After the Falls Blog

Cathy’s relationships with her Mom and Dad

Cathy has a very weird relationship with her parents throughout the novel. When Cathy is young, she and her father have a very close relationship. But as she gets older they start to drift apart a little bit. When Cathy’s father’s health starts to deteriorate she starts to reconnect and visit her parents more, knowing that they will not be around forever. Cathy and her mother have an affectionate relationship; however, she always avoids difficult situations. When Cathy and her parents are moving away from Lewiston her mother is very submissive and believes that everything that Jim decides should be supported fully by her.

Cathy’s mother knew what would make her father upset and therefore did not mention everything to him. This is evident when two policemen show up at Cathy’s house to tell her about a boy named Tom Drescher and how her is connected to some recent vandalism in Amherst. Cathy’s mother just smiles and offers coffee while Cathy is left to defend her self, alone in her living room. When the police left Cathy went to her room and stayed there until it was time to go out for dinner at the Four Seasons Restaurant. At dinner; “Neither of us mentioned any police visit.” Pg 81 to her father. Which shows how Cathy’s mother avoids confrontation and difficult situations.

Cathy loves her father very much, especially toward the end of his life when his brain tumor was slowly killing him. Cathy was surprised that when they went out to the Four Seasons Restaurant he could remember that Thursday was “chicken cordon blue night but he could forget that he had a brain tumor.” Pg 157. This shows Cathy’s fathers early memory loss due to his brain tumor. That night, when they got back from the restaurant Cathy took her fathers keys stating that he had a brain tumor and could not be driving because he would be a danger to himself, other drivers, and her mother.

The influence of popular culture (e.g. fashion, music, entertainment, the arts, advertising, political events, athletics)

The influence of popular culture on Cathy during her life is very prevalent. Throughout the book she is bombarded with popular culture such as music, fashion, political events/movements, and the arts; which all contribute to the person that she becomes later in the book and life. The influence of popular music at the time when she is growing up and discovering the opposite gender is very crucial to her trust in males and relationships. Even when she does find a boy that she likes, Laurie, it does not end well.

When Cathy and Fran are hiding in the closet during the sexual abuse of Veronica Nebozenko, Cathy realizes that boys are not as nice as some people might think. This event gives more insight to why Cathy never really had any major relationships with boys, except for Laurie. When Veronica leaves and the coast is clear, Cathy and Fran go upstairs to bed. While in bed they listen to the WKBW radio station and a new song comes on by Shirelles called ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’ “Late that night, when we were lying silently in the dark in Fran’s twin beds, listening to WKBW radio, the deejay said he was going to play a new song from the Shirelles called ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’” Pg 62. This makes Cathy think about Veronica and how none of those boys will love her tomorrow.

I would be lying if I said that popular culture has had no influence on me because in this day and age it is so hard to get away from it. We are constantly surrounded with distractions that come in the form of cell phones and computers that feed us our daily dose of music, movies and other entertainment to get away from our boring mundane lives. The main popular culture phenomenon that I have been most connected to is entertainment and music. This is mainly because they are the most accessible and publicized forms of popular culture. A person can access and download movies and music in the blink of an eye. Popular culture for me is just distractions from the greater things in life like living and nature.


Cathy’s work life (McClure’s Drugs, Mary Kay Cosmetics, The Dunk, Howard Johnsons, New York State Welfare, Hengerer’s Department Store)

Cathy has had many experiences with work in her life. She started at four years old stocking shelves and helping deliver medicine with Roy at her fathers Pharmacy in Lewiston. Then went on to start work at a doughnut shop called The Dunk, where she had to lie about her age to the owner to get the job.

When Cathy was four years old she used to stock shelves at her fathers pharmacy in Lewiston. She did this due to an abundant amount of energy she had. She would stock shelves with candy and aspirins as a way to burn off extra energy. When Cathy was a little bit older and more experienced at working in the shop she would go on deliveries with Roy, the delivery truck diver. Roy couldn’t read and even at a young age Cathy could read and give out the right drug to the right person. “I thought of all the times Roy and I had risked out lives delivering medication on roads with blowing snow and black ice, or worked after midnight to get someone insulin” pg 8. Even as a child Cathy is working past midnight to get medication to the right person.

When I was thirteen years old I decided that I wanted a job. I was looking around but all the jobs in my area were for people who were at least sixteen years old. I was playing a lot of hockey then and I found out through an older friend that hockey referees only need to be fourteen to get the job. So I went along to the local hockey rink and asked about becoming a referee for the younger kids house league teams. They asked me to take a course, which I completed, and then I got to work the next week. They conveniently never asked how old I was so I didn’t see the point in telling them. I am happy that this worked out because it has given me an opportunity to experience a working environment and also get a few dollars in my pocket.


Cathy’s friendships (Roy, her Father, Fran “hit the dirt” Stephens, Kip Rogers, Leora Sterne)

Cathy’s friendship throughout the novel differs with each stage of her life. When Cathy is really young and living in the small town of Lewiston her friends included her Father, Mother, and Roy. Then after moving from Lewiston to Buffalo she is alone and needs to find friends, which she does and moves from the “nobody lunch table to ‘the girls’ lunch table” Pg 51 which in turn boosts her self confidence.

It takes a lot of courage for Cathy to deliver the news that she is having a slumber party to all the popular kids. I can understand why she didn’t send out formal invitations due to fear of rejection by her classmates. “That afternoon I made out invitations and then tore them up. Way too thought-out … The following Monday after homeroom, I said to the girls in the clique, ‘Oh yeah, I’m having a slumber pizza thing on Friday. Come if you want – but it’ll be crowded.’” Pg 45. After hosting the slumber party she is accepted into the popular girls group and had a friend base, which makes her life at school bearable.

Cathy started working at the young age of four due to her abundant energy level. One of her best friends at the time was Roy but also her father. When her father dies at the end of the book she remembers how content her father was when they were working together at McClure’s Drugs when she was young. “I thought he looked as contented as he had behind the prescription counter at McClure’s Drugs back in the 1950s, when I would load the candy counter and he would glance up from mixing some unguent, grin and say, Great work. Peaches.” Pg 340. This shows how much of a connection, friendship, and adoration that Cathy has for her father.



- Josh Blake