The presentation of childhood is a theme that spans two generations with the novel beginning to reveal the childhoods of Catherine and Hindley Earnshaw, and with the arrival of the young Liverpudlian orphan, Heathcliff. In chapter four, Brontë presents Heathcliff's bullying and abuse at the hands of Hindley as he becomes increasingly jealous of Heathcliff because Mr. Earnshaw, his father, chose Heathcliff over his own son, "my arm , who is black to the shoulder” The derogatory modifier “black” depicts dark and gothic associations, but also shows the extent of the abuse Heathcliff suffered as a child at the hands of his adopted brother. It is this childhood abuse that shapes Heathcliff's attitudes towards Hindley and his sadistic nature, as we see in chapter 17, "raising his rage a notch above his malice", there is l hyperbole and melodrama as the cruelty that stemmed from her childhood abuse was passed on to Isabella as an adult. In chapter three, Lockwood opens a window into Catherine Earnshaw's childhood by looking through her books. “Catherine's library was chosen...barely a chapter had escaped a commentary in pen...scribbled in the hand of a shapeless child. » we see that his collection of books was limited but nevertheless well used. Two voices also stand out, one being Lockwood's and the other the autobiographical elements of Emily Brontë's voice, "pen and ink commentary" and "untrained childish". Pre-editors reveal that the Brontë sisters also wrote the novels they owned on the sidelines, as paper was a rare material. However, Heathcliff, as a child, was the complete opposite of Cathy. "Rough as saw wire... hard as whinstone", these similes show a Heathcliff hardened through a life of abuse..... ... middle of paper ... he has the power to leave, all as a cat has the power to leave a mouse half-killed or a bird half-eaten. » A window pattern can be seen here, as Edgar was pushed. outside Wuthering Heights while Cathy stays inside her house. A change is signaled in that Edgar is likely to ask Cathy to marry him, as she cannot take his eyes off her or leave her side for a single second. The plosives "possessed...the power" emphasize the choice that Edgar must return to the Grange or stay with the girl he loves, and the simile "as much as a cat possesses the power to leave a mouse half-killed" shows Brontë making a simile to emphasize that Edgar would rather stay with Cathy even though she had just hit him moments earlier in a fit of passion, this also shows that Edgar is easily influenced to make decisions without much persistence or determination. effort on anyone's part..