The Catbird Seat Group

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aceagle
aceagle

In "The Catbird Seat", how is suspense aroused and maintained ? What is the story's principal surprise?

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Posted by aceagle on Saturday October 27, 2007 at 3:40 PM and tagged with catbird seat, surprise, suspense, the catbird seat.

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  1. bmadnick Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    In this story, irony plays a huge part in understanding the suspense of the story. For one, the traditional roles of men and women are reversed. Mrs. Barrows is more masculine than Martin because she smokes, drinks, and likes baseball. She exhibits a loud, commanding presence. Martin is the opposite of Mrs. Barrows, and he resents her for her masculine behavior.

    The main irony of the story is in its title. It seems at first that Mrs. Barrows is in the catbird seat, but in the end, it is Martin who sits there. Martin even uses the title phrase against Mrs. Barrows because Mr. Fitweiler knows that Martin would never say such a thing.

    I think the biggest surprise is that it's Mrs. Barrows' own masculine-like strength that brings her down. She's unable to stop Martin's plan even though she knows what he's doing. Also, Martin's reputation for being timid and quiet is what lets him win out in the end. His boss and his coworkers would never believe he would be capable of what Mrs. Barrows accuses him of.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/catbird-seat

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    Posted by bmadnick on Saturday October 27, 2007 at 6:34 PM