2. Stage 1: Becoming an expert
In pairs or small groups, decide which character you would like to study. Try to make
sure that all the characters are being studied by at least one group in the class.
• 1. In your group, build up a visual ‘map’ of the character. You could do this as a
spider diagram, a table or the outline of a figure. Your character map should
include quotations, close references to the text and interpretative or critical
comments covering:
• character traits
• physical description
• actions they take
• Behaviour
• images with which they are associated
• what they say
• what others say about them.
You could use the quotations and interpretative statements on the handout provided
to start you off, but you should also investigate the novel yourself.
• 2. Use your character map to plan a two-minute presentation summarising
your findings.
3. 2. Naming in Wuthering Heights
Names play an important role in Wuthering Heights. Early in
the novel, for example, the love story is foreshadowed in the
names scratched onto the window sill. The circle is marked
out as Catherine Earnshaw who marries and becomes
Catherine Linton, who marries and becomes Catherine
Heathcliff, who marries to become Catherine Earnshaw.
Names give us clues about the plot, but they also:
• give us insight into the characters and the roles they play in
the novel
• highlight the significance of place
• have symbolic meaning
• relate to themes
• reveal the characteristics of places or characters.
