"The Cat's-Eye" has at least three social concerns that are important to American society. One is that of the elderly victimized by the young. Kirsten regards Mrs. Hayword as an easy victim, and she is eager to plunder her house. Even more disturbing is Jessica's going along with Kirsten's stealing. She even rationalizes her own complicity in the thieving: "A good sport wouldn't badger Kirsten about taking a dumb marble." This rationalizing raises a second, even more troubling concern: The willingness of good people to go along with doing evil. In the case of Jessica, the desire to belong to a group, a common young adult impulse, motivates her to do what Kirsten wants her to do. Yet the plot offers moments when Jessica can stand up for herself and defy Kirsten's evil: When Kirsten wants to search the house; when Kirsten wants to rifle through...