Instructions
Know the author. Cathy Guisewite, a graduate of the University of Michigan created the Cathy cartoon strip. She became an advertising copywriter and worked in that profession for four years before becoming a cartoonist.
Consider the history. Cathy debuted in November 1976 after Guisewite sent sketches and stories about her life to her mother. Her mother thought they were the start of a cartoon comic and urged Guisewite to submit them to a syndicate. She did and had a contract within a week.
Learn about the characters. The main character is Cathy Andrews along with her dog Electra. She got married in February 2005 to Irving, who has a dog named Vivian. Cathy's parents are Bill and Anne Andrewsone. Finally, Andrea and Charlene are friends of Cathy's.
Understand the four basic guilt groups the cartoon strip is based on: food, love, mom and work. These are so central to the plot of Cathy that Guisewite compiled all the strips she had written over the years and sorted them into the four groups. She then created four new books in honor of "Cathy's" 25th anniversary and called them "Food," "Love," "Mom" and "Work."
See the issues Guisewite has dealt with through Cathy. She has used the comic to voice her opinions about wearing fur and getting a pet from an animal shelter.