Lockwood vs. William Blake

Upon reading the first two chapters of “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte, I think it can be argued that there is a connection between the societal views of Lockwood and how much they may contradict with that of William Blake’s views, especially in the poem “The Chimney Sweeper”. It is clear by the way Lockwood addresses Heathcliff as “a capital flow” and a “dark skinned gypsie” that he feels as though he is above Heathcliff as far as social status goes. Blake in “The Chimney Sweeper” addresses the damages of judging people by class by showing how poor families force even their children to contribute in awful jobs. Lockwood has a very arrogant personality, and he has no concept of others. When Lockwood first enters Wuthering Heights, he notes how the place is probably so dirty because they only have one servant. Lockwood has no concept of the kind of conditions servants are put through in order to make a living, and Blake addresses the dangers of these kind of people in the poem. As long as a guy like Lockwood feels as though servants are eating and breathing, then they should be fine, in Blake’s eyes, even though Blake uses this comparison as irony to show that the working class is struggling.

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