Penguin Readers Answer Key

Wuthering Heights
Answers to Book activities
1 a

4
5
6

8
9
10

household, tenant, landlord, gypsy,

mistress
b A landlord owns the proprty and the
tenant lives in it and pays rent to the
landlord.
c False. A moor is covered in grass and
small bushes.
d False. A mouse is a very small, timid
animal.
e True
f False. You shiver when you are cold or
frightened.
g False. You say it very quietly.
h True
a The new tenant at Thrushcross Grange
b The owner of Wuthering Heights and
Thrushcross Grange
Heathcliffs servants
c Mr Lockwoods housekeeper
d The owner of the books; Hindleys sister;
Heathcliffs lover
e Mrs Heathcliffs cousin; the last member
of the Earnshaw family.
Some ideas: hes rich but careful with his
money; he is dark-skinned like a gypsy; he
has the manners of a gentleman; he does
not dress well; he has a bad temper and is
unfriendly, even cruel and rude; he played
with Catherine when they were children; he
loves Catherine; he is strange.
Open answer
Open answer
a misery
b naughty
c degrade
d creep
e weep
f exclaim
g superior
h fury
i scorn
a Old Mr Earnshaw is talking to Mrs
Earnshaw about the child Heathcliff, who
he has just brought home.
b Heathcliff is telling Nelly about his and
Catherines visit to Thrushcross Grange.
c Hindley is talking to Heathcliff after
Heathcliff has made himself look clean
and tidy just before the visit by the Linton
children.
d Heathcliff is talking to Nelly in the kitchen
after he has come out of his prison.
e Catherine is talking to Heathcliff. She
wants him to go away because Edgar is
coming. She hurts him badly by saying
this. But Hindley has not allowed
Heathcliff to be educated like Catherine.
Instead he has made him do only
physical work and Heathcliff has become
silent and lacks confidence and is not
good company.
f Edgar is talking to Catherine. She has
lost her temper and hit first Nelly and
then little Hareton. Edgar has tried to
make her let go of the child, and so she
has hit him also.
g Catherine is talking to Nelly. They are
talking about whether Catherine is wrong
to accept Edgars offer of marriage.
Open answer
Open answer
Some ideas are: At Thrushcross, it is
comfortable and people are kind, wellmannered and well-dressed. Perhaps the

Pearson Education 2001

11
12
13

14

15

children are a little spoilt. There are lots of

servants. At Wuthering Heights, life is
rougher. The children run wild and wear
rough clothes. Hindley is cruel to Heathcliff.
When Hindleys wife dies and Hindley
becomes violent and drunk, no one comes to
visit. The teacher stops coming and only two
servants stay.
Open answer
a oblong b knowledge
a three years
b At Wuthering Heights
c Hareton has changed and become wild
and violent. Heathcliff has come between
Hareton and his father, taking control of
Haretons upbringing. He has taught
Hareton to swear and made sure the boy
has no education by sending away the
teacher. He is encouraging Hareton to
run wild by telling him he can do what he
likes.
d She finds him kissing Isabella.
e She goes away with Heathcliff and they
get married. Two months later the pair
return to Wuthering Heights.
f He wants to win back the money that
Heathcliff has won from him through
playing cards.
g After Heathcliff and Edgar fight,
Catherine becomes ill with a brain fever.
She seems to have recovered, though
she is not the same as she was, when
Heathcliff comes to see her. After this
visit she falls into unconsciousness and
her baby, a second Catherine, is born
two months early. Catherine dies two
hours later.
h Heathcliff
i her childhood
j Heathcliffs and Edgar s
k because she had made Heathcliff so
angry with her that he could not control
himself and he threw a knife at her.
i Heathcliff shows no sympathy for
Hindley, although he does tie up
Hindleys gunshot wound. Heathcliff is
hard and cold. After Hindley dies,
Heathcliff seems to show satisfaction at
a difficult piece of work well done.
a He has bought all of Hindleys property.
He has done this by giving Hindley
money in return for his land so that
Hindley has money to play cards.
b Heathcliff says that he would like to be
responsible for Hareton. He threatens to
take his own son from Isabella if Edgar
tries to take Hareton from him. Edgar
does not really want Hareton, so the boy
stays with Heathcliff.
When Heathcliff says my murderer he
means Catherine. She has caused him so
much pain he feels he will die, but at the
same time he loves her. When he says but
yours - How can I?it is less clear. Yours
means Catherines murderer. So his question
is: how can he love Catherines murderer?
But who is Catherines murderer? Whose
fault is it that Catherine is dying? Heathcliff
has just said that Catherine herself is to
blame for being false to her own heart. She
has killed herself. So he could mean that he
cannot love her because she is responsible
for taking herself from him. So he both loves
her and doesnt love her.
However, earlier Catherine has accused
Heathcliff and Edgar of causing her illness,

