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Analysis of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on March 25, 2019 • ( 3 )

Wuthering Heights is constructed around a series of dialectic motifs that interconnect and unify the elements of setting, character, and plot. An examination of these motifs will give the reader the clearest insight into the central meaning of the novel. Although Wuthering Heights is a “classic,” as Frank Kermode has noted, precisely because it is open to many different critical methods and conducive to many levels of interpretation, the novel grows from a coherent imaginative vision that underlies all the motifs. That vision demonstrates that all human perception is limited and failed. The fullest approach to Emily Brontë’s novel is through the basic patterns that support this vision.

Wuthering Heights concerns the interactions of two families, the Earnshaws and Lintons, over three generations. The novel is set in the desolate moors of Yorkshire and covers the years from 1771 to 1803. The Earnshaws and Lintons are in harmony with their environment, but their lives are disrupted by an outsider and catalyst of change, the orphan Heathcliff. Heathcliff is, first of all, an emblem of the social problems of a nation entering the age of industrial expansion and urban growth. Although Brontë sets the action of the novel entirely within the locale familiar to her, she reminds the reader continually of the contrast between that world and the larger world outside.

Aside from Heathcliff’s background as a child of the streets and the description of urban Liverpool, from which he is brought, the novel contains other reminders that Yorkshire, long insulated from change and susceptible only to the forces of nature, is no longer as remote as it once was. The servant Joseph’s religious cant, the class distinctions obvious in the treatment of Nelly Dean as well as of Heathcliff, and Lockwood’s pseudosophisticated urban values are all reminders that Wuthering Heights cannot remain as it has been, that religious, social, and economic change is rampant. Brontë clearly signifies in the courtship and marriage of young Cathy and Hareton that progress and enlightenment will come and the wilderness will be tamed. Heathcliff is both an embodiment of the force of this change and its victim. He brings about a change but cannot change himself. What he leaves behind, as Lockwood attests and the relationship of Cathy and Hareton verifies, is a new society, at peace with itself and its environment.

It is not necessary, however, to examine in depth the Victorian context of Wuthering Height s to sense the dialectic contrast of environments. Within the limited setting that the novel itself describes, society is divided between two opposing worlds: Wuthering Heights, ancestral home of the Earnshaws, and Thrushcross Grange, the Linton estate. Wuthering Heights is rustic and wild; it is open to the elements of nature and takes its name from “atmospheric tumult.” The house is strong, built with narrow windows and jutting cornerstones, fortified to withstand the battering of external forces. It is identified with the outdoors and nature and with strong, “masculine” values. Its appearance, both inside and out, is wild, untamed, disordered, and hard. The Grange expresses a more civilized, controlled atmosphere. The house is neat and orderly, and there is always an abundance of light—to Brontë’s mind, “feminine” values. It is not surprising that Lockwood is more comfortable at the Grange, since he takes pleasure in “feminine” behavior (gossip, vanity of appearance, adherence to social decorum, romantic self-delusion), while Heathcliff, entirely “masculine,” is always out of place there.

Even Cathy’s passionate cry for Heathcliff, “Nelly, I am Heathcliff,” is less love for him as an individual than the deepest form of self-love. Cathy cannot exist without him, but a meaningful relationship is not possible because Cathy sees Heathcliff only as a reflection of herself. Heathcliff, too, has denied an important aspect of his personality. Archetypally masculine, Heathcliff acts out only the aggressive, violent parts of himself.

The settings and the characters are patterned against each other, and explosions are the only possible results. Only Hareton and young Cathy, each of whom embodies the psychological characteristics of both Heights and Grange, can successfully sustain a mutual relationship.

