*Remember, you must write only one analysis from Assignments 5, 6, and 7. You do not need to write all three analyses.

VERY IMPORTANT: This assignment requires a research component. Read the assignment requirements below carefully.

If you have forgotten your MLA documentation from your Composition I course, you can find a refresher guide at this link: Research Paper Guide.

Contents
What Is Point of View?
First-person Point of View
Third-person Limited Point of View
Third-person Omniscient Point of View
Third-person Objective or Dramatic Point of View

Analyzing Point of View
Detailed Example of Point of View Analysis
Writing the Assignment 6 Point of View Analysis
Sample Point of View Analysis - Assignment 6
MLA Works Cited Entries
ASSIGNMENT 6 REQUIREMENTS
Guidelines for Submitting Your Assignment Files

Point of view is the position from which the author presents the story. The point of view is, in essence, a channel of information that is conveyed to the reader, via the narrative voice (or narrator), and that originates at a particular location, either inside or outside the story. The point of view controls how and what the reader sees in the story. It also determines the reader's "angle of vision" or perception of events or characters. Point of view often helps to reveal story meaning or purpose.

The point of view an author uses for a story is determined before the writing begins. The author asks, "Who will tell the story?," and then decides. This preliminary choice of the narrative voice assures consistency of point of view, a quality most stories contain. The narrative voice is usually endowed with a certain sensibility, be it juvenile, adult, or all-knowing. The narrative voice also possesses a certain perception of the world and some level of morality, be it good or bad.

Strictly speaking, the author is not the narrator or narrative voice. The narrator is a persona the author creates to tell the story. This persona can be a character inside the story or some observer outside the story that has a varying range of access to characters' perceptions and actions.

Be forewarned that some narrators are not reliable. A story may have an innocent child narrator who doesn't understand the significance of events. Some narrators are ignorant and just don't know what's going on. Other narrators are liars. Dramatic irony is the result when an author employs an unreliable narrator. Part of the task of analyzing point of view is to determine the reliability of the narrative voice.

This type of point of view can also subtly create an intimacy between the narrator and the reader, too often resulting in a skewed narration and a lack of reliability. This point of view can also establish a contrast between what the narrator perceives and what the reader perceives. An unreliable narrator may be used for irony or to create a distance between the reader and narrator to challenge the reader's values or beliefs.

In analyzing first-person point of view, the reader should identify the narrator and determine his reliability. Is the information given in the story seemingly slanted or biased? Does the narrator try to gain the reader's sympathy through the telling of the story? What effect did first-person narrator Bonaparte's telling of the story in "Guests of the Nation" have on you as a reader?

NOTE: Before you continue in this lecture, you should read "The Catbird Seat" in Fiction 100.


James Thurber's "The Catbird Seat" is an amusing little story about a rather timid and unassertive man, Mr. Erwin Martin, who is driven to plan murder to keep things from changing at the office where he works. Mr. Martin, who has been the head of the filing department at F & S for years, is an orderly and organized man who is quite set in his ways. His characteristics are reflected in his job as an orderly filing clerk. Mr. Martin has the same routine every day, he goes to bed at precisely the same time every night, and he bristles at the thought of change. He likes things the way they are--the status quo--and he does not want them to change. Unfortunately, change gets its foot in the door at F & S in the form of the boisterous Mrs. Ulgine Barrows.

The story is set in New York City in the early 1940s, during the time of World War II. As you remember from your American history, many young American men went overseas to fight the forces of fascism. Left at home were the older men, the young boys, and the women--the very people who inhabit the offices of F & S. Mr. Martin is probably in his 40s, having held the same job for 22 years. Into this heavenly pit of stagnation enters Mrs. Barrows, who has worked a "monstrous magic" on the head of the company and has gained a job as efficiency expert. Her intent is to reorganize the company. And so a showdown is set between the status quo and change, represented by Mr. Martin and Mrs. Barrows, respectively. On a side note, as the young men went to war, women were able to make advances in the workplace. Many men were not comfortable with women as superiors, as Mrs. Barrows is to Mr. Martin, so Mr. Martin's reaction, though extreme, is not unusual. And where is Mr. Barrows? He probably has gone to war, suggesting Mrs. Barrows might be younger than Mr. Martin, another reason for him to chafe at her superiority.

