Preview

How Does Cordelia Gain Cruelty

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
554 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does Cordelia Gain Cruelty
Cruelty comes in many different shapes and sizes, weather mental or physical the pain that is suffered by the victim is indescribable The novel Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood demonstrates to us that the cruelty that is suffered during ones childhood can stay with one well into adulthood. Throughout Elain’s childhood she suffered much at the hands of those around her. The one she suffered the most from though was a neighborhood girl named Cordelia. Cordelia force Elain to believe that she was better than Elain and it was Cordelia’s job to straighten Elain out “Cordelia says it will be better for me to think back over everything I’ve said today and try to pick out the wrong thing”. Every time that Cordelia feels that Elain has dose something wrong she punishes …show more content…
Smeath, Grace’s mom. Elain always thought that the torment she endured from her friends was a secret but she finds out from Mrs. Smeath that it is not “It has been discussed before, and tolerated. Mrs. Smeath has known and approved. She has done nothing to stop it. She thinks it serves me right.” Before this is heard Elain can convince herself that the bullying she endures is just a kids game but after hearing frim Mrs. Smeath that she knew and thinks she deserves it breaks the false reality she created. Mrs. Smeath cruelty reveals that she has no tolerance towards people and ideas that are different from her own. Since Elain and her family are different from what she considers normal, from the beginning she has treated them unfairly because of this difference. This drives Elain a couple years from then to paint a whole series that makes fun of Mrs. Smeath to exact some revenge on her for thinking she deserved to be treated in that cruel manner. This series was very popular and helped her gain some credibility in the art

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    She is the antithesis of Charles, who lives as an aesthete. When Cordelia speaks to Charles about Sebastian, she attempts to explain the fact that Sebastian has gotten closer to God through his suffering, but then switches tactics. She talks instead of the beauty of the monastery and the kindness of the monks. Charles looks at her and says, “you knew I would not understand?” (Waugh 309). Through this comment, Cordelia sparks Charles’ introspectionThis realization that she prompts in him guides his introspection. “How often, it seemed to me, I was brought up short, like a horse in full stride suddenly refusing an obstacle, backing from the spurs, too shy even to put his nose at it and look at the thing” (Waugh 310). This is Charles’ first real expression of doubt. After some consideration, hHe notices that while plain, she has a sort of beauty all her own in how she loves her family. Thise recognition of her opens the door for Charles to think about faith a little kindlier, even if he doesn’t consciously admit…

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Born in New York City, Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was the eldest of the 5 siblings. She graduated high school and decided to rent an apartment with her friend in Queens, New York. One day when she was on her way home from working late night at a bar, she was approached by a stranger, Winston Moseley. Frightened, she began running toward her apartment and Winston quickly went after her. It was not long before Winston caught up to Kitty and stabbed her twice in the back. When Kitty screamed, “Please help me! Please help me!” her neighbors were startled. About 38 people, either from their windows or from the street, saw a man chasing and stabbing Kitty. Because of the neighbor’s glowy lights and loud chatters, Moseley was frighted twice but every…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Life does not get any easier when her father remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for -- the love and understanding of her family.…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Fiction that depicts trauma incorporates varied responses and survival behaviors within the characterizations of survivors. Writers such as Margaret Atwood and Jane Smiley often depict characters as narrators of their own stories, after the fact, where they revisit their process of awakening. The environment of social relations and cultural values can be a source of trauma or a force that silences victims out of denial or guilt. It can create veils of illusion, attempts to mask or reinterpret behaviors that induce trauma. Societies, communities, or families may want to preserve stability or be willing to sacrifice victims for other goals. Both writers covered in this chapter depict these sacrifices. However, individuals or circumstances…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Akeelah and the Bee - Essay

    • 3157 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Akeelah is grieving the death of her father even though he died when she was six years old. It appears her mother is not emotionally supportive to Akeelah through this grieving process because her mother works long hours as a nurse. Akeelah is not only having to cope with her father’s death but her mother who is still mourning her husband death and worried about her son, Terrance, who is hanging out with gang members. Akeelah is faced with bullying at school as well as being bored because she already knows the material being taught.…