This dialectic structure extends into the roles of the narrators as well. The story is reflected through the words of Nelly Dean—an inmate of both houses, a participant in the events of the narrative, and a confidant of the major characters—and Lockwood, an outsider who witnesses only the results of the characters’ interactions. Nelly is a companion and servant in the Earnshaw and Linton households, and she shares many of the values and perceptions of the families. Lockwood, an urban sophisticate on retreat, misunderstands his own character as well as the characters of others. His brief romantic “adventure” in Bath and his awkwardness when he arrives at the Heights (he thinks Cathy will fall in love with him; he mistakes the dead rabbits for puppies) exemplify his obtuseness. His perceptions are always to be questioned. Occasionally, however, even a denizen of the conventional world may gain a glimpse of the forces at work beneath the surface of reality. Lockwood’s dream of the dead Cathy, which sets off his curiosity and Heathcliff’s final plans, is a reminder that even the placid, normal world may be disrupted by the psychic violence of a willful personality.

The presentation of two family units and parallel brother-sister, husband-wife relationships in each also emphasizes the dialectic. That two such opposing modes of behavior could arise in the same environment prevents the reader from easy condemnation of either pair. The use of flashback for the major part of the narration—it begins in medias res—reminds the reader that he or she is seeing events out of their natural order, recounted by two individuals whose reliability must be questioned. The working out of the plot over three generations further suggests that no one group, much less one individual, can perceive the complexity of the human personality.

Taken together, the setting, plot, characters, and structure combine into a whole when they are seen as parts of the dialectic nature of existence. In a world where opposing forces are continually arrayed against each other in the environment, in society, in families, and in relationships, as well as within the individual, there can be no easy route to perception of another human soul. Wuthering Heights convincingly demonstrates the complexity of this dialectic and portrays the limitations of human perception.

Bibliography Barnard, Robert. Emily Brontë. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Benvenuto, Richard. Emily Brontë. Boston: Twayne, 1982. Berg, Maggie. “Wuthering Heights”: The Writing in the Margin. New York: Twayne, 1996. Davies, Stevie. Emily Brontë: Heretic. London: Women’s Press, 1994. Frank, Katherine. A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Brontë. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Glen, Heather, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Brontës. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Liddell, Robert. Twin Spirits: The Novels of Emily and Anne Brontë. London: Peter Owen, 1990. Miller, Lucasta. The Brontë Myth. London: Jonathan Cape, 2001. Pykett, Lyn. Emily Brontë. Savage, Md.: Barnes & Noble, 1989. Rollyson, Carl, and Lisa Paddock. The Brontës A to Z: The Essential Reference to Their Lives and Work. New York: Facts On File, 2003. Vine, Steve. Emily Brontë. New York: Twayne, 1998. Winnifrith, Tom, ed. Critical Essays on Emily Brontë. NewYork: G. K. Hall, 1997.

Major works Poetry: Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, 1846 (with Charlotte Brontë and Anne Brontë); The Complete Poems of Emily Jane Brontë, 1941 (C. W. Hatfield, editor); Gondal’s Queen: A Novel in Verse by Emily Jane Brontë, 1955 (Fannie E. Ratchford, editor). Nonfiction : Five Essays Written in French, 1948 (Lorine White Nagel, translator); The Brontë Letters, 1954 (Muriel Spark, editor).

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I found it very informative. Representation of the two worlds is amazing. Thanks a lot.

VERY NICE;I LIKED THE WAY OF ANALYSIS OF WHOLE NOVEL AND DESCRIBE EVERY THING,

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Wuthering Heights

by Emily Bronte

Wuthering heights essay questions.

Analyze the relationship between Lockwood and Heathcliff.

Heathcliff is Lockwood's first introduction to the passionate, terrifying world of Wuthering Heights. Early in the novel, Lockwood frequently confuses himself and Heathcliff. At one point, he backtracks on his description of Heathcliff because he “bestow[s] [his] own attributes too readily on him” (5-6). However, Heathcliff's rudeness to Cathy Linton and his servants, along with Ellen's narrative, eventually convince Lockwood to despise Heathcliff like most of the other characters. Nevertheless, the identification between the two characters remains important because it cements Heathcliff's status as one of the novel's protagonists (in the sense that the narrative sometimes seems to favor his perspective).

Interpret the novel’s dream sequences. Why are they important?