As suggested earlier in the lecture, point of view does not deal with attitude or opinion. Instead, it deals with a location, a point from which to view something. The author chooses a location from which to view the events of the story. The point of view may be from within the story. For example, a first-person narrator is a character in the story. Similar in effect to the first-person narrator is the third-person limited narrator. As with the first-person narrator, the third-person limited narrator is focused on the perception of one character. Unlike the first-person narrator, who is identifed as "I," the third-person narrator is identified as "he" or "she." The "first person" and "third person," then, obviously refer to pronouns, not to a number of people.

For "The Catbird Seat," James Thurber chose a third-person limited point of view that is focused on Mr. Martin. With this point of view, the reader gains entrance only to the thoughts and perceptions of Mr. Martin. Because Mr. Martin has normal perceptive abilities like the rest of us, he can only present to the reader what he sees, thinks, feels, or hears. Thurber gets around this limitation at times with the use of Miss Paird, the office gossip. For example, when Mrs. Barrows first arrives at the office, Mr. Martin "got the story from Miss Paird, who seemed always able to find things out." So he hears from Miss Paird how Mrs. Barrows was hired. Mr. Martin must either be present or must get information from someone to be able to convey that information to the reader. Mr. Martin does not have the all-knowing perception that an omniscient narrator would have.

At the beginning of the story, the setting is November 1942. Mrs. Barrows has been tormenting Mr. Martin and disrupting the company for almost two years, but Mr. Martin has not yet chosen to act. He has not been directly threatened, just unsettled by her actions. Her hiring and disruption of the company serve as the potential situation, but the inciting incident does not occur until November 2, 1942. (As revealed, "Mr. Martin had a head for dates," as one might expect from his character.) On that day, Mrs. Barrows barges into the filing department and begins to ask questions about the necessity of all the filing cabinets. Mr. Martin replies about the "'indispensable'" nature of each piece of equipment, but Mrs. Barrows calls it all "'a lot of fine scrap.'" At that point, "Mr. Martin could no longer doubt that the finger was on his beloved department," which he perceives as the "foundation" of the company. Like the rat Mrs. Barrows calls him later, Mr. Martin is backed into a corner and fights back. The key trait and internal conflict are revealed. His beginning key trait is his resistance to change, so his internal central conflict is resistance to change vs. willingness to change.

As you should have noticed in the story, the sequence of events is not chronological. The plot jumps around. For example, the story actually begins a week after the inciting incident. Exposition is presented in a flashback as Mr. Martin mulls over his case against Mrs. Barrows. Notice the unique view of Mr. Martin's thought process allowed by the use of third-person limited point of view.

As the story begins, Mr. Martin is in a cigarette shop on Broadway in New York City. The date is November 9, 1942, a week after he has decided to "rub out" Mrs. Barrows. Note the delightful use of "rub out" as a correction for an error made by the head of the company. Mr. Martin hopes no one notices him buying a pack of cigarettes, because everyone in the company knows his reputation--he neither smokes nor drinks. Obviously, he has already meticulously planned and replanned the process he will use to kill the "obscene" Mrs. Barrows. The plan, regrettably, is imprecise, which Mr. Martin laments, but that imprecision means that no one would suspect the precise Mr. Martin. The plan is full of irony, just as Mr. Martin's going to bed early each night in the city that never sleeps is ironic.

Mr. Martin recalls how Mrs. Barrows was hired by the "enchanted" Mr. Fitweiler. He recounts the disruptive nature of Mrs. Barrows' actions and the resignations that result. He notes that his department has been targeted. Again, only after his own department and personal status quo are threatened does he take action. In his mental summation of the case against Mrs. Barrows, he concludes, "'I seek the death penalty for this horrible person.'" His goal is set. Remember, the central character moves through a series of complications to achieve a goal. And what is moving Martin toward his goal? His resistance to change, of course--his beginning key trait.

