Paper Revision

The Inscrutable Man

            In “The Catbird Seat,” James Thurber portrays this nice, never wrong-doing man named Mr. Martin, but his display of kindness and uprightness conceals a side of darkness. It is this demeanor and reputation that allows Mr. Martin to hatch up a plan to get rid of this loud, obnoxious woman named Mrs. Ulgine Barrows who is getting the business out of order. His obscure sly guy ways leads to the mortification of Mrs. Barrows. Thurber uses this character to suggest that the more candid and respectable a person appears, the more inscrutable they may be.

Thurber portrays Mr. Martin as an amiable man. To his co-workers and business partners, he is a man of good stature and work ethic. For example, “The late Sam Schlosser, the S of F & S, had praised Mr. Martin at a staff meeting several years before for his temperate habits” (200). In the same instance Schlosser says, “Our most efficient worker neither drinks nor smokes" (200). This means that they would never suspect him of any mutiny, and they believe he is a very infallible man. His temperate nature suggests that he is a self-restrained man who doesn’t really have extremes to his opinions nor does anything out of the ordinary. This reputation he maintains makes him a competent worker and a reliable guy. His work is done thoroughly although at any moment he can pounce on any type of prey he wants. He could tear it to shreds and leave it there, and no one would even know he did anything because he appears to be such a nice man. He hides any distaste he has for someone in the public eye, and would give someone like that a smile. At any point in time, his different hidden personalities give him opportunities to benefit himself.  

Mrs. Barrows is characterized as a loud, obnoxious woman. She sweeps the halls of the office with her boisterous laughter and talks her Dodger fan talk that many people do not seem to understand so well. She rants on with these ridiculous motifs like “sitting in the catbird seat” that is not professional, and she is disrupting the productivity of the firm. In the way that Mr. Martin thinks, “The faults of the woman as a woman kept chattering on in his mind like an unruly witness. She had, for almost two years now, baited him. In the halls, in the elevator, even in his own office, into which she romped now and then like a circus horse, she was constantly shouting these silly questions at him” (199). This is a reason why Mr. Martin cannot tolerate her for any longer. He can think of so many reasons why she should not be allowed in the firm. Mr. Fitweiler, the president of the firm, was obviously just in a daze when he met her at a party. He believes that Mrs. Barrows can bring out the best in him and in the firm. No one understands how she brings out the best in the firm. She asks those Dodger fan questions to Mr. Martin. She picks at his intelligence when he is doing everything right. These things hint at why Mrs. Barrows would be a more suitable culprit of a ridiculous deed.  

The plan he has to get rid of Mrs. Barrows was thought out well. As a reader may notice, this man’s typical routine somewhat consists of thoughts to deteriorate another individual’s purpose in life to get what he wants. That being said, the author seems to characterize the lifestyle of Mr. Martin as a secretive person who likes a form of payback while everyone puts a label on him as good. No one would even glance at Mr. Martin for doing anything wrong because of the reputation he holds to the public eye unless they catch him in the act. He decides he wants to kill her in the beginning. Mr. Martin who was head of the filing department wanted to kill Mrs. Ulgine Barrows. He feels that she does too many things to the firm that is negative. Her ways makes him distracted and he cannot focus on his tasks and the material that needs to be done. He wants to do the killing in a casual manner which would look like his typical routine. His original plan does not work for him because the knife he wants to use is too dull to kill. He sought out a quick plan to make her think he was going to do something to hurt the firm:

 “I drink and smoke all the time," he said. He clinked his glass against hers. "Here's nuts to that old windbag, Fitweiler," he said, and gulped again. The stuff tasted awful, but he made no grimace. "Really, Mr. Martin," she said, her voice and posture changing, "you are insulting our employer." Mrs. Barrows was now all special adviser to the president. "I am preparing a bomb," said Mr. Martin, "which will blow the old goat higher than hell” (201).