Dreams in Wuthering Heights foreshadow future events, but they also reveal important information about the characters' current situations. For example, Lockwood's nightmare about Cathy Linton trying to get into Wuthering Heights foreshadows the young girl's eventual reconciliation with the place, via her relationship with Hareton (although this reconciliation comes only after many months of misery, which may be represented by the wounds she gets from the broken glass). However, her fearsome apparition in the dream also reflects her current psychic desperation. Similarly, Catherine's early dream of choosing the moors over heaven foreshadows her eventual burial (and the importance her buried corpse will have for Heathcliff) but also her current preference for worldly pleasure over future happiness.

What is the significance of the frame story?

Wuthering Heights is narrated through many layers of mediation. Not only does Ellen Dean narrate most of the story to Lockwood, but occasionally Ellen herself was not present at important events, and only hears about them secondhand––so we hear what happens through two layers of narration. Examples of this include Cathy's explanation of her correspondence with Linton and Cathy's narration of her first visit to Wuthering Heights. The fact that the story is so potent despite these multiple layers of mediation speaks to the extraordinary power of love and emotion in this isolated society.

Analyze the story’s setting. What role does it play in Wuthering Heights ?

The natural world of the moors is not merely a setting––it also sets the mood of the novel and exerts a noticeable influence on the characters' choices and personalities. The frequently inhospitable weather establishes the conflict between humanity and nature that becomes an important theme; the frequent blizzards and thunderstorms ensure that the characters constantly struggle for survival against the elements. Moreover, the characters at Wuthering Heights are frequently characterized as 'wild,' which suggests that their dramatic natural surroundings have somehow seeped into the personalities.

Discuss Emily Brontë’s portrayal of religion in the novel.

There are distinctly Gothic elements to Brontë's portrayal of Christianity in Wuthering Heights . A riot in a church figures prominently in Lockwood's nightmare in Chapter 3, and Joseph's proselytizing eventually takes on a sinister element as it becomes clear that he is just as cruel and self-centered as any other character in the novel. Only Ellen seems to take Christianity seriously, reminding Heathcliff to make his peace with God when it becomes clear that he is dying. However, Heathcliff ultimately rejects this solace. For the Earnshaws and the Lintons, religion is a weak force that is largely irrelevant to their lives outside the strictures of society.

When Wuthering Heights was first released, many readers were shocked by its graphic, violent imagery. Why might the violence be important to the story?

It is important to note that Wuthering Heights features not only extensive physical violence, but also extreme emotional cruelty. These elements serve to demonstrate the potential of the human spirit to be debased by its conditions; although Heathcliff is able to love Catherine in his early life, the compassion and gentleness is slowly drained from him because of his abuse by Hindley. Violence, then, is set up as a counterpoint to love, and as Cathy and Hareton demonstrate at the end of the novel, love is the only thing that can redeem their world from the horrific violence that fills it.

Discuss the relationship between gender and power in Wuthering Heights .

Brontë seems to delight in confusing gender roles. Catherine Earnshaw roams free on the moors and works with Heathcliff in the fields, conduct that would have been considered highly unbecoming for a lady at this time, even in rural Yorkshire. In contrast, Linton is characterized as "delicate [and] effeminate" (200). It seems that transcending gender boundaries allows characters to become more powerful; Linton uses his weak health to manipulate others, and Isabella realizes that wielding a knife could give her the means to escape her unhappy marriage.

Discuss the role of books and literacy in Hareton and Cathy Linton’s relationship.

From its earliest stages, Hareton and Cathy Linton's relationship is colored by the fact that she can read and he cannot. She drives him away by teasing him about his inability to read, and her decision to teach him to read is what eventually resolves their differences and allows them to love one another. Cathy's reading lessons can also be seen as rehabilitating Hareton after his unhappy childhood with Heathcliff, who purposely prevented him from learning to read in hopes of getting revenge on Hareton's father, Hindley.

What is Heathcliff’s role in the story? Is he a protagonist or an antagonist?

