The Catbird Seat Essay

James Thurber’s “The Catbird Seat” tells the story of how Mr. Martin outsmarts Mrs. Barrows. Mr. Martin, however, is no hero, and Mrs. Barrows is no villain; rather, Mr. Martin is a conniving, deceitful little man, with a touch of mental illness, who refuses to embrace change, and Mrs. Barrows is the true victim of his dark, scheming mind. Mr. Martin quite likely suffers from OCD, which affects how he handles life. This in turn also affects his view of Mrs. Barrows and the way that he interacts with her. Originally, Mr. Martin plans to murder Mrs. Barrows. However, when he is unable to complete his plan he devises a clever scheme in order to save his department, which he feels is under attack. There is evidence in the text suggesting that Mr. Martin suffers from a mental illness known as obsessive compulsive disorder

Martin goes about his day “as usual” and completes each task “as he always did” (2). When night falls, after his supper and reading of the newspaper, it is time for his walk, that is simply a part of his routine. This walk is when the murder day becomes different from any other day.
Since there is no precedent for murdering a colleague in Mr. Martin’s life things get a little more difficult for him then. With no weapon committing a violent crime becomes a bit more challenging, but then an interesting opportunity presents itself in the form of a drink. Mrs. Barrows innocently asks Mr. Martin if he would like a drink, and he malignantly accepts. This sets his dark new plan into motion. Mr. Martin continues to fuel the fire of his scheme with his hatred of Mrs. Barrows, not only of her crimes but also of her peccadillos because at this point he just cannot contain it anymore.
A drink, drank. A cigarette, smoked. A story told of drugs and bombs and a threat made against the president was all it took. Mrs. Barrows, rightly, could not keep Mr. Martin’s atrocious actions a secret, which was exactly what he was counting