The Catbird Seat

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the story over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Milk symbolizes Mr. Martin’s monotony and outward innocuousness. Identify three other symbols relating to Mr. Martin and explain what they represent. Write one brief paragraph for each symbol, citing evidence from the text supporting your assertion about what each one represents.

2. “The Catbird Seat” is a farce, or comedy, in terms of Mr. Martin’s absurdly disproportionate response to Mrs. Barrows’s offenses. Identify and explain two other ways in which the story is farcical. Write one paragraph for each farcical element of the story you choose, and support your ideas with evidence from the text. 

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Some critics maintain that the story depicts an inverted stereotype—i.e., a strong/dominant woman pitted against a weak/submissive man. Do you agree? Use a minimum of three examples from the text to develop your thesis statement. Analyze each example in a separate body paragraph, and end with a conclusion.

2. Different conflicts exist in the story, such as: a man versus a woman, an employee versus an employee, and stasis versus change. Identify a conflict and trace its development through the story. To structure your thesis statement and body paragraphs, identify the development/state of the conflict at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Begin with an introduction and end with a conclusion.

3. Compare how the three main characters—Mr. Martin, Mrs. Barrows, and Mr. Fitweiler—do or do not change throughout the story. Write one body paragraph analyzing each character’s change or lack thereof. In the conclusion, compare and contrast the changes (or lack of changes) the characters experienced.