Who Is Cathy Dollanger's The Flowers In The Attic

The Flowers in the Attic are a spellbinding international best selling novel about a family's betrayal and heartbreak. The 412-page story begins with introducing the Dollanganger Family. This family consists of a Corrine the mother, Christopher the father, Chris & Cathy both siblings, are the protagonists and central characters in the novel, Carrie the twin sister, and Cory the twin brother. Within the story, the kids face unimaginable tragedy and hardship. Including Child Abuse, Incest, and unsafe living environments. Cathy Dollanger explains the story of her childhood, locked in a dark, cold attic atop of her mother's childhood home called Foxworth Hall. Throughout this time she explains the story in a First Person narrative style reflecting

back at the tragic pastime, from some point in the future. This can be shown as she frequently reflects on actions committed by her mother and comments about her beliefs at the time. Even going so far and saying her mother was right the whole time, but being an adult her mother's actions should have not even been thought of.

Cathy throughout the story encountered being lied to or giving a false side of the story, which she expresses throughout the book. Giving that, Cathy excerpts somewhat of an authorial voice in her narration.

I was hooked in right from the beginning of Flowers In The Attic by the words, ‘Goodbye, Daddy’ which was the name of the first chapter. This short sentence told me the cause of how these innocent children were locked up in an attic because of a particular event happened - an event in which the father died in a car accident. It was heartbreaking for the children as the father would be out of town for his job, but furthermore, in the story, they don’t expect what more pain they will go through. The more you read, the more heartbroken you end up becoming just by the nature of how Andrews portrayed this event. In the novel, Andrews has touched on a few taboo subjects such as child abuse and incest, these issues have crushed the family tremendously especially the children. If I found out that my mother and father were relative in some kind of way that would

absolutely destroy me, to the point where I would not want to see them ever again, just because of how emotional that would be. To make matter worse, the children had been told this by their evil, iniquitous grandmother who abused them and whipped them when they were not doing as they were told or not following the rules. To think that a woman who is a mother can leave her 4 children in an attic without food or water and just live in a happy, normal life with all the inheritance money from the father’s death is just distressing, it makes me feel sick to the stomach. I just have no idea how you wouldn’t care about the children’s health, the children’s feelings, what conditions they are in mentally and physically after leaving them trapped in an attic for 3 years. There are certain fragments in the novel that have a dark nature notice towards them, which can leave me squeamish at times. When I have to read the fragment of them has no food and water for many days or when Chris the oldest has to slit his own flesh to provide the twins Cory and Carrie with blood, he also fillets caught mice for Cathy and himself to eat while trapped in the Attics. Even though the children are betrayed by the person who should have loved them the most and they have no one to turn to but each other.

A character that empowered was Cathy.

Cathy to me shows a strong an overcoming character. She is able to talk about and overcome the struggles that she endured throughout her childhood and even goes a far as understand what and why her mother did the things that she did to them. To myself, Cathy is a very mature and forgiving character and I feel a special connection between myself and Cathy. I to, feel I have the same attributes as Cathy did. I have never been put through anything that Cathy has been through but the mature and forgiving attitude Cathy possess is present within me as well. Cathy also plays the big sister role to her fellow younger sister through times of trouble within her childhood, This I can relate too. When I was younger, my mum, my sister and I were in an abusive relationship with my father. He did really bad stuff to us, that I cannot explain since I was really little. My mother told me that, ever since my younger sister was born I would always be there for her reading bedtime stories, helping her to learn how to write, playing adventure/Imagination games. All though we weren’t in the same situation as Cathy - being trapped in a closet, there are still ways that I feel a deep connection with. Overall, I feel Cathy is the charter who I connect most with out of all the characters in Flowers in the

Attic

Andrews, the author of the novel ‘Flowers in the Attic’ shows the reader that, with strength and courage and the sense of never giving up, there is always a light at the end of a tunnel. Things will always get better if you believe and are willing to put the all the effort you have inside of you, to find the light at the end of the tunnel. It won’t come easy, you have to work together as a family or by yourself to manage to do that effectively. This story represents that there is a clear message within this dark natured novel as the four children were locked in an attic for the year, yet they managed to get out and now live happy and responsible lives. Each children overcoming and accepting their childhood as what it was and setting a goal to make there future brighter.

Andrews was born to in Pennsylvania, living a happy and joyful childhood but like the book, there was a death in the family, which happened to be her father. This also happened in ‘Flowers in the Attic’, this shows me that the book was inspired by her father, just like how the father’s death caused the whole plot line of the book, resulting in a connection between Andrews and the Dollanganger Family. As a teenager, Andrews suffered a fall from a school stairwell, resulting in severe back injuries. The subsequent surgery to correct these injuries resulted in Andrews’s suffering from crippling arthritis that required her to use crutches and a wheelchair for much of her life. However, Andrews, who had always shown promise as an artist, was able to complete a four-year correspondence course from her home and soon became a successful commercial artist, illustrator, and portrait painter, using her art commissions to support the family after her father's death in 1957. Andrews said “When I read, if a book doesn't hold my interest about what's going to happen next, I put it down and don't finish it. So I'm not going to let anybody put one of my books down and not finish it. My stuff is a very fast read.” I inspire to this as all her books are so amazing, it is impossible to put down and stop reading. They open your mind to a new possible idea that you have never felt before, making your imagination run wild. Unfortunately, Andrew’s died from breast cancer but her legacy still lives on. Her family hired a ghostwriter to continue all the stories that she had still yet to finish. There are still some of her novels being published in 2018 when she died in 1986 that is how amazing her novels are and have inspired so many people. 30 years forward and she still leaves a legacy which is creating novels that people will enjoy and that is all you need to become a successful writer.