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Cat Eye

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Submitted By mkro
Words 824
Pages 4
Morten Krohn
English
7. december 2015

Cat’s Eye

In this excerpt written by Margaret Atwood, called “Cat’s Eye” the main character “Elaine” recalls her youth, and remembers how she had friends, she couldn't even like, but it was the only thing she had, she just couldn't let them go, no matter how they treated her.

Elaine is that type of person that hesitate to tell her friends ‘no’, but they are the only friends she has, and she does not want to be lonely. We see that already in the first couple of lines, specifically on line 3 “They're having a meeting. The meeting is about me”. She would just like her so called friends to accept her “I am just not measuring up, although they are giving me every chance. I will have to do better. But better at what?” (line 3-5).
Elaine wants to be apart of the group, not just be the standby person, who is always the fourth wheel, in this case. Cordelia is the boss of the group, deciding what is going to happen, and when it is going to. Elaine is jealous of her powers, but in the same time she loathe at her, “Perdie and Mirrie come up the stairs, along the hall, in their armour of being older. I long to be as old as they are. They're the only people who have any real power over Cordelia that I can see.” Elaine wants the power that Cordelia has, she wants to be the leader of the group, but at the same time she doubt her self, but just keep going on with her feelings, “ I think of them as my allies; or I think they would be my allies if they only knew. Knew what? Even to myself I am mute. “
Elaine now chances the way she describes this story, it gets more detailed, and describing why she does not like school and her friends. She starts to describe a more sensitive part of the history.
From line 49-100, she describes her daily morning routine. But she does not really describe a normal routine.
She is describing a routine where if she wants she ultimately can call in sick “I will have trouble: my stomach will contract, my hands will get cold, it will be difficult to swallow. “ (line 69-71). Elaine finds every excuse to not go to school, but most of all, not she her”friends”. She is obviously not feeling well inside, and does not want to go out to seem them.
This continues through out this paragraph, but in the end she has to make a decision, what ever to go to school, or stay at home. She always end up leaving, no matter how long time she can sit and watch the toaster. She always end up meeting them against her will “I'm outside the house there is no getting away from them” (line 100).
The reason why Elaine is looking back at her childhood with the pain she does, is because she is afraid that her children will go through the same as she did. She has this motherly instinct that makes her aggressive and scared for her kids. She experienced so much pain and struggle, and basically got bullied by her own friends. Elaine is almost paranoid, always asking how everything is going and if they are alright. The quote “Hatred would have been easier. With hatred, I would have known what to do. Hatred is clear, metallic, one-handed, unwavering; unlike love.” ends the excerpt. With this quote we know that if Elaine actually loved her friends in a way, because if she had hated them, she would had known what to do, meaning that the friendship she has with them today, wouldn't have existed.

The story is build up in the way that it drags the reader in to it. It makes the reader feel whatever Elaine is feeling. This is by the in depth descriptions, which makes you feel like you are not missing anything, or actually sitting in the room with her.
Atwood portrayed Elaine in a way that connects her with the reader, with a lot of contrasting themes, which makes the reader understand the pain, not only in the flashback, but also how she is feeling about her kids.
The reader will sit in the same dilemma of not knowing why she keeps choosing the way Elaine does, Why does she keep following these friends. That is how Atwood want os to feel, a part of the book. Watching every single step that Elaine takes, and how she develops as a person.
Atwood also combines the motherly instinct into the book, making it emotional, not only over for mothers, but everybody, because who want to go through that pain.
Atwood makes us ask ourselves that question of, how we treat people, but also what you should put up with.

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