Heathcliff can be considered both a protagonist and an antagonist. He is a protagonist in the sense that the novel is structured around his life––Ellen's narrative begins when Earnshaw brings Heathcliff home from Liverpool, and it ends at Heathcliff's death, suggesting that he was the main character all along. Likewise, Heathcliff is the main person to pique Lockwood's curiosity when he first visits Wuthering Heights. However, Heathcliff can also be considered an antagonist in that he actively works to undermine many of the novel's more likeable characters, including Edgar, Hareton, and Cathy Linton. Moreover, the novel is never related from his perspective; for the most part, the narrator Ellen can only speculate on his thoughts and feelings.

Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff, Linton, and Cathy Linton all tend to dwell on their personal ‘heavens.’ What might the significance of this be?

Heaven is an important concept for each of these characters, and their idea of a perfect world reveals their true personalities. Catherine admits that she would rather be on the moors than in heaven, and Heathcliff rejects the idea of a traditional heaven in favor of his remains mingling with Catherine's beneath the earth. The similarities between their ideas of heaven reveal the compatibility of their personalities, and also their tendency to locate themselves in opposition to conventional society. Linton and Cathy Linton both consider heaven to be a beautiful day outdoors, but the differences between their fantasies––Linton wants to lie in the grass, while Cathy would prefer to climb trees––reveal the fundamental differences in their respective characters.

Wuthering Heights Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Wuthering Heights is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Why does Cathy have a hybrid character in Wuthering heights?

Cathy is a hybrid, embodying the virtues of both households, genuinely caring for the sick, but also capable of exercising her own will and judgement and going out onto the moors unsupervised.

Catherine Earnshaw is Mr. Earnshaw's daughter and Hindley's sister. She is also Heathcliff's foster sister and love interest. She marries Edgar Linton and has a daughter, also named Catherine. Catherine is beautiful and charming, but she is never...

Spending the night at Wuthering Heights, Lockwood... Select one: a. has to be rescued from the dogs by Zillah the housekeeper. b. sleeps in Catherine Earnshaw’s room and reads her journal. c. sees a ghostly apparition and refuses its plea to “let me in!”

I would say "E". Lockwood experiences a nightmare that feels like an apparition.

Study Guide for Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights study guide contains a biography of Emily Bronte, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Wuthering Heights
• Wuthering Heights Summary
• Wuthering Heights Video
• Character List

Essays for Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

• Heathcliff's Obsessions
• The Setting in Wuthering Heights
• Mirrors, Windows, and Glass in Wuthering Heights
• The Problem of Split Personalities in Wuthering Heights
• The Main Characters in Wuthering Heights and Their Resemblance To Children

Lesson Plan for Wuthering Heights

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Wuthering Heights
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Wuthering Heights Bibliography

E-Text of Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights e-text contains the full text of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

• Chapters 1-5
• Chapters 6-10
• Chapters 11-15
• Chapters 16-20
• Chapters 21-25

Wikipedia Entries for Wuthering Heights

• Introduction
• Publication history
• Critical response

Wuthering Heights Essay

Wuthering Heights is a book by Emily Bronte. It is a story of love and revenge, and is set on the Yorkshire moors. Wuthering Heights is often seen as a classic novel, and is widely studied in schools.

Wuthering Heights is a book by Emily Bronte. It was published in 1847, and is generally considered to be her masterpiece. The story is set on the Yorkshire moors, and tells the tale of love and revenge. Wuthering Heights is now seen as a classic novel, and is still studied by students all over the world. Emily Bronte is considered to be one of the greatest English authors of all time.

If you’re looking for a great book to read, then Wuthering Heights is definitely worth a look. It’s a complex story, but it’s well worth the effort. Emily Bronte is an excellent author, and Wuthering Heights is sure to captivate you from beginning to end. So if you’re looking for something exciting and engrossing, be sure to check out Wuthering Heights! You won’t regret it.

Wuthering Heights is the tragic story of Heathcliff, an orphaned boy who becomes obsessed with Catherine Earnshaw and her wealthy guardian.

Wuthering Heights is a book that you can’t help but be pulled into, with its powerful descriptions of the bleak Yorkshire moors and the passionate characters who inhabit them.

Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights when she was just nineteen years old, and the book is considered to be one of the most original and accomplished of all Victorian novels. Wuthering Heights has been banned, admired, dissected, and adapted countless times, and it still remains one of the most loved – and most hated – books in the world. If you’re looking for a book that will keep you engrossed from beginning to end, Wuthering Heights is definitely it. So if you’re ready to be taken on a dark and twisting journey, then buckle up and prepare to read Wuthering Heights.

The love between Catherine and Hareton Hindley’s son, which is a more delicate and kind version of the love between Cathy and Heathcliff, is poised to have a happy conclusion.

Wuthering Heights is a story of love and revenge, and tells the tale of two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons. The love that develops between young Catherine and Hindley’s son, Hareton, is a paler and gentler version of the love between Cathy and Heathcliff, and it’s poised for a happy ending. However, Heathcliff returns after many years away, seeking revenge on those who have wronged him. Wuthering Heights is a rich and dark novel, full of passion and violence.

Although Heathcliff still loves as fiercely as he once loved Cathy, his actions are now driven by a thirst for vengeance. He resorts to exacting some form of retribution from everyone who, in his opinion, has wronged him: Hindley (and his descendants) for mistreating him, and the Lintons (Edgar and Isabella) for taking Cathy away from him.

Wuthering Heights is a novel of passion, mystery, and revenge. It tells the story of two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, who live on opposite sides of Wuthering Heights, an isolated house on the Yorkshire moors. The Earnshaws are a poor family; the Lintons are wealthy landowners.

Heathcliff, an orphan brought up by Hindley Earnshaw, falls in love with Cathy Linton and they run away together. When Cathy returns to Wuthering Heights after four years away, she finds that she is now married to Edgar Linton. Heathcliff plots to destroy his rival and take Cathy back for himself. Wuthering Heights is a story of unrequited love, passion, and revenge.

The novel was written by Emily Bronte, who was born in 1818 and died in 1848, shortly after Wuthering Heights was published. It is one of three novels she wrote (the other two are The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Grey), but it is the only one that was published during her lifetime. Wuthering Heights is considered to be a classic of English literature. It has been adapted for stage, television, and film many times.

Some famous adaptations include Wuthering Heights (1939), starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon; Wuthering Heights (1970), starring Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall; Wuthering Heights (1992), starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche; and Wuthering Heights (2009), a three-part television adaptation starring Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley.

The central theme of the book is the dualism of good and evil. She has emphasized this area through piety, love, vengeance, and obsession. At first, there appears to be a leaning toward either goodness or evil among various figures.

Heathcliff, for example, represents the dark side of human nature with his anger, jealousy, and thirst for revenge. On the other hand, Catherine Earnshaw is a good person with strong morals. However, as the novel progresses, Heathcliff manages to corrupt Cathy and Edgar Linton, making them just as wicked as he is. Wuthering Heights is a story about the fall of man and how evil can take over when people give in to their desires. Bronte has shown how good can eventually overcome evil if people are willing to fight for it.

Wuthering Heights contains a number of prominent themes, including revenge and justice, which represent significant experiences, personality flaws, and the path of devastation. Heathcliff starts his existence in Wuthering Heights with an open heart but grows enraged after being mistreated by Edgar and Hindley.

Wuthering Heights is a novel about passionate love, cruel revenge, and the power of nature to erode human happiness. Wuthering Heights is a novel full of passion and emotion. The characters in the novel are motivated by intense feelings such as love, hate, jealousy, and vengeance. Emily Bronte has written Wuthering Heights as if it were a poem. This makes the story more powerful and moving.

The language is descriptive and lyrical which helps to set the mood for the reader. Wuthering Heights is a timeless classic that has been enjoyed by readers for many years. It is a must-read for all fans of romance and mystery. Wuthering Heights will leave you with a feeling of sadness and happiness all at the same time. It is a beautiful story that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Wuthering Heights — The Importance and Interpretation of Setting in the Novel “Wuthering Heights”

Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights: Setting in Bronte’s Novel

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Published: Jun 29, 2018

Words: 851 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

Exploring "wuthering heights" settings contrasts in bronte’s novel, thrushcross grange - brontë's contrast to wuthering heights, works cited.

