Rubab Rahat Kath and Mouse 1. The nickname given to Helen is Mouse. Kathryn Morris aka Kath gave her this nickname because Helen “did look like a mouse, with mouse-brown hair and small, sharp features”. Helen is called Mouse because she is very quiet, shy, and passive. She is not confident enough to confront Kath for being mean to her; instead she “ducks her head like she’s been hit”. Helen is called Mouse because she behaves like an underdog who doesn’t speak up for herself against Kath. 2. The story takes place in a school during winter, “It was about ten below zero”. The setting signifies a normal school life of the present where one meets all sorts of people; both good and bad, bullies, friends, and etc. The mood and atmosphere of the story is very intense and harsh for Helen. 3. During lunch, Helen sat on Kath’s table without an invitation. “…Helen would know she had already broken one of the most important rules. No one sat at Kath’s table without and invitation.” Kath | Helen | Kevin | * Plays oboe * Overconfident * Powerful * Insecure “…she just acted like Kath didn’t exist. Kath tried to pretend it didn’t matter, but it did.” * Arrogant * Thinks she is “the queen of the world” | * Sings * Eager to prove herself "You don't have to prove yourself, you know? I said. Maybe I want too...'' * Full of pride since she’s a terrific singer * Introverted | * Plays piano * Polite * Considerate and understanding * Sympathetic “It seemed to be my job to prove you didn't get vaporized or turned into a frog if you did something that made Kath angry.'' | 4.

5. That winter, Kevin wants to prove that he is the only one who knew how to do things Kath didn’t want. He wanted to prove that no one was attacked or turned down by his twin sister, Kath. “And that winter, it seemed to be my job to prove you didn't get vaporized or turned into a frog if you did something that made Kath angry.'' 6. Kevin says, “…and Helen, who now reminded me of a mouse I’d had to take away from our cat once, wounded.” In this analogy, Kevin compares Helen to the wounded mouse and Kath to the cat. 7. Kath humiliates and embarrasses Helen to decide whether she fits in with the group. Kath calls her Mouse. She picks up on Helen in the school bus on the way home and humiliates her because of her backpack that she got at a garage sale. Also, in gym the next day, Kath and her friends play a trick on Helen leaving her out in the cold for some time. Kath embarrasses Helen by calling her a klutz, “Go get the ball, you klutz”. 8. Kath’s reason for centering Helen out and trying to make her feel unwelcome is because Kath is very insecure. Deep down, she knows she is not “the queen of the world”, but pretends to be such. Kath knows that Helen is very talented and a terrific singer, however she centers Helen out so she doesn’t lose her significance and importance among her peers. 9. Christine is significant to the story because she is someone who shows that Kath is not the boss of everything. Christine signifies that there is someone who could ignore Kath and live life their own way. She shows that when there’s a bully, all you have to do is ignore them and eventually they will go away. She’s also special because she doesn’t fight back since her silence is the best answer to Kath and her rude behavior. 10. The theme of the story is to treat others the way you want to be treated and stand up for what you think is right. 11. The climax of the story is when tables turn and Helen is no longer the underdog. It is when Kath finds out why her own brother, Kevin wouldn’t play for her. It’s hard when Kath’s own brother; someone close to her plays a cruel game and helps Helen instead of his sister. 12. The term “cat and mouse” means when two people chase each other and it goes on and on and the person who is chasing the other teases them, this goes on until the person or animal is caught. It is like a game where the fighting will go back and forth between the cat and the mouse. The title makes a pun of this game since the pun in the title is Kath, because Kath sounds a lot like cat. To change it around Kath calls Helen Mouse and that is the reason for the title.