The Catbird Seat Character Analysis

The short story “The Catbird Seat,” by James Thurber is a short story with a mysterious scenario. In the short story, Mr. Martin commits an unusual crime of breaking into Mrs. Ulgine Barrows home. Mr. Martin is guilty of breaking into Mrs. Barrows home and can be proved by his motive, opportunity, and means. In the beginning of the short story, it is quite clear that Mr. Martin is not fond of Mrs. Ulgine Barrows, where Mr. Martin begins to find and prove that he has a motive for this crime. He seems to find her annoying and obnoxious, as he then states “Her quacking voice and braying laugh had first profaned the halls of F&S on March 7, 1941.” (p1) Mr. Martin obviously seems to find her voice and laugh annoying. He also somehow remembers
Martin was able to enter the house in the empty night, he used means to commit the crime. While in Mrs. Barrows home, the narrator states, “On it lay a metal paper knife with an ornate handle. Would it be sharp enough? He reached for it and knocked over a small brass jar.” (p 4) This is Martin thinking of violence in the situation, and although he does not stab her or harm her physically, he still reached for something sharp. Martin making noise and knocking things over in Barrows home is proof that he was there, and also probably distracted her, leaving her caught off guard for when Martin states the threatening words about Mr. Fitweiler. For a man that does not smoke, Mr. Martin brought and smoked cigarettes in Mrs. Barrows home. The narrator states “He tapped his cigarette out in the ashtray and put the pack of Camels on the coffee table.” (4) Martin purposefully leaves these cigarettes on Mrs. Barrows table, almost to make her feel crazy. He wants her to know he was there, but he does not think that anybody will ever believe her, leaving these cigarettes to be used as torture. The means that Martin uses may not be completely responsible for the words he said, but did seem to make his first actions convincible and