• Brontë, E. (2003). Wuthering Heights. Oxford University Press.
• Clery, E. J. (2010). Emily Brontë. Oxford University Press.
• Ellis, S. H. (2012). The Brontës: A life in letters. Blackwell Publishing.
• Faggen, R. (Ed.). (2011). The Cambridge Companion to Emily Brontë. Cambridge University Press.
• Glen, H. (2016). The Brontës and education. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Hagan, J. (1996). The wild dark flowers: A novel of Rutherford Park. Anchor Books.
• Ingham, P. (2013). The Cambridge introduction to Emily Brontë. Cambridge University Press.
• Knoepflmacher, U. C. (Ed.). (2014). Approaches to teaching Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Modern Language Association of America.
• Krishnaswamy, N. (2017). Wuthering Heights: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
• Simpson, P. (2017). Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights: A Routledge Study Guide. Routledge.

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Wuthering Heights Conclusion Essay Example

• Pages: 3 (671 words)
• Published: October 21, 2017
• Type: Essay

The dispute of nature versus nurture is long running and both sides have strong points even solely in the novel “Wuthering Heights”. Nature is a person’s characteristics at birth and from their genetics they would know how to act around people. For an individual, one’s parents might be wealthy and selfish; therefore, the child will inherit the money and also be selfish with it according to his or her nature.

This case is best related to Edgar Linton in this novel. Edgar was born rich and selfish and he died rich and selfish; however, he was also raised rich and selfish which leads one into the nurture side.Nurture refers to how and who a person was raised by. This side is best related to Heathcliff in “Wuthering Heights” because he was adopted informally by the Ear

nshaws. Heathcliff cleaned p and became very mannerly under watch of Mr.

Earnshaw up until the time of his death when his son, Hindley, turned him into a slave more than a brother. Heathcliff changed when he was treated as a servant; he became more irritable and seemed to lose a sense of disrespect especially when he hit Catherine.Later in the novel Heathcliff goes to America and becomes a gentleman, this is another point in the book that shows that nurture and one’s drive to change can do so. However, Heathcliff returned to some of his old habits once he found out that his true love was married to Edgar Linton and so he married his sister out of pure smite.

This shows that Heathcliff’s personality under the nurture of whomever he saw in America can change but can also

return to his old ways once he sees a shocking truth.Bronte seems to indicate that nature is where an individual’s personality originates. I agree that nurture does change one’s personality; but, it’s only temporary. For example, Heathcliff went to America and came back a refined gentleman.

Then Heathcliff found out about Catherine’s marriage, changed back to a cruel and overpowering person to Isabella, and became bitter. While Heathcliff was away, Catherine became more accustomed to being rich and having someone cater to her every need. She loved Edgar because now they had so much in common.But, when Heathcliff returned she wanted him back remembering the past of him being a noble descendant and the good times they had in the moors and at the heights. Nature seemed to always be what people returned to no matter what hardships they endured. Catherine Linton, Edgar’s daughter, changed when she was in contact with Linton Heathcliff because she thought she was in love.

But as soon as Linton revealed his truly evil self she returned to wanting her father and longing to be as far away from Wuthering Heights as she possibly could be.Another Example would be Catherine Earnshaw’s dealing with her marriage to Edgar. In all her early childhood she had loved Heathcliff naturally for all the right reasons to love someone, and this natural feeling was overthrown temporally due to her false love for Edgar just because he had money and other nice things for her. But, Catherine returned to these honest feelings to Heathcliff near the middle of the book after his return form America. This is a prime example of how nature overthrows nurture

in this book and in many cases today.You can’t nurture someone into true love, it just comes naturally.

In all, nature versus nurture still has many strong points each in the book “Wuthering Heights”. But, through my reading I’ve chosen nature as Bronte’s choice. I believe this is always her choice while writing due to her losing her parents at such a young age. Nature is always a strong set of morals that you were just born with and into. Try to break them, and you will find you will fall back and rely on them to help you through your life.

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