Heathcliff as a Byronic Hero

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…the pain he has experienced in his life. Thirdly, despite the faults that Heathcliff has in his character, the reader is able to sympathize with him, to a point. While in the second half of the book Heathcliff becomes increasingly cruel, to the point of inexcusability, during the first half his actions can frequently be dismissed as somewhat justifiable under the circumstances. For these three reasons, Heathcliff can be easily categorized as a Byronic hero.