Then the story moves to eight days after the inciting incident--November 10, 1942--and proceeds chronologically to the end. Notice carefully how the point of view works through this section of the story. Again, the reader gains Mr. Martin's perspective. He notes his nervousness on this day--the day he plans to "rub out" Mrs. Barrows--"but not even Miss Paird noticed." Mr. Martin follows his usual routine that evening, going to eat at the same restaurant at the same time. He briefly gives some details about his scheme involving the cigarettes. He will use a partly smoked Camel as a red herring to lead suspicion away from him. But he worries that he might cough or "even choke, too loudly."

Mr. Martin had never been to Mrs. Barrows' apartment, but she had talked about it often, and he knows the address. By the way, the address given is in the section of New York called Greenwich Village, which has long been the home to artists, beatniks, and the like--a so-called progressive neighborhood. The fact that Mrs. Barrows lives there only intensifies Mr. Martin's dislike for her. Remember, Mr. Martin is quiet and reserved and resistant to change--and certainly not avant-garde or progressive. Mr. Martin is more of a Milquetoast than a Warhol.

After Mr. Martin leaves the restaurant, his plan takes him to the street on which Mrs. Barrows lives. He had planned a certain time to go to her door, thinking fewer people might be going in or out at that time, but even he sees the preposterousness of that notion. If he encounters anyone other than his victim, "he would simply have to place the rubbing-out of Ulgine Barrows in the inactive file forever."

As he approaches Mrs. Barrows' place, his anxiety goes into overdrive. And remember, with third-person limited point of view, the reader gets Mr. Martin's perception of things. As a result, the lantern in the hall gives off a "monstrously bright light." Mrs. Barrows' laugh rings out "like the report of a shotgun." He rushes into her living room, which seems "to be lighted by a hundred lamps." Mrs. Barrows is surprised, of course, but she offers to take his gloves. He refuses, saying he always wears gloves inside. Why would he want to keep his gloves on? He is jittery, which Mrs. Barrows remarks, so she offers him a drink, which Martin accepts.

As Mrs. Barrows is preparing the drinks in the kitchen, chuckling to herself, Mr. Martin looks around for an appropriate weapon. There are several candidates, all of which would require Mr. Martin to beat or stab Mrs. Barrows to death. Mr. Martin concludes that none of the prospective weapons will do, mainly because he is not that kind of man, not one given to impulse or violence. The plan begins to unravel as the complications mount. Mrs. Barrows returns with the drinks. Mr. Martin realizes the fantastic impossibility of his scheme. Suddenly, more to character, a new plan blooms in Martin's mind. Then Mr. Martin lights up a cigarette, and Mrs. Barrows is amused by his seeming change of character.

Many students think that Mr. Martin's behavior at this point of the story reflects a dynamic change. However, his seeming change in character is not dynamic for several reasons. First, it is meant to lead suspicion away from Martin, but then it becomes an act or a ploy meant to trick Mrs. Barrows. Second, the change in behavior occurs before the climax, so it is not admissible evidence. Third, the change is not permanent, as seen in the outcome of the story.

Pretending to drink and smoke, Mr. Martin begins to insult the company and Mr. Fitweiler. Martin says he is planning to get coked up on heroin and kill Fitweiler. Mrs. Barrows is offended and defends the company's honor, telling Mr. Martin to go. Martin leaves the cigarettes, asks Barrows not to tell anyone, sticks his tongue out at her, and says he is in the catbird seat, or the position of control. Then he goes home, pumped, and drinks "two glasses of milk after brushing his teeth." He falls asleep before midnight. Has the new plan worked?

Mr. Martin arrives at work at the usual time the next morning. Mrs. Barrows blows in a few minutes later and says she is going to report the matter to Mr. Fitweiler. Mr. Martin acts as if he doesn't know what she is talking about. Miss Paird goes to listen in to the conversation, but she can't get many details. All she can tell is that Mrs. Barrows is yelling. After 45 minutes, Barrows leaves Fitweiler's office and goes to her own.

