. This phenomonenon is, of course, evidence of lack of creativity, as the works of
others are borrowed from and then unnecessarily “embellished”. Most persons, when
asked, will invariably state that “the book is always better than the movie”. Emily Bronte’s
Wuthering Heights is one such novel that has been butchered, doctored and distorted by
20th century screenplay writers. There have been no less than ten films based upon the
novel, creating a confusing labyrinth when analyzing any character. And as such, the
following analysis of “Heathcliff” will be based upon the character in the actual novel.
After all, the novel is literature, not entertainment.
Heathcliff, by modern definitions is essentially a cunning, vengeful, and violent sadistic
psychopath. Moreover, the entire novel is , more or less, centered around his quest for
revenge. When he leaves Wuthering Heights at the age of 16, he appears to be simply an
uneducated teenager, yet rather normal other than a rather peculiar and close relationship
with Catherine, his “adopted” sister. There is no evidence in the novel that Heathcliff and
Catherine ever had sex either before or after his return. Thus, they were never lovers in the
physical sense. There is more of a spiritual attachment between the two, more akin to that
of close biological siblings, with sexual tension, not action. When Heathcliff returns, at age
