Kristen Roupenian “Cat Person”.

 1. Read Kristen Roupenian’s controversial short story, “Cat Person” published in the December 11, 2017 issue of The New Yorker. 2. “Cat Person” has received much critical attention- as readers of all stripes, casual and professional, have weighed in on the merits, purpose, and themes of the story. Surf the web and locate trends, patterns, debates that have emerged around the story’s immediate reception. What is your opinion? Does it rise to the level of ‘literature’ or is the story ephemeral, a fleeting record or trace of social manners that will not be of much interest in ten years? 3. Choose two or three contemporary critical theories- Formalism, Post-Strcturalism, Reader-Response, Psychoanalysis, Marxism and/or Feminism-and discuss how these chosen ‘help us read and understand the short story. Look for intersections between the formal elements of ‘Cat Person (ie. point of view, characterization, plot, imagery, setting, etc) and specific ideas/concepts/terminology of the particular schools