level

UPPER INTERMEDIATE

and Heathcliff tries to defend himself against

her accusation. Perhaps he feels guilty
about what he has done. So he could also
mean that he cannot love himself because it
is his fault that she has become so ill.
16 Cathy Lintons parents are Edgar Linton and
his wife Catherine Earnshaw. The parents of
Hareton Earnshaw are: Hindley Earnshaw
and his wife Frances. The parents of Linton
Heathcliff are Heathcliff and his wife, Isabella
Linton.
17 (the names are given in order)
a Isabella, Linton
b Cathy, Nelly (Ellen)
c Heathcliff and Hindley; Linton Heathcliff
d Cathy, Linton
e Heathcliff, Linton, Cathy
f Nelly (Ellen), Cathy
g Edgar, Nelly
h Edgar, Linton
I Edgar, Linton, Heathcliff (or Cathy?)
18 Some ideas: Hareton: strong, good-looking
and healthy; dresses in farm worker s
clothes; is uneducated but intelligent; suffers
when he is laughed at for his ignorance and
becomes angry; tries to learn to read to
make Cathy like him; loves his master and
protector, Heathcliff.
Linton: blond hair and blue eyes; attractive
with a prettyface; tall; bad-tempered and
unhappy because of his poor health; not
good company; sometimes he seems like a
spoilt child, but this is understandable; he
does not like being uncomfortable.
19 Open answer
20 a Because Linton will inherit Thrushcross
Grange from Edgar. If Linton dies first, it is
possible that Edgar might be able to make
sure that Cathy gets Thrushcross.
b Cathy is trying to get the key to the room in
which Heathcliff has locked her and Nelly.
Cathy bites Heathcliffs hand and he hits her.
Nelly then tries to stop him and he pushes
her.
c Edgar dies before his lawyer, Mr Green,
arrives. Mr Green is late because Heathcliff
has kept him at the Heights.
d Heathcliff breaks off one side of Catherine s
coffin. He does this so that when he dies he
can lie next to her. His own coffin will also
have the side broken off nearest to
Catherine.
e Cathy has no money or property of her own.
Heathcliff has made sure that Linton left all
his money and Cathys (as his wife), to him.
Heathcliff is claiming that he is the owner of
Thrushcross through his own wife, Isabella.
Cathy has no money or friends who can help
her to fight this. So she has no choice but to
stay at Wuthering Heights.
f Cathy feels bored in her room and starts to go
down to the kitchen. At first she makes rude
remarks about Hareton but then realises that
it is her fault that he is not friendly to her.
She realises that she likes her cousin, and
she is sorry for her past behaviour. She is
grateful to him for defending her to
Heathcliff.
g Heathcliff has been like a father to Hareton.
h Heathcliff no longer enjoys his revenge.
Hareton, who looks very like her, reminds
him of Catherine. He suffers terrible pain
from her memory and because he lost her.
He cannot bear to see or think of Cathy, the
child of his lover and his enemy. Nelly thinks
that he now feels guilty about what he has
done (p134), though he denies this. He

Penguin Readers Answer Key

Wuthering Heights
stops eating. He starts to act strangely and
to seem oddly cheerful. He seems to see
something, or someone, that is not there
the ghost of Catherine. He has found her
at last.
21 Open answer

