Cat's Eye Questions and Answers
Cat's Eye
In Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye, how do Elaine's paintings reflect her childhood trauma? What do they symbolize?
Elaine discusses a number of her paintings in the novel. The paintings include earlier pieces and those created specifically for the art gallery. Elaine's paintings reflect her childhood trauma and...
Cat's Eye
How does Cat's Eye show the importance of family in personal development?
Cat's Eye explains many of the characters by way of their mothers: we learn that Carol's mother, for instance, wears twin sets and cares a great deal for appearances. Grace's mother views twin sets...
Cat's Eye
In the novel Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood how does Elaine struggle to free herself from the power of others and gain...
Cat's Eye is, at its core, a story about self identity and the struggle that sometimes exists between personal autonomy and needing the acceptance of others. The story's protagonist, Elaine, is...
Cat's Eye
In Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye, what do the moose and bear's heads symbolize in the painting "Half a Face"?
This is the only painting Elaine does of Cordelia. In the foreground, you have Cordelia's whole face, even though it's called Half a Face. In the background, you have another painting of Cordelia's...
Cat's Eye
In Cat's Eye, what are some similarities between Elaine and Cordelia?
It is interesting to compare these two characters and identify similarities, because on the one hand Elaine and Cordelia could not be more different. It is, after all, Cordelia that leads the...
Cat's Eye
Find examples of how colonialism affects Elaine’s desire to be a painter in Cat's Eye. What are the examples of...
Some of Elaine's paintings are inspired by British colonialism, as she believes that some of the challenges in her life parallel those experienced by Indians being forced to adopt the social norms...
Cat's Eye
Explain the near death experience Elaine had in her childhood in Cat's Eye.
This experience comes in Chapter 35 of this excellent novel. As a natural result of the increasingly sinister games that Cordelia and Carol play with Elaine, where she is regularly verbally and...
Cat's Eye
Please can you describe a motif in Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.
The central motif that governs the entire novel, and one that is well worth analysing in depth, is that of the cat's eye that gives the novel its title. Let us remember that as a child, Elaine and...
Cat's Eye
Compare and contrast Risley and Carol, Risley's first friend in Toronto, in Cat's Eye.
Risley is a child from a modest financial background and not used to cities. Her parents are more on the gentle than the stern and strict side. She is happy with her life until outside forces...
Cat's Eye
In the book "Cat's Eye," what was Elaine's mother's name?
All I can find on the book points to Elaine's mother being referred to by her last name only, Mrs. Risley. All of the parents are called Mr. or Mrs. in the book. I think it's because Elaine doesn't...
Cat's Eye
What happened to the rest of the Chapter Summaries for Cat's Eye? I paid your subscription fee to get access to all...
If you look carefully along the left hand side of the web page when you click on all of the links, you will see that the Chapter Summaries link has an arrow to the left of it, which indicates that...
Cat's Eye
What are three notable traits of Elaine Risely throughout the story?
Three notable traits of Elaine Risely throughout the story include neuroticism, vengeful attitude, and dependent. She is neurotic because when she attends school her friends tell her that she is...
Cat's Eye
What's the relationship between Elaine and her teachers and professors throughout her growing up?
While Elaine disliked some of her teachers, she did enjoy positive interactions with others. On the whole, Elaine remained emotionally detached from her teachers, even those who took the trouble to...
Cat's Eye
What are ways to demonstrate how Cat's Eye shows how difficult it can be for people to come to terms with their past?
I think that one approach to take in demonstrating how Cat's Eye reflects the difficulty people might possess in coming to terms with their past can be seen in the memories of bullying that Elaine...
Cat's Eye
In Cat's Eye, what examples are there of an emerging, distinctly Canadian art world? How is Elaine's art "Canadian"?
In a sense, you could say Elaine's art is distinctly Canadian because it's informed by her personal experiences growing up in Toronto. Her art takes place in a specific location that has its own...
Cat's Eye
Compare and contrast, using direct quotations, the difference between male and female friendships.
Cicero gives the following definition of friendship: "in order to have a true friendship with someone one must have complete honesty, truth and trust. Also, friends do things for each other...
Cat's Eye
In Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye, what are Elaine's traumatic experiences? Was she traumatized by her first husband? How?
At the age of eight, Elaine moves to Toronto where she is mercilessly picked on by other girls, effectively ruining her self-esteem. As a result, she begins to develop...
Cat's Eye
Stefan Kanfer, in Time, commented on Atwood's understanding that the humiliations of childhood have deeper effects...
Completely! I think that this excellent novel in a sense is proof of how we take events in our childhood on with us into the rest of our lives. I am no psychologist, but I am sure I remember...
Cat's Eye
What is the mood in Cat's Eye?
I would argue that it is rather difficult to identify one dominant mood in a work of literature. The majority of texts have a number of different moods as the story is told, which can range from...
Cat's Eye
What's the plot of Cat's Eye?
This is a brilliant novel, and Margaret Atwood is certainly one of my favourite authors, so I really hope you enjoy reading this! Please do not just have a look at my summary of the plot and use...