A Brief Overview of Walter Mitty
In the short story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber, many interesting fantasies occur in a way which brings the reader into a different world. The story switches back and forth from delusion to reality, dragging the reader into a life, perhaps similar to their own. In the beginning of this story, the first paragraph is a fantasy of the main character, Walter Mitty. It describes his life as a commander of an aircraft. An intense scene is displayed showing what Walter Mitty wishes would be reality. It is not until the next paragraph that one discovers this reality. His wife then interrupts the scene, bringing Walter Mitty back into his everyday life, one which is far less exciting to him. This happens several times throughout the story. Each time a different fantasy. From successful doctors too air plane commanders, each flashback was something that he obviously aspired too, however, was always interrupted with reality. This everyday life consists of dropping into town once a week to grab the regular household necessities. Throughout the story, his wife nags and reminds him about which items he must buy while he is in town. Through the paragraph’s of Walter’s reality world, the reader can see that he is sick of his wife’s constant nagging and wants to escape from this reality through his day dreams.
Formalistic Critical Approach for Walter Mitty
In the short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the formatting of the plot and the dialogue come hand in hand and are vital to making the story clear and concise but also interesting. Structure and organization is a key piece to the puzzle in this instance. When analyzing this story, the best critical approach would b...
... middle of paper ...
...st to make things more interesting for a moment or two. I think this story can be related to anyone, whether they are rich, poor, powerful or subtle. Everyone tries to imagine a life different to their own. I found that the way the author used the dialogue throughout the story made it very suspenseful for the reader to make sense of the plot. I also enjoyed how the author used little transitions between the flashbacks and reality, such as the ‘pocketa-pockeata-pocketa’ sounds which carries through as a nice transition from flash back to reality. I liked these subtle hints to the reader because I believe they were necessary to understand where the stories was going. The flashbacks were realistic and catchy and so was reality because of it’s probably familiarity with the audience. I personally really enjoyed reading this story and I loved the way it was written.
Walter needs Mrs. Mitty to keep him on track. By being a daydreamer, his head is in the clouds and this irritates her. She Reminds him to get "those overshoes while I'm having my hair done." (88) She has to nudge and prod him to actually get the pair of overshoes. Normally, this shouldn't be a problem, but with Walter, She has to double check that he bought them. Consider him having been diagnosed with A.D.D., his wife would then be a little better at understanding him when he goes off on one of his "spells." For example, him buying the overshoes, but not wearing them in the slushy weather. Mrs. Mitty should take a little more active role with his condition. She would go with him to the store to pick up his overshoes so that she knows it was taken care of properly.
These kids grow up in the ghetto without a choice of moving somewhere else because of their parents low income, they live in a tough neighborhood and environment & reading this really touches you in many ways. Nobody will ever want to go through something like they did, Parts of the book tell you so much detail that it really puts an image through your head. The book entries mostly talk about the lives of the characters outside of school, The characters also describe the action of their diaries well and they present that action well in the movie.
Walter’s dream morphs from materialism to happiness for his family, and this change allows him and Mama to achieve unity and overcome the poverty and division that inhibits
Ultimately, Walter does a wonderful job of bringing together multiple different stories and making them intertwine in various ways. It shows readers that even though one does have their own story, other stories of others lives, show up and interview with theirs. No one is ever, truly, alone. This idea is painted beautifully throughout the novel and shows that even though you may believe that your life is a ruin and you are all alone, something or someone can come into your life and, for just a moment, make it beautiful again.
1. My first impression of the story was the setting reminds me of a fall day in Michigan. It was dark and cool so it reminds me of my childhood in the mornings getting ready for school. At first I thought it was something like a family trip for the guys before the characters where describe. The thought of a young boy on a trip into manhood with his father and Uncle. As the story goes along my impression changes over time to its a story about life circle and the development of a young man 's understanding about life at the hands of his father.
The film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed by Ben Stiller, thoughtfully explores the timeless theme of identity: through Walter (played by Stiller), Stiller reminds that adversity is necessary in one’s life in order to bring about growth and change. Through the detailed presentation of the minutiae of Walter Mitty’s day, the viewer understands that he is a man stuck in a rut of existing rather than living. The film opens with images of Walter’s apartment: nothing out of place, nothing with colour, even Walter, himself, is dressed in black and white. Despite this mundane opening, there are elements of humor (an error sending a wink on a dating site and dreams of super-human rescue missions), and this accurately depicts Walter’s internal
In the story of Walter Mitty by James Thurber, Walter Mitty is a static character and in the movie Walter Mitty by Ben Stiller, Walter is made a dynamic character so that the movies is more exciting than the book. In the story Walter stays a boring character who doesn’t do much at all, while in the movie he becomes the adventurous character he has dreamed about. In the end of the story Walter was happy about “facing the firing squad”. Since Walter never had the life he wanted he just wanted to die, unlike the movie where he had done so many things that he got himself a date when he was the most happy. In the story Walter kept dreaming throughout the day being triggered by little things to go off into his own world, but in the movie Walter
‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ is about a boring man who has a lot of daydreams. It was originally a short story by James Thurber, but was also made into a movie. The way that the story is presented in both is a key factor in either’s success, and when compared, the two are very different. For example, in the short story, Walter has little to no character development, but in the movie, nearly the entire production is him being put through a lot of situations that let us see more of the true character of Walter Mitty. This example and others is what makes the movie adaptation of ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ better than that of the short story.
Firstly, I liked the way in which the author uses his experiences to relate ...
Thurber, James. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” 1942. 21 Great Stories. Ed. Abraham H.Lass and Norma L. Tasman. New York: Mentor, 1969. 272-277.
Life is about finding yourself, each other, and being true to one’s self. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an extremely original and creative story written by James Thurber. The movie, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, starring Ben Stiller, conveys a daydreamer escaping his typical life by disappearing into a realm of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. In both the movie and the book, the title character retreats into fantasy as an escape from his mundane reality because in the real world, he is ordinary, insecure, and passive. In the short story, Walter simply retreats into his daydreams and tolerates his domineering wife, while in the movie he actively pursues finding himself.
James Thurber is the author of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”. He feels inferior to his wife throughout his marriage. He learns to express these feelings through writing short stories and illustrating cartoons. This is a way for him to escape his everyday life with his wife. Critics have acknowledged Mitty motif, which is used to describe his two major themes in many of his major works such as “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (Morsberger 66). “The Secret Life of Walter Witty” is one of the most well know short stories by James Thurber (Morsberger 44). His themes are evident throughout the story. Also, he is able to become alive through the story by expressing imagination. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” explores the main themes of disharmony between the sexes, males’ escaping routine, and life as a married couple.
Have you ever stopped for a moment to contemplate where you are in life? If you haven’t, then take a moment right now to imagine where you are and where you would like to be. All of the actions you have taken, thoughts you have had, and the persona you convey have created the life you have lived thus far. In the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the main character Walter Mitty has a habit of daydreaming to escape his mediocre life for a more “enhanced” life where he fantasizes about a richer and more rewarding existence. Throughout the film, Walter is able to foster
Overall, the combined use of the narrative point of view, and the theme portrayed by the juxtaposition of reality versus imaginary, symbolism, allegory, and diction all display the power behind the imagination. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” shows that the imagination is so powerful that it can not only serve as a way of escaping the hardships of reality, but as a coping mechanism.
The story tries to show the undeniable worth of moments and the presence of our darlings in a very touchable way that everyone can feel it, I believe. The language and the selection of words are very simple. The plot and theme of story is something that can happen to all people with growing thirst of money and job for parents these days. Considering all of these small but brilliant elements in story, regret of what you shouldn't have noticed before, is completely felt within the storyline.