Answers to Factsheet activities

Communicative activities
Activities after reading a section
Chapters 14
Open answers
Chapters 1120
Some suggestions
Heathcliffs good points and things which
excuse his behaviour:
* As a child he had no parents. he was
shown kindness by old Mr Earnshaw and
Catherine but not by Hindley or Mrs
Earnshaw.
* After old Mr Earnshaw dies, the young
Heathcliff is made to suffer by Hindley. He
is degraded and treated like a servant, and
prevented from receiving any education.
He is made to feel stupid and unattractive.
* His physical appearance dark and like a
gypsy causes racial prejudice.
* No one teaches him moral values
Hindley lets him run wild. Catherine is
taught how to behave by the Lintons.
* He has a strong and proud nature. It is
natural that he should want revenge on
Hindley.
* He loves Catherine desperately.
* He is able to bear his treatment by
Catherine until she seems not to want him,
even though this is a mistake.
* Everything which follows is the result of all
of this.
* He leaves Wuthering Heights, learns from
somewhere else what Hindley has
prevented him from learning ie how to
behave like a gentleman and returns with
money.
* He is driven to violence against Isabella
only because she makes him angry by
talking about Catherine.
* He is wild with grief for Catherine. Even
Nelly sees that he has a heart and
feelings the same as other men.
His bad points and all the bad things he
has done.
* He has a proud, strong nature which
means that he wants revenge.
* He is cruel and selfish and violent and
bitter.
* He uses Isabella without pity to get his
revenge on both Catherine and on Edgar
Linton.
* He takes advantage of Hindleys state to
get all his money from him.
* He does to Hareton what Hindley has done
to him, ie prevents him from learning
anything and makes sure he becomes a
rough, rude child.
* He shoots Hindley and throws a knife at
his wife. He hangs Isabellas dog.
* He threatens to take Isabellas child if
Edgar tries to take Hareton from him.
* He shows no sadness at Hindleys death.
Instead he seems pleased.
* By the time Catherine and Hindley are

Pearson Education 2001

dead, Heathcliff has become evil and

wicked.
Chapters 2128
Open answers
Chapters 2938
Some suggestions:
(a)
* Heathcliff threatens his son so that he will
trick Cathy and Nelly into going into the
Heights.
* He does not show any concern for his sons
health.
* He locks Cathy and Nelly in a room in the
Heights.
* He hits Cathy (when she bites him) and
pushes Nelly when she tries to help Cathy.
* He forces Cathy to marry Linton.
* He will not allow a message to be sent to
Edgar.
* He tells Cathy and Nelly about the men from
the Grange after they have gone.
* He keeps Nelly locked in a room for five
days and lies about her in the village.
* He makes sure that Linton is unpleasant
and cruel to Cathy.
* He breaks Cathys pictures of her parents.
* He hits Cathy again.
* He makes sure that the lawyer is delayed.
* He will not let Cathy and Linton stay at the
Grange.
* He seems to want to make Cathy work for
him.
* He makes Cathy walk to the Grange.
* He will not help Cathy nurse his son, Linton.
* He make Linton leave all his money to him,
not his wife.
(b) suggestions
* First, Heathcliff explains to Nelly about the
ghost of Catherine that has been with him
for eighteen years, killing me slowly, with
the ghost of a hope. He has suffered
unbearable misery.
* Cathy says, correctly, that Heathcliff has no
one to love him and that he is miserable
(p116). Perhaps the lack of love together
with his desire for revenge are enough to
make him so cruel, violent, selfish and
interested in money.
Students Activities
Activities before reading the book.
1 (a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

At the end of the eighteenth century

Wuthering Heights
Thrushcross Grange
Earnshaws: Catherine, Hindley,
Mr Earnshaw their father. Lintons: Edgar
Linton
(e) A street child found in Liverpool by Mr
Earnshaw and brought home to live with
his family.
(f) Heathcliff and Catherine fall in love.
(g) Open answer
2 Open answer

Activities while reading the book.

Chapters 12
1 (a) not near other houses distant from
society, this loneliness
(b) cold and windy the wildness of the
weather in time of storm; the power of
the north wind; the trees ...lean towards
the ground; ... bushes all stretching
their branches in one direction as if
begging for the warmth of the sun
(d) old the date 1500

