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| Plot Summary of Cat's Eye |
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"Elaine Risley is an artist who has returned to Toronto for a retrospective of her art. Upon returning to the city she is flooded with memories of her past, specifically centeredd around one girl named Cordelia. Cordelia is one of a trio of girls who basically tormented Elaine, inexperienced in the ways of little girls, until high school. Once in high school the tables turn and Elaine becomes the strong one. Cordelia fails out of high school and Elaine loses touch with her, going onto university where she studies art history. The novel describes Elaine's relationships, her first marriage, and her rediscovery of Cordelia who is now in a mental institution after having tried to commit suicide. Elaine makes many conclusions about herself, her art, and her life at various stages in the novel which are somewhat summed up in the end."
Shawn Vaillancourt, Resident Scholar
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"The main character is tormented at school because her parents are poor and different. In adult life she becomes a painter but her childhood trauma haunts her and she struggles to make sense of her life and relationships with men and women."
Ian Peter Avery, Resident Scholar
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"Cat's eye, the ninth of Atwood's novels, is the story of Elaine Risley, a successful painter who returns to Toronto, the city of her childhood.
Most of the novel flashes back to her childhood and focuses on the relationships she had, particularly the relationship between herself and a girl named Cordelia. Cordelia and the other girls teased and tortured her so much that Elaine loses all her self self-esteem and adopts bad habits, such as peeling her skin, biting her nails, and pulling her own hair.
Atwood also explores the world of artistic creativity for female artists. The book also gives the reader a clear picture of how much society and the landscape of Toronto had changed from her childhood memories in the 1940s and the 1950s to the Toronto she revisited in the 1980s.
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Lauren Ashley, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Cat's Eye |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Life of a profession:
- artist
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Woman's story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- artist
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- dumb
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Intelligence
- Dumb
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 ()
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Canada
City?
Yes
City:
- dirty, grimy (like New York)
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- actual description of hetero sex
- descript. of nude males (the big P)
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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