The Catbird Seat

Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.

Reading Check

1. When Mr. Martin decides to “rub out” Mrs. Barrows, what does he mean by this phrase?

2. What two habits is Mr. Martin known for abstaining from?

3. What does Mr. Martin customarily drink in the evening?

4. What is the name of Mr. Martin’s boss?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Mr. Martin buy at the beginning of the story? 

A) a pack of cigarettes

B) a stick of gum

C) a gallon of milk

D) a knife

2. What is Mr. Martin’s occupation?

A) head of the filing department

B) head of the accounting department

C) head of the legal department

D) head of the marketing department

3. What most bothers Mr. Martin about Mrs. Ulgine Barrows?

A) her lazy attitude

B) her physical appearance

C) her disrespectfulness towards their boss

D) her brash personality

4. To what does Mr. Martin compare himself as he mentally reviews Mrs. Barrows’s actions against him?

A) a baseball announcer

B) a lawyer

C) a banker

D) a heroin addict

5. When Mr. Martin walks to Mrs. Barrows’s house, what does he intend to do?

A) trick her

B) kill her

C) have a drink with her

D) threaten her

6. As Mr. Martin leaves Mrs. Barrows’s house, what does he say before he sticks out his tongue?