(e) not well looked after the grass is

growing up between the stones; the
plants are growing wild
2 His house has the furniture and appearance
of a simple Yorkshire farmer but he himself
seems to be a gentleman.
3 (a) F
(b) T
(c) F
(d) T
(e) F
(f) F
Chapters 34
(a) The names Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine
Linton, Catherine Heathcliff
Catherine Earnshaw
(b) Badly. He calls him a gypsy, and will not let
him play with Catherine, or eat with the
family. He says that their father was too kind
to Heathcliff and that he wants to put
Heathcliff in his right place.
(c) He thinks it is the branch of a tree but he
finds that it is the hand of a childs ghost,
which calls itself Catherine Linton.
(d) Twenty years ago.
(e) First, he is sleeping in the room that
Heathcliff does not want anyone to use;
second, he has woken Heathcliff up by
shouting; third he mentions Catherines
name.
(f) The first name, Earnshaw is her family
name. Her father is Mr Earnshaw and her
brother is Hindley. Linton is her married
name. As we know, she married Edgar
Linton. Heathcliff is a surname she
probably imagined for herself because she
was in love with Heathcliff.
(g) Two
(h) Hareton Earnshaw
Chapters 57
1 When Mr Earnshaw brings Heathcliff to the
Heights, Catherine is six years old and
Hindley is fourteen. At first, neither child
likes Heathcliff because they do not get the
presents they wanted. A little later,
Catherine starts to be friendly to Heathcliff.
Hindley still dislikes him, however, and often
hits him. Mrs Earnshaw does not stop
Hindley from hurting Heathcliff. Mr
Earnshaw is angry with his son for his
treatment of Heathcliff, and Heathcliff soon
becomes Mr Earnshaws favourite. So
Hindley is jealous of Heathcliff and they
have bad fights.
2 Suggested answers:
(a)After old Mr Earnshaw dies, Hindley returns
home with his new wife/ becomes the
master of Wuthering Heights.
(b) Hindleys wife dislikes Heathcliff and so
Hindley again starts to treat him very badly.
(c) Heathcliff does not mind Hindleys treatment
at first because he spends his time with
Cathy running wild over the moors.
(d) But after Catherine stays at Thrushcross
Grange, things start to change.
(e)When Catherine returns, she finds that
Heathcliff has become dirty and strange.
(f) Heathcliff is angry because of the way he is
made to feel/because he feels embarrassed
and degraded.
Chapters 810
1 l
g

Isabella and Edgar Linton come for a

visit.
Edgar is rude about Heathclif fs hair.

Penguin Readers Answer Key

Wuthering Heights
b
h
n

Heathcliff throws an apple pie at Edgar .

Hindley locks Heathcliff away upstairs.
Catherine goes secretly to the top of the
house to see Heathcliff.
I Heathcliff swears to get his revenge on
Hindley.
j Hareton Earnshaw is born.
c Hindleys wife dies and Hindley starts to
live a wild life.
e Catherine tells Heathcliff that she finds
his company dull.
m Edgar is shocked by Catherines violent
temper.
o Edgar and Catherine become more than
friends.
a Heathcliff hears Catherine saying she
will marry Edgar Linton.
d Heathcliff disappears in a storm.
f Catherine waits for Heathcliff and
catches a fever.
k Edgar and Catherine are married.
Chapters 1113
(a)Heathcliff is talking to Nelly outside
Thrushcross. they = Catherine and Edgar,
she = Catherine
(b)Nelly is talking to Edgar in the sitting room
at Thrushcross. She = Catherine; he =
Heathcliff
(c) Isabella is talking to Catherine at
Thrushcross. him = Heathcliff.
(d)Nelly is talking to Isabella and Catherine at
Thrushcross. They = Heathcliff and Hindley
(e)Heathcliff is talking to Catherine in the
library at Thrushcross. the truth = that
Isabella is in love with Heathcliff
(f) The child Hareton is talking to Nelly on the
moor. The first he Heathcliff; my father =
Hindley; the second he = Hindley
Chapters 1416
Suggested answers. In some cases other
answers may be possible.
(a)Nelly calls Heathcliff worthless when she
finds him kissing Isabella.
(b)Heathcliff calls Catherine jealous because
she is angry when he kisses Isabella.
(c) Nelly says Catherine is upset when Nelly
tells Edgar about Heathcliffs behaviour.
(d)Heathcliff calls Edgar weak-kneed when
Cathy throws the key into the fire.
(e)Cathy tells Heathcliff he has played an evil
trick on her.
(f) mad and (g) wild. Catherine uses these
words about herself when she is starting to
become ill through what has happened.
(h)Catherine says Edgar is selfish because he
wont let her see Heathcliff.
(i) Nelly says of herself that she is the only
sensible person in the house.
(j) Edgar calls Nelly heartless when he finds
out that she has not told him before that
Catherine is ill.
(k) Nelly says that the Earnshaws have violent
natures.
(l) Isabella says in her letter to Nelly that she
has been foolish.
Chapters 1720
Suggested answer
1 Nelly goes to Wuthering Heights with a
message from Edgar to Isabella.
2 Heathcliff persuades Nelly to take a letter to
Catherine.
3 Heathcliff comes to see Catherine and he
sees that she will not live long.