He tries to make her think he actually does those things regularly. He discredits the president of the firm so Mrs. Barrows will think he is going insane or just getting drunk. Him wanting to grimace after drinking the alcohol shows that he doesn’t drink at all because if you drink something for a while the taste is less defined and you get use to it. As Mrs. Barrows is getting insulted, the plan is just sinking into her system. Thurber is showing Mrs. Barrows as disapproving and concerned now. As he’s showing her his “true” colors, her posture is shifting from a state of lounging to discomfort. Mr. Martin has to go a little further because he has to make her think he is getting out of the ordinary. Mr. Martin calls Mr. Fitweiler an old goat to make what he is saying a little more realistic. Everything he does wants to make her go and tell everyone because Mr. Martin hides a horrible secret. This secret holds much more than just a little binge of revenge for what Mrs. Barrows does. It holds somewhat of a hatred for her, and when she exposes the truth of Mr. Martin it comes back to bite her with some pain.

Of course, she tells Mr. Fitweiler the next day. That does not go to well for her though. Mr. Fitweiler thinks she is hallucinating. He tells Martin, “It grieves me to report that she has suffered a severe breakdown. It has taken the form of a persecution complex accompanied by distressing hallucinations” (202). He ,too, believes that she is crazy. Who would even accuse this man, Mr. Martin? Likewise, the story Mrs. Barrows tells is too astonishing to them to even query who the deranged person is in this situation.

The plan was successful. Mr. Martin’s sly guy ways has now given him what he wants. Mrs. Barrows is on to him, though, when she says, "If you weren't such a drab, ordinary little man, I'd think you'd planned it all” (202). No ones going to believe her though, but she, undeniably, is correct. The dullness he showed while being at the firm even allows his prey to not catch hints about his dark side. Mr. Martin gets his way. Mrs. Barrows’s life in the firm is now terminated. No more of her ruining the firm. No more of her ranting and raiding. No more of her in his life, hopefully.

This proves that the more inscrutable, the more candid and respectable the person appears to be, so more people like them, and they are more trustworthy. The characterization that Thurber uses for each character and scene flourishes throughout allowing readers to comprehend the details of those things better. It helps explain more on how one sex or gender can overpower the other, but the cunning characteristic of the other can outweigh the overpowering. Acknowledging the characters in this book, this is, indubitably, the case.

Thurber, James. “The Catbird Seat.” English I. Ed. Edwards and deGravelles. San Diego, CA: University Readers, 2012. 199-202. Print.

Writing Center Experience

It was after I had finished lunch right before spring break when I walked into the Writing Center totally confused on what to do since I hadn't made an appointment. Ms. Sphat warmly greeted me at the door, nevertheless, and offered me an Oreo. I kindly rejected. She asked me what type of writing I wanted to work on, and I told her my literary analysis for Dr. D’s English class. I explained how I was specifically looking to revise two aspects of my paper for the portfolio and wanted one of the writing fellows to help. She nodded her head in understanding and asked me to have a seat until one of the writing fellows were ready.

I sat in front of one of the computers and logged in so I could pull up my paper on there to print it out. As I was searching for the correct paper, John Hardy came to sit next to me because he would be the one to help me with the paper. Once I printed it out he asked me what I had to do with the paper, and I told him how I needed to revise my paper while mainly looking at ideas and organization. He then asked me to read my entire paper quietly aloud. I did what was asked and read the paper, stuttering or messing up some of my words because of how much I read. After, he asked me what I think I needed to do and I said I think I needed to remove some of the summarization and add more of my own ideas. Also, I needed to rearrange my paper so it wouldn't sound like I was just telling the plot of the story in chronological order. I pointed out areas where I was telling the plot, and he gave me ideas of how to put in my own words. He told me to say what I thought of the certain quote and how I thought it linked back to the thesis statement. That really helped me think of how to change it up and delete some summarization. For organization, he told me not to completely rearrange my paper because it would most likely make it sound choppy with no flow. John said the overall paper flowed well together, but he said some of my wording was wrong so I should change that in addition to the other stuff. Those are the things are tried to fix!