Cross Reading case study of Cat Person
Kristen’s short story Cat Person addresses many themes engulfing college life and love triangles among the young generation. The author of the story uses various writing devices to develop his themes. The essay will concentrate its arguments on the below excerpt from the story to facilitate the expansion of Kristen’s writing devices
“Tamara. “You did this. It’s your fault.”
But all the message said was “O.K., Margot, I am sorry to hear that. I hope I did not do anything to upset you. You are a sweet girl, and I really enjoyed the time we spent together. Please let me know if you change your mind.”
Margot collapsed on the table, laying her head in her hands. She felt as though a leech, grown heavy and swollen with her blood, had at last popped off her skin, leaving a tender, bruised spot behind. But why should she feel that way? Perhaps she was being unfair to Robert, who really had done nothing wrong, except like her, and be bad in bed, and maybe lie about having cats, although probably they had just been in another room.
But then, a month later, she saw him in the bar—her bar, the one in the student ghetto, where, on their date, she’d suggested they go. He was alone, at a table in the back, and he wasn’t reading or looking at his phone; he was just sitting there silently, hunched over a beer.”
The most prominent writing style in the passage is the utilization of passive writing. It is through passive writing that the authors show Margot’s regrets after rejecting Robert’s love affair. The excerpt is presented in both author’s perspectives from the first-person narration. The two noted types of presentations effectively portray the author’s feelings and play a crucial role in defining the accounts and theme development. The utilization of passive tense in the story serves many purposes, such as emphasizing the actions of some characters, creating a sense of anonymity, imbuing authority, and fostering objectivity. The essence of promoting objectivity through passive voice develops emotional distance between the reader and narration. The overall effect of passive voice noted in the excerpt is that a reader can depict Margot’s regrets after sending Robert what seems a goodbye message. After picturing out how Robert will feel after reading the news, Margot collapses on the table. Readers tend to perceive a composition formally in situations where passive voice is applied. It develops an ideology that the author is conversant with whatever he is writing. Second-person narration evident in the excerpt not only imbues the author’s authority but also makes it clear that the author was watching the story’s events from afar.
Cat Person’s story is presented by many characters, a fact that makes it hard for readers to distinguish which character is responsible for carrying out a specific action. The passive voice application brings about a sense of anonymity, whereby readers are sure of a specific character’s responsibility. Margot collapsed on the bed after realizing the harm a text message sent to Robert using her phone will develop. The described ideology also emphasizes the consequences of actions carried out by a character. Together with the utilization of passive voice, the excerpt bears significant degrees of figurative language. “She felt as though a leech, grown heavy and swollen with her blood, had at last popped off her skin, leaving a tender, a bruised spot behind” (Roupenian, 2018). Margot’s behavior after Tamara made it clear to her that it’s her fault that Robert will get mad upon receiving the message she had sent. Figurative language makes ideas and concepts more vivid and easier to imagine in the minds of the readers. Precisely, figurative language makes a vital contribution to clarifying abstract ideas, thoughts, and feelings. The presence of metaphors enhances figurative language evident in the excerpt. “She imagined Robert picking up his phone, reading that message, turning to glass, and shattering to piece” (Roupenian, 2018). Even though he was not interested in Robert’s love affair, she is concerned that Robert’s emotions will be hurt by the message sent to him by Tamara. This brings out a caring trait in the individual.
Reader’s attention while reading is affected by the boredom, which is often brought about by lengthy narration. Cat Person’s story contains a long narrative describing a millennial generation’s love relationship via the phone. The excerpt, however, displays the author’s capability in breaking narration boredom through the utilization of rhetoric questions. “But why should she feel that way?” (Roupenian, 2018). Rhetoric questions are potent tools in evoking thoughts and reasoning among readers.
Moreover, they make a vital contribution to persuading readers to make their conclusion using information presented in the story. The overall effect of the utilization of rhetorical questions in the excerpt is breaking boredom and monotony of narration. An additional effect of the usage of the rhetorical question is emphasizing a point. The latter mentioned rhetorical question leaves readers questioning all possibilities bringing about Margot’s reactions.
Authors use rhetoric devices to develop characters and themes in their masterpieces. The writing devices evident in the mentioned excerpt plays a vital role in developing two prominent ideas in the story. The theme of rejection and sexual regret and consent runs through the story from the begging to the end. Margot is not content trough out her sexual encounter with Robert. It is clear that after having sexual intercourse with Robert, the character has lost interest in who seemed her sex partner. The difference in power in the re4lationship is brought about by the age gap between Robert and Margot. The age difference between the two partners also questions Margot’s ability to make consent choices seems manipulated into having sex with Robert, a fact that changes after realizing that Robert is way older than her. The theme of rejection comes about after Margot shared sexual intercourse. Robert’s response to Margot’s rejection letter showcases he has already accepted the rejection but was hoping that Margot will change her mind.
Reference
Roupenian, K. (2018). Cat person. Random House.