    • 3157 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    When I was a young girl, a close, trusted family member took advantage of my innocence to abuse me sexually. Of course I didn’t know that the things they did were wrong at the time, but when I was mature enough to understand them, they hit me like darts on a felt board. For a long time, I felt trapped in my darkness.…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Animal Cruelty

    • 2826 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Clifton P. Flynn wrote an article entitled “Acknowledging the “Zoological Connection”: A Sociological Analysis of Animal Cruelty” which focuses on human-animal interaction and more specifically how humans are violent towards members of the animal kingdom. He expresses his concern that sociologists have ignored how animals impact our society. He points out that cruelty isn’t an issue that generally stands alone in sociology; it is usually studied because of its correlation with human violence. It is considered in how it affects humans; but never looked at separately or at the true victims in animal cruelty, the animals themselves. He thinks that animal abuse should be an issue that is focused on solely because it in itself is a serious sociological issue. Flynn points out many sociological factors that affect animal cruelty but he still focuses on the issue of animal abuse. The factors Flynn mentions are gender/patriarchy, age, socio-economic status, childhood socialization, social norms, public and cultural attitudes toward animals and abuse, social power, and finally how animals are viewed as family members. I am inclined to agree that animal abuse is a neglected topic and often overlooked by lay people and scholars alike. I feel like the factors he points out that affect human to animal cruelty are generally right on target.…

    • 2826 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This shows that people who abuse humans and non- animals usually have this mindset develop in them as a child; therefore, it's extremely difficult for these people to change. This is important because it is another obstacle that makes ending animal abuse and Domestic violence even more hard.…

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Courage and Various Means

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As innocence fades, it requires courage for a child to accept reality. Lane Patrick’s poem, Because I never Learned showed how his childhood was ruined by the tragedy existing in his abode. “the country I lived in was hard with dead animals and men”. He was aware of what’s going on in their place, and has to be brave in order to accept the idea of war and death. Such experience has molded him into a tough child. As a kid, it would have felt horrible to kill a kitten, but he was brave enough to do it. He had set his mind to let go of the fears for he was expected to act like an adult. “I didn’t question my father when he told me to step on the kitten’s head”().…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I found this book impossible to put down and yet at times, the all too vivid images which the author describes were difficult to face. This book is so different from any other that I have read on this subject and I had problems trying to pinpoint why. Perhaps it is the point of view of a child that makes it more tragic and heart-wrenching. Perhaps it is his obvious innocence and the fact that he was often cast aside by those he sought protection from. Perhaps it is that at times, it seems the only person who had compassion and respect for life was the author himself.…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Machiavelli, N. (2003). Cruelty and compassion; and whether it is better to be loved than…

    • 1716 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Furthermore, the perception of ugly can be deceiving. Ugliness isn’t only shown on the outside; a person can be attractive to the eye while on the inside the thoughts and the driving force behind them can be filled with ugly and monstrous intentions. When a parent warns their child to look out for strangers, the child’s perception of a stranger is of an ugly or menacing person. However, more often than not, when a child is abducted by a stranger the outward appearance of that person is not what we would deem “ugly”, but the emotion or psychological feelings that the person carries inside them is what really bears their “ugliness”.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sofia

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The king told Amber to make her feel welcome but intend she is jealous of Sofia. At the Royal Prep Academy Amber becomes jealous of Sofia because all the boy and girls give attention to her, and she talks about her with the other girls and she convinced her twin brother to do a prank on Sofia at recess. No matter what Amber does to her in or out of the castle Sofia forgive her.…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Communal Harmony

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages

    My Thoughts: I was 11 when I first read this book and since then it has always remained my favourite. While actively promoting animal welfare, the book also deals with the timeless human values of companionship and compassion. Also, most unusually for its time, the book explores the philosophy of wrongdoing through ignorance and its cure…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays