"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a story about a man who prefers to live in his fantasies rather than dealing with real life. The story begins when a military officer shouts an order for his crew to proceed with a flight in spite of the dangerous conditions. The unyielding commander speaks with confidence and courage, and his crew expresses their faith in him by saying, "The Old Man'll get us through, the Old Man ain't afraid of Hell!" (NA, 1499). Suddenly, Mitty is brought back to reality by a sharp reproach from his wife for driving too fast.
Thurber uses various literary elements to incorporate humor into the story. One way in which the author creates humor around Walter Mitty is by emphasizing the contrast between his real character and the one who he imagines himself to be in his fantasies. In his imagination, he is sharp, attractive, and heroic. Others are in awe of his fearlessness and have faith in his intellect when circumstances seem hopeless. However, in reality Mitty is as laughable to others as the Fantasy Mitty is admirable. He is incompetent and forgetful and succumbs to the demands of his dominating wife, whose presence is necessary since Mitty seems unable to bear his own responsibilities. While he is in his inner world, he is able to command others with a voice that is "like thin ice breaking" (NA, 1498). On the other hand, in the rare instances where he speaks in real life, he seems unconfident and confused, answering others with, "Hmm?" (NA, 1498) or "Gee. Yeh" (NA, 1500).
The story jumps back and forth from his dreams to real life. The timing of the transitions between a fantasy and reality accentuates the differences between his two characters. In his fantasies, he is given ju...
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...ation that Walter's limited knowledge does not hinder him from developing his fantasies. Even though he can imagine himself as a successful surgeon, his inadequate understanding of medical affairs is obvious to the reader and causes the situation to seem absurd and incredibly humorous. This is because Mitty freely adds details to the scene by inventing medical conditions such as "streptothricosis" (NA, 1499) and using a taxonomic genus of plants in reference to a medical condition. Mitty often resorts to describing objects simply as being "huge" and "complicated" (NA, 1499) in an attempt to make his imaginary role appear more heroic, but which actually seem childish. As a result, the reader finds Walter's otherwise uneventful day entertaining and comical.
Reference:
Bausch, Richard and Cassill, R.V. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Sixth Edition. 2000.
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
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.
In the short story, “ The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty” written by James Thurber, it describes a man who while in the midst of everyday life, floats off into daydream that often cause him more trouble than it is worth. His wife, Mrs. Mitty, on the surface does not seem like a well-rounded character. It always seems her life’s mission is to demean Walter and to always use her overbearing nature to nag him. However, there may be more to this character than what meets the eye. I believe that Mrs. Mitty is actually a well-rounded character in the fact that she only acts the way she does only for her husband and his well-being.
Both texts present varying ideas of journeys, as characters in both texts come to realisations about their true natures, reflect on their past choices and gain a deeper understanding into personal relationships. In both texts characters come to realisations in their journeys that create a deep understanding of many aspects of their
The quest narrative is a common method of narration present in almost every adventure story in one form or another. One key characteristic which defines all quest narratives, irrespective of type, is the search for a “Holy Grail” – symbolic of something the protagonist desires. In a quest narrative it is often appropriate to refer to the protagonist as the hero. However, despite the connotations of the word “hero” to a figure who is flawless in both form and disposition, the hero usually does not begin the story as a perfect figure; the hero must undergo a series of trials and tribulations to which the hero emerges as a changed character. It is this journey to achieve greatness that characterizes all quest narratives. “Sonny’s Blues” (1959) by James Baldwin and “Araby” (1916) by James Joyce can both be interpreted as quest narratives because they each adhere to the archetype established by quest narrative. For instance both stories have the symbolic Holy Grail that gives objectification to each protagonist’s desires. In addition there are instances in both texts of a trial that changes the protagonist’s outlook, allowing the character to achieve realization in completing his quest. In “Sonny’s Blues” and “Araby” there is a “Holy Grail”– fulfilling the role as big brother in “Sonny’s Blues” and the girl in “Araby” – and a trial that serves as the protagonist’s rebirth – the deaths of family members in “Sonny’s Blues” and the bazaar in “Araby”; these symbols make both texts quest narratives.
Dreams are often thought of as unreal and as viable modes for escaping reality; however, for John Grady dreams are an extension of his reality. Dreams extend his life through different roles: dreams as ambition, as fantasies and as an unconscious act during sleep. His dreams enable the reader to understand John Grady character as his expresses openly his aspirations in his dreams. A person’s aspirations are frequently in conflict with their reality. Likewise dreams can be in conflict with ones destiny. Nonetheless, there is blurred difference between the nature of dreams and reality. The complexity of life transforms itself into our dreams, thus dreams enable the dreamer to re-evaluate life his or life destiny.
The story is concerned with the conflict between his conception of himself and the reality.
These two novels spoke about real powerful momentous events that occur in the authors’ lives. The authors emerged from the shadows and transformed their mishaps into motivation of overcoming life’s hardships. These two stories exemplify ways of overcoming Life’s hardships and finding sense of oneself. These authors break their vows of silence to prove the beauty of a broken person. They both converse on racial discrimination, relationships with God, & coming into themselves.
George gave a very common reaction, which gives no originality to the character whatsoever. On the other hand, Thurber’s use of imagery allowed the reader to envision Walter Mitty’s uncommon reaction. The majority of people would be nervous or afraid when standing in front of a firing squad, but not Walter. Thurber also used compelling imagery throughout the story; Mitty showed a multitude of emotions and the reader was given plenty of insight as to what Walter is like. Meanwhile, in Harrison Bergeron all the characters seemed to be static. In actuality, none of the characters changed; they were all constant throughout the story. Thurber’s approach to imagery was much more effective and also enhanced characterization, and countless other aspects of the
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.
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
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty - Character Study of Walter Mitty & nbsp; In the short story, "The secret life of Walter Mitty," a man by the Walter Mitty goes into town with his wife to get some things done. Throughout this story Walter Mitty shows that he is very forgetful and a a really stubborn man with a vivid imagination. He is constantly being distracted, and starts to day dream often. & nbsp; There are a few hints in this story that show Walter Mitty is very forgetful. Most of this is probably caused by his constant day dreaming.
In the short story, Walter Mitty paints himself as very prestigious characters such as a knowledgeable doctor, a brave man, a military captain, a millionaire, and “Walter Mitty the Undefeated” (Thurber 5). This demonstrates pathos because of the reality of his life is that he cannot even do simple tasks such as backing his car into a mechanic’s garage. Thurber expresses the sad ironic reality of his life which is that he paints himself as a hero in his daydreams but lives a boring and unsuccessful life. Thurber uses Walter’s characteristics to prove one must adventure and explore to find meaning and purpose in life. In the movie, Walter debates getting into a helicopter with a drunk pilot to find Sean’s film negative and continue his adventure or to give up and turn back to his unhappy life. When he daydreams his love interest, Cheryl Melhoff, singing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” he decides to bravely jump into the helicopter, quite literally taking a leap of faith. Although a lyric of the song reads, “Here am I floating ‘round my tin can/ Far above the Moon/ Planet Earth is blue/ And there’s nothing I can do” (Bowie). This exemplifies irony because of the story Bowie tells of the protagonist of the song Major Tom. Major Tom embarks on a journey to outer space but communication cuts off from Earth and he realizes he will never come back to his wife and to life. This
A.D.D. is not something to be treated lightly. Instead of going to the beauty parlor, Mrs. Mitty should go with Walter to help him stay on track with his errands. By running their weekly errands together, Mrs. Mitty would come to better realize the problems that Walter faces on a daily basis. This would also help alleviate some of the troubles that they have had in the past, making future trips more tolerable. Does Walter have a problem?
‘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.