Pearson Education 2001

4 They accuse each other and forgive each

other but their powerful love for each
other is clear.
5 Catherines daughter is born and
Catherine dies.
6 Heathcliff curses Catherine so that her
ghost will always be with him.
7 Isabella leaves Heathcliff and comes to
Thrushcross.
8 She tells how Hindley planned to kill
Heathcliff but that Heathcliff got hold of
the gun and shot Hindley.
9 Isabella leaves the area for the south,
and has a son.
10 Hindley dies six months later, aged
twenty seven.
11 Heathcliff now owns all of Hindley s
property and takes control of his son,
Hareton.
Chapters 2124
Suggested answers
(a)Cathy Linton is a beautiful child with
dark eyes and blond hair. She has high
spirits but she is kind and loving. She is
also a little spoilt and likes to have her
own way and can be naughty. She is
protected from the world by her father so
she is quite innocent. She is adventurous.
(b)Heathcliff does not seem to think much of
Linton. He says he hatesLinton who he
thinks is too much like his mother
because he has a pretty, girlish face;
Heathcliff says Linton is a miserable
thingand worthless. He seems only to
be interested in Linton for what he can
get through him. But he says he will treat
Linton well, even if he does not love him.
(c) In his will, old Mr Linton left Thrushcross
first to his son, Edgar, and then, if Edgar
had no son, to his sister Isabella. This
means that when Edgar dies, ownership
of Thrushcross will pass not to Cathy, but
Isabella. However, Isabella is dead, so
the next in line to inherit Thrushcross
after Edgar dies will be Linton Heathcliff.
Linton is Heathcliffs son, so if Edgar
should die, then Heathcliff would certainly
have some control of Thrushcross while
Linton is a child.
(d)It is possible that Heathcliff is being
generous. At the moment it certainly
looks as if Cathy will not inherit
Thrushcross after her father dies, and so
by marrying Linton Cathy would be sure
to be safe and could stay at Thrushcross.
But it is also possible that Linton may die
before Edgar dies. Nelly says that in this
situation, Cathy would be the next to
inherit Thrushcross. Heathcliff says this is
not true, and that as Lintons father, he
would get Thrushcross. However, he
could be absolutely sure of getting his
hands on Thrushcross if Cathy married
Linton. This is because if Linton dies
before Edgar and if Edgar is somehow
able to make sure that Cathy inherits
Thrushcross, Heathcliff would be able to
control the property if Cathy was Lintons
wife. So Heathcliff may not be really as
generous as he pretends. In fact he is
being rather clever in a deceitful way.
Chapters 2528
1 Open answers
2 Linton seems to be more ill than before

although he says he is not. He also acts a

little strangely, as if he has not come to
meet Cathy because he wants to, but
because his father wants him to. Perhaps
his father has made him go there to
encourage their relationship. Or is there
another reason?
Chapters 2931
1 Suggestions.
(a) If Nelly had told Edgar about Lintons true
character, Edgar would probably have tried
to stop Cathy from marrying Linton/Edgar
would probably have changed his will
sooner.
(b)If Nelly had not encouraged and helped
Cathy to meet Linton on the second
Thursday, they would not have been tricked
by Linton and Heathcliff.
(c) If Cathy and Nelly had not gone to
Wuthering Heights with Linton and
Heathcliff, Linton would have been hurt by
his father.
(d) If Cathy and Nelly had opened the window
and called out to the servants from the
Grange, they would have rescued them.
(e) If Nelly had told Edgar about Lintons
illness, he would have understood what
danger Cathy was in.
(f) If Mr Green had not been delayed at the
Heights, Edgar would have been able to
change his will and Cathy would have been
safe
1 Open answer
Chapters 3238
1 In 1802, the gate is not chained and the
doors are open. There is a smell of garden
flowers. The unhappiness of the previous
year has gone.
2 Cathy and Hareton are no longer angry
and miserable. Instead of being met by the
bad-tempered Joseph, Mr Lockwood finds
Nelly cheerful and singing songs.
3 All this has happened because Heathcliff is
dead and Cathy and Hareton now love
each other and are going to be married.
4 Suggested answer:
Catherine: Come to me, Heathcliff. Im
waiting for you.
Heathcliff: My dearest love, I am here, I am
here.
Catherine: Are you suffering? Am I causing
you pain?
Heathcliff: You know that you are killing me
little by little. You pretend to be here but
you are not.
Catherine: But I am here. I have always
been with you. Cant you see me?
Heathcliff: Yes, I see you now. I knew that I
would see you in the end.
Catherine: You have had your revenge. You
do not need to do any more. It is time to let
the children have some happiness.
Heathcliff: Yes, you are right. I no longer
enjoy destroying their lives.
Catherine: Let us have our own happiness
now. Do you want to remain on this earth?
Heathcliff: No, there is no reason for me to
be alive any more. I long to join you in the
grave. But how can I?
Catherine: Tonight I will come to take you,
my darling. Leave your window open.
Heathcliff: I will be waiting.