In the short story The Catbird Seat By James Thurber the main character is faced with a dilemma; to kill or not to kill. A not-so-ladylike woman is reorganizing and at the same time, ruining all the departments in his workplace. Mr. Martin knows that his department is next and he decides to do something about it.
First, he decides that this rambunctious woman must be rid of completely and so decides he must kill her. While in her apartment, he isn’t able to find a weapon. However, he has 3 small but potentially powerful weapons; a pack of cigarettes, a drink of alcohol and a single phrase. He chooses not to kill her instead he places her in a situation where, if told to anyone else, would sound impossible. He downs his alcohol, drags on his cigarette and says he plans to bring down his employer. And just for good measure, he sticks out his tongue and utters the phrase “I’m on the catbird seat”. The next day the woman tells the employer everything he did and the employer says she may have a psychological conditions which is causing her to hallucinate.
This is because Mr. Martin is very well known for being the best worker, a non-smoker, not drinking alcohol of any sort and being an overall very ordinary man. Not one to use phrases like “catbird seat”.
I believe Mr. Martin was justified in his actions because no one was actually hurt. His first intentions were unforgivable, however he came up with a good alternative. The woman may have lost her job, but if so many others were losing their jobs because of her, she most likely was not doing a good job. Not to mention, in the story, there was not any mention of her doing any office work and any work of any sort. The story presented her in a way that made her seem lazy and incompetent and therefore, Mr. Martin’s actions feel justified.
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