Discuss the irony/symbolism used in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.For my Lit12 class. I read this book for January; now it's February when my...

With regard to Emily Bronte's novel, Wuthering
Heights, I don't know that I can help you much, but the most obvious irony is
that Heathcliff does all he can to get Wuthering Heights, mostly
because he cannot have Catherine (and because of how Hindley treats
him).

Once he wins the house from Hindley while gambling,
the reader would expect Heathcliff to be happy, finally. He bested Hindley, and he is
the master in the home where he was treated like a servant after his adoptive father
died. However, the hole within Heathcliff is just as deep, and the more he hurts those
around him, from his own suffering, the more he suffers himself,
never finding happiness.

Before
Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights after Hindley's poor treatment, he overhears
Catherine speaking of why she could not marry Heathcliff. He leaves the Heights before
he hears anymore. The irony here is that had he listened further, or talked with
Catherine before leaving, he would have known that she loved him, but that she did not
believe they would make a good match. This might have given him hope, knowing someone he
cared for loved him, to make the most of what he was able to do for himself while he was
away (returning educated, with money), to enjoy a much fuller life. His obsession
devours his soul and robs him of that opportunity.

Later,
Catherine collapses in his arms, and dies never regaining consciousness. His only solace
is begging her ghost to haunt him. We know this happens soon before he dies. In death
they are reunited as their caskets lie next to each other, with the sides open so that
as they return to dust, their remains can mingle over the years. Perhaps this is ironic
that they are finally able to be together, but only in
death.

In terms of symbols, I can offer only one, which
also presents an irony: the moors. When the novel opens, Lockwood, to whom Nellie tells
the story of Wuthering Heights, does not like walking on the moors at night because he
is frightened; ironically, Heathcliff and Catherine love spending
long hours on the moors growing up. The landscape does not intimidate them. This may
symbolize a wild, impetuous nature, something they both share.