Wuthering Heights - Heathcliff's Immorality

            Neglect and love are two feelings that everyone in the world has felt, the latter being one much more desired. The character Heathcliff in the novel Wuthering Heights, experiences both these feelings. In the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, the character of Heathcliff is often depicted as someone who is cruel and immoral, however, because of his neglectful childhood and his desire for love, the reader is sympathetic towards him.
             Heathcliff does many horrible and immoral actions throughout the novel of Wuthering Heights, however, it is often because of revenge. In the beginning of the novel, Heathcliff is brought into the family of the Earnshaw's as an orphan. His life seems already to be harsh since he is an orphan, however, things seem to only get worse for this child. He is treated terribly by his family and they all look at him as someone lower. He is often referred to as "it" (36) by the Earnshaw household and labeled "gipsy" (38). This poor treatment in not much of an improvement from his orphan days, and he quickly becomes a product of all of the abuse and neglect. Because of this, Heathcliff quickly becomes the character with which the reader sympathizes. As the novel goes on, he is treated even worse by his family. After Mr. Earnshaw dies, his son, Hindley, takes over the manor. Hindley begins to treat him harshly, making him work like a servant, depriving him of education and thrashing him severely if Heathcliff does anything wrong, "He drove him from their company to the servants, deprived him of the instructions of the curate, and insisted that he should labour out of doors; compelling him to do so as hard as any other lad on the farm" (44). This again makes the reader feel bad for Heathcliff. All of these terrible actions done to Heathcliff makes him want to seek revenge. .
             After a three year absence, Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights with plans to destroy everyone who hurt him.