Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen are both books that girl should be encouraged to read as they grow up and are forced to make decisions about love and family, but as a St. Mary's student, I believe that the book that should be taught in class is Wuthering Heights. Although each book is intriguing in its' own way, the complexity of Wuthering Heights makes it almost beyond our capacity to truly understand it, therefore we should have the opportunity to have open class discussions about our feelings and opinions towards the characters and their emotions and what effect both of these have on the plot of the story. As an example, I am very confused by the character of Heathcliff. It seems as though some girls love Heathcliff's tragic character, and others are forced to hate him for the way he lives his life. The idea that Jane Austen is trying to get by to her reader is very self explanatory, there is more to life than marriage and there is more to marriage than just any man. Although Mr. Darcy's complex character shows us the power of love through his sweet love for Elizabeth, Heathcliff shows us a more tragic power of love as he is forced to be the image of a Byronic Hero. Heathcliff's image as a Byronic Hero makes Wuthering Heights much more complex and controversial and therefore needs to be discussed between my fellow St. Mary's friends and taught by my AP English teacher Mrs. Goodman.

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