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Recommended: Film analysis
Films are made from short stories, novels, plays and bibliographies because filmmakers get readily available material and readers are more interested in adaptations of these books. Adaptations are the films made from these sources. More often than not, they are an interpretation of somebody’s personal views and understