‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’
Alice Evans
The partner text I have chosen for my coursework is Wuthering Heights, as many of the themes
throughout the book hold similarities to those present in the Great Gatsby. One of these themes is the
lack of morality, which is also evident in both of these texts. Everything about Wuthering Heights is
immoral including its characters and the happenings that go on within the house itself.
The book centres around the characters Heathcliff and Cathy who become involved in a dangerous
love affair, and eventually as a result both of their lives deteriorate rapidly, destroying the lives of
everyone around them also. From the beginning of the novel Heathcliff is seen as an enigmatic
character, with everything about his being considered as dark; including both his skin, and his
personality. The enigma surrounding his character is increased at different occasions throughout the
novel where there are hints of him being a pure evil, supernatural being. Because of this, many people
have labelled him as the devil. This could link in to Gatsby himself, who is also surrounded by mystery
and enigma for immoral reasons. He is a character who is at the centre of countless rumours about his
past, all of which suggest he may have ‘killed a man’ or is from German heritage and is related to
Kaiser Wilhelm. We also know that he has criminal connections and has made his money from illegal
means, which both are obviously extremely immoral. It shows that he as a character is lacking morality,
as he does not choose to do right by the law and makes his own rules in life similarly to Heathcliff.
Drinking and alcoholism are also present in both texts, and affects the characters negatively overall.
The issue is somewhat similar in both as during the time period in which Wuthering Heights was written,
these issues were unheard of and were shocking to its readers. Where as in The Great Gatsby, it takes
place during the time of prohibition, where selling and consuming alcohol was forbidden. This goes
back the lack of morality, as it shows that the characters in both repeatedly do wrong by the law.
The relationships in both texts are destructive and cause devastation for everyone involved. Daisy and
Toms relationship isn’t based around love, but social status and wealth. This is similar to the
relationship of Cathy and Edgar in Wuthering Heights. After only marrying Edgar for his wealth, it is
obvious their marriage is fake and built on the false hope of a better life for Cathy and Heathcliff.
For these reasons, it is evident that there are many links that can be made between the two texts
following the theme of morality, or ‘immorality’.
Other links that could be explored between the texts are:
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The reliability of narration from Nick in the Great Gatsby, and Nelly in Wuthering Heights.
The portrayal of wealth and status in society.
The actions of characters such as Tom Buchanan, Heathcliff and Jay Gatsby.