The Catbird Seat

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

ACTIVITY: “Character Compare and Contrast”

Mr. Martin and Mrs. Barrows are foils for one another, meaning their respective characteristics highlight the temperaments and foibles of the other. 

Part A: Make a T Chart, listing Mr. Martin’s characteristics on one side and Mrs. Barrows’s characteristics on the other. Try to list at least ten on each side.

• In what ways are the characters direct opposites of one another?
• Do they share any similarities?

Part B: Choose two areas in which these characters contrast, and discuss (using one of the formats below) the significance of each contrast using specific examples from the text (connects to text theme The Battle of the Sexes).

• Create a small poster, dividing the paper into two sections, and write about the significance of each area of contrast, using bullet points to provide evidence from the text. You may also include illustrations in your poster. 
• In James Thurber style, create cartoons that show each character demonstrating their opposing characteristics. Create your own caption for the cartoons based on evidence in the text, or use a direct quote from the text as a caption.
• Write a classic compare/contrast essay that contains two paragraphs, one for each area of contrast. Include your analysis of the significance of the contrast and cite specific examples from the text.

Teaching Suggestion: You may choose to let students work with a partner or in small groups to create their T charts, and then have them work independently for Part B. You could also use this activity as a precursor to a more formal compare and contrast essay in which students must choose three or four areas of contrast between Mr. Martin and Mrs. Barrows, and provide analysis and support for each one.

Paired Text Extension:

Read one of Thurber’s other well-known short stories, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” As you read, take notes on the characteristics of Walter Mitty and his wife.

• Add a section below each character in your previous T chart of Mr. Martin and Mrs. Barrows’s character traits to compare the traits of Walter Mitty and his wife.
• After comparing Walter Mitty with his wife, compare Mitty with Mr. Martin. Then compare Mitty’s wife with Mrs. Barrows. What similarities or differences do you notice?
• Share your T chart with a partner and discuss your findings.

Teaching Suggestion: You may wish to discuss student findings as a class after they have shared with a partner, and bring up what significance Thurber’s characterizations of men and women may have. How does his depiction of men and women interact with gender stereotypes that were present in the 1940s, and those that are present today? Do students think that Thurber’s work appears sexist towards either gender? Why or why not? These final questions can help prepare students to respond to Full Essay #1 in the next section.