What Are Our Commonsense Explanations Of Cat's Eye By Margaret Atwood

"Our commonsense explanations of the world and ourselves are problematised by Atwood through her novel. Nothing is quite as it seems, when we look at anything (in a mirror, in the past, at others) it is refracted as if through water." Discuss the ideas and issues in the novel in relation to this statement, paying particular attention to the techniques and narrative elements used to show this.

Our commonsense explanations of the world are based on the absolutes in our lives. Ways of seeing have been socially constructed embedded with values and attitudes that influence our behaviour and view of the world and ourselves. Reality cannot be captured and is interpreted differently by every individual as if refracted through water. Cat 's Eye is …show more content…
The novel questions whether 'lives ', 'stories ' or autobiographical narratives can ever be accurate. A novel that presents a straightforward linear narrative that moves through events sequentially and constructs a complete set of ideas about life that seem unproblematic. It accepts that our experience of life, our thoughts and feeling, motivations, movement through time - our very representation in a literary text, can be captured accurately. It implies order, coherence, unity and stability; a rational basis for our actions and thoughts thus presenting a conservative worldview. The structure of Cat 's Eye serves as a critique of this unproblematic view of the world. The novel constantly shifts between past and present and her narration as a young Elaine and an old Elaine. This shifting represents Elaine 's life, as she feels it is barley comprehensible. Because the story is written in first person, its only presents one version of reality- Elaine 's version. This leads us to question Elaine 's version and its accuracy. Atwood 's purpose behind this is to bring to light the complexity of character in Elaine, and highlight her struggle in coming to terms with her own identity. This challenge on the common qualities of autobiographical …show more content…
Our lives operate around security (especially of ourselves) and we generate and understanding and connect ourselves to the world through various versions of reality that we reinforce to become believed 'absolutes ' upon which we base our lives Without the 'fixed reality ' we create for ourselves and the absolutes that structure our lives, our sense of purpose, and meaning diminishes. Distress is brought upon us through Cat 's Eye because Atwood critiques our quest for identity as she suggests that we will never 'know ourselves ' and will never have a fixed identity. It is therefore the reader 's choice on weather to comprehend the notions Atwood is proffering. Atwood uses varied techniques and narrative elements such as imagery, symbolism, and the narrative point of view to allude her beliefs. Through the particular employment of these techniques Atwood strengthens her case to the reader and positions them to support her indited criticisms of a knowable identity, and a fixed reality and truth. Cats Eye challenges the measurable, and the way we qualify things as knowable and existing and a