What are the words used to describe Heathcliff? What metaphors or symbols or other figures are applied to him? What words do other characters use to depict him physically or morally or emotionally? How do they distinguish between themselves and him?

Just to get the ball rolling, consider the way that Mr. Earnshaw introduces Heathcliff to his wife. He first tells her that she must “take it as a gift of God” (31). Interesting that he refers to Heathcliff as “it,” a word which seems to dehumanize the little boy. But then he associates him with a “gift of God,” which, in a deeply Christian culture, suggests great benefit for those who receive the “gift.” Mr. Earnshaw then takes a radical turn, saying that the child is “as dark almost as it came from the devil” (31). I am especially interested in the word “dark” because it is a Gothic-ish word. In the context of this novel, it is generally a negative word. Applied to Heathcliff, it tends to “other” him, morally and racially. The Oxford English Dictionary helps us to unpack the meanings that do so. To be “dark” suggests a “a person or ethnic group” that have “brown or black skin.” This, of course, applies to Heathcliff. Many characters note the “darkness” of his skin, almost allows as an insult. To be “dark” also suggests “[l]acking moral or spiritual goodness; evil, wicked; iniquitous; hateful.” It is crucial to note that the word “dark” does the work of racial otherness and evil all at the same time and the suggestion is that the two are intertwined. And we can also see a third definition that applies to Heathcliff. Dark also applies to character; a “dark” person is “gloomy, sad; sullen” (OED).

For your post, find two separate interesting words, one from the first half from the novel and another from the second half. Discuss what they mean and what they suggest. If you can find words that are Gothic-y, all the better.