A little later, Mr. Martin is called into Fitweiler's office, where he denies everything. He tells his evening routine, leaving out the side trip to Mrs. Barrows' apartment, and says he was asleep before eleven. Obviously, Mr. Martin has lied, but that was his plan. He would use his reputation at the company to "rub out" Mrs. Barrows. His 22 years of exemplary service would be weighed against her accusations. Fitweiler believes Mr. Martin and says that he suspects Mrs. Barrows is having a mental breakdown. Fitweiler concludes that "'Mrs. Barrows' usefulness here is at an end.'" Is this comment the climax? Mrs. Barrows has been rubbed out. Or has she? Not quite yet.

At this point, Mrs. Barrows bursts into the office "with the suddenness of a gas-main explosion." She repeats what Martin had said the night before. She screams and berates Martin and then Fitweiler. Mr. Fitweiler enlists two husky men to haul Mrs. Barrows off down the hall and out the building. Now Mrs. Barrows has been rubbed out. This event is the climax.

OK, so now that the climax has passed, you need to look for evidence that Martin is static or dynamic. Recall his beginning key trait of resistance to change. He likes things to be routine, orderly, unchanging. After Fitweiler apologizes and sends Martin back to his work, Martin enters his department with "his customary gait" and "a look of studious concentration," indicating a return to normalcy for Mr. Martin, a static character whose resistance to change prevails in his internal conflict.

Recall that Thurber has used the third-person limited point of view to narrate the story. The characters and events are perceived by Martin. He has a rather positive view of himself and a rather negative view of his antagonist, Mrs. Barrows, as one might expect. Here are some comparisons of the two characters as perceived by Martin.

Martin himself cautious painstaking studious concentration polite tolerance usual temperate efficient infallible customary casual neat quiet attentive discreet

Mrs. Barrows quacking voice braying laugh profaned . . . chattering romped like a circus horse shouting silly questions gibberish great, popping eyes yelled . . . bawled obscene woman horrible person patronizing jabbering . . . glaring shouted . . . snorted catapulted . . . screamed loudly . . . hysterically

And keep in mind that the surface conflict is Martin vs. Barrows, spawned by Mr. Martin's internal key trait and conflict regarding resistance to change. Like the status quo, Martin is quiet and unassuming. Like change, Mrs. Barrows is boisterous and unsettling. This information is conveyed to the reader through Martin's point of view, so in effect, Martin tells the reader about himself and about his conflict with his hated antagonist. Because the narration is skewed in Martin's favor, the narrative voice is somewhat unreliable.

A few last thoughts: Is the conflict in this story only about one man's battle against change? Or is Thurber making some comment about a social situation at the time that continues today? How do men react to women entering the workforce and gaining superior positions? Notice that Martin is not concerned about change in the other departments. He is only moved to action when his own department is threatened. Also, does Martin think Barrows has gained her job fairly? No, not at all. Martin does not view this woman as his equal and does not respect her or her decisions as his superior. So he is resistant to any changes she seeks to inflict upon his job, which is in essence his life.

Is Thurber satirizing his Mr. Martin's attitude toward women? I don't think so. A common theme in Thurber's stories is the wimpy man who overcomes or eliminates an overbearing woman not through physical force but through his wits. You might know another of Thurber's creations, Walter Mitty, whose daydreams help him escape his overbearing wife. Thurber's use of third-person limited point of view in "The Catbird Seat" might give us a view into Thurber's mind as much as into Martin's.

The sample essay below suggests an appropriate content for the point of view analysis for Assignment 6. The central idea is in CAPITAL LETTERS, and the thesis statement is underlined. The analysis has used two secondary sources and includes MLA citations and Works Cited entries. Your analysis for Assignment 5 or 6 or 7 must also use at least one secondary source and must include at least two MLA citations and at least two MLA Works Cited entries.

The sample essay below is single spaced. Your typed essay must be double spaced.

Your introductory paragraph for the Assignment 6 essay must include:

• "title of story," author, subject matter
  
• indication of central character
  
• brief plot summary, including outcome
  
• clear and direct statement of central idea in CAPITAL LETTERS
  
• underlined thesis statement that directly mentions the essay's primary element (point of view) and the two secondary elements (character and conflict)

In your essay you must include these components:

• clear link between key element and secondary elements
  
• specific and direct indication of the point of view used in the story
• specific and direct indication of central character and beginning key trait
  
• specific and direct indication of central conflict and climax
  
• specific and direct indication of central character's ending key trait
  
• specific explanation of the static or dynamic nature of the central character, with specific evidence
• citations for any quotes from the story
• at least two MLA citations from at least one secondary source
• a Works Cited list including your primary source and secondary source(s)

The World According to Martin

        In James Thurber's "The Catbird Seat," protagonist Erwin Martin seeks to rub out the forces of change that have upset his life. Martin concocts a complicated scheme to kill Mrs. Ulgine Barrows, his antagonist, after he senses his job is threatened. Though a plan revision is needed, Martin achieves success by eliminating the troublesome Barrows. With this comic story, Thurber shows that SOME PEOPLE FEAR CHANGE SO MUCH THAT THEY WILL GO TO EXTREMES TO RESIST IT. The author uses a third-person limited point of view to reveal Martin's internal conflict and static character in the face of progress.

        Erwin Martin is a careful, mild-mannered man with no apparent bad habits. To reveal his character's positive traits, Thurber uses a third-person limited focus on Martin. As a result, the reader gets to see Martin as Martin sees himself. What emerges is a rather conceited portrait of goodness and efficiency. Martin is a man dedicated to habit and routine, and his beginning key trait is his resistance to change. Martin conceives of himself as the "foundation" (Thurber 1246) of the F & S company; his filing department is vital to the operations of the organization. Martin's character is not unlike the titular catbird: "unobtuse . . . and . . . hard to rile." If disturbed, though, the catbird comes out of the underbrush and "meshes with its environment because of its drab feathers" (Underwood 50). Martin spends most of his time in the background, watching the havoc Mrs. Barrows is wreaking on the company, but he does nothing until he is personally threatened. Sensing the disruptive change Mrs. Barrows represents, Martin begins to plot for his own self-preservation. Noting Martin's dislike of Barrows, the reader can easily tell that Martin's portrayal of Mrs. Barrows is at least partially unreliable.

        The narrative focus on Martin also presents a humorous and ironic view of his world. Whereas Martin considers himself infallible, he sees those around him as nincompoops. In fact, Martin seems unimpressed by everyone but himself. Martin believes that president Fitweiler is bewitched by some "monstrous magic" (Thurber 1246) of Mrs. Barrows, the dreaded agent of change. Martin describes Barrows as an "obscene woman" and a "'horrible person'" (Thurber 1247) with a "braying laugh" and a "quacking voice" (Thurber 1245). These descriptions easily allow the reader to detect Martin's disgust toward Mrs. Barrows.

        The contrast in characters as perceived by Martin is mirrored in the minor surface conflict of man vs. woman, Martin against Barrows. Like Martin, the status quo is quiet, discreet, and unassuming. And like Barrows, change is boisterous, abrupt, and often disruptive. The minor conflict begins when Martin realizes that the end is near for "his beloved department" (Thurber 1247). He has put up with Mrs. Barrows' profane inanity for two years. However, according to Marylyn Underwood, "Barrows' asininity does not concern Mr. Martin, though it bothers him; but her invasion of his territory does" (Underwood 50). Through Martin's viewpoint, the reader can experience the anxiety Martin feels as he plots the murder of Barrows. From this minor conflict comes a clear indication of the deeper internal central conflict that spawns it: man vs. himself, change vs. status quo. Martin's internal resistance to change leads him to act extremely and irrationally. The timid man's insane fear comes through as he stalks Barrows. He goes to her apartment to murder her. But he is alarmed by the "monstrously bright light" (Thurber 1248) outside her apartment. Inside the apartment, standing in confusion, he cannot find a suitable weapon, or so he says, because numerous suitable murder weapons abound. At that moment, Martin allows the reader first view of his new, more sensible plan of deception that leads to clever victory. Using his long-standing reputation in the company as a safeguard, Martin pretends to be an anarchist drug addict. He acts totally out of character, and Mrs. Barrows falls for his act. At the climax of the story, Barrows is fired from the F & S company because of her incredible claims about Martin's wild behavior. His goal attained, Martin returns to his routine, his "customary gait" (Thurber 1248) at the end of the story showing him to be a static character. His resistance to change has prevailed, and Martin ends the story with his beginning key trait unchanged.

        Through Martin's eyes, the reader can see the circumstances that drive him to excess. Martin senses danger to his stable life, and he reacts. Martin's glowing self-image makes him a sympathetic character. His view of others works to paint his antagonists as malcontents. Martin's outrageous behavior and outlook allow Thurber to show the extremes to which some will go for self-preservation.

                        Works Cited

Thurber, James. "The Catbird Seat." Fiction 100, 11th Edition.

        Ed. James H. Pickering. Upper Saddle River, NJ:

        Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. 1245-1251. Print.

Underwood, Marylyn. "Thurber's THE CATBIRD SEAT."

        Explicator Summer 1982, Vol. 40 Issue 4: 49-50.

        Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 May 2012.

Most students will likely use one of the MLA Works Cited formats below. You can find other MLA Works Cited formats in the Research Paper Guide. If you can't find the right format for your source, ask your instructor. Your Works Cited entries must be double-spaced.

Primary source:

Last name, First name of author. "Title of Story." Title of book. Editor.

        City where published: Name of Publisher, year published.

        Page numbers on which story appears. Print.

Example of primary source entry:

Thurber, James. "The Catbird Seat." Fiction 100, 11th Edition.

        Ed. James H. Pickering. Upper Saddle River, NJ:

        Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. 1245-1251. Print.

Secondary source article from an academic journal in an ACC subscription database:

Last name, First name of author (if given). "Title of Article."

        Name of Magazine Volume or Date of issue: page numbers.

        Name of Database. Web. Date of Access.

Example of secondary source article entry:

Underwood, Marylyn. "Thurber's THE CATBIRD SEAT."

        Explicator Summer 1982, Vol. 40 Issue 4: 49-50.

        Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 May 2012.

*Remember, all students must write ONE analysis for Assignment 5 or Assignment 6 or Assignment 7.
You do not need to write all three analyses. Though you might not write this analysis, you are still required to read the information in this lecture. You will need to use this information in writing your Assignment 8 analysis and the C exam.

BE AWARE that you must use research and MLA documentation to complete this assignment.

First, read a story from the list below. Reading the story at least twice is recommended. These stories are in Fiction 100.

Assignment stories:

Second, write an analytical essay of at least five paragraphs. Use the referential-interpretive purpose to write your analysis. Your analysis must also include properly documented research information, as detailed in the third step below.

Develop a thesis dealing with point of view in that story. Identify the specific type of point of view used. If narration comes from within the story, identify and describe the narrative voice. What characteristics does the narrator or focal character possess that make him/her a good choice for the point of view? Is the narrator reliable? Pay particular attention to how point of view reveals character and conflict. Support your thesis with pertinent facts of the story.

• Type the CENTRAL IDEA in capital letters.
• Underline your thesis statement. Your thesis statement must identify the elements you intend to analyze in your essay. In this analysis, your thesis must indicate the point of view, the conflict, and the static or dynamic nature of the central character.
• Enclose short story titles in quotation marks. Do not underline or italicize short story titles. Also, periods and commas go inside ending quotation marks.
• Do not use first-person or second-person pronouns to write your essay.
• In ALL assignments and exams, limit your use of direct quotes to no more than 10% of your total word. Quote accurately and use the correct punctuation. Review the use of quotation marks in section 6.8 of the Online Grammar Handbook.
• Double space your submission.
• In addition, you must fulfill any other requirements in the "Writing the Assignment 6 Point of View Analysis" section of the Assignment 6 Lecture.

Third, and VERY IMPORTANT: The story you choose is your primary source. You must also use at least one secondary source and MLA documentation in your analysis. In other words, you must do research to aid you in writing this assignment, and you must use proper MLA documentation that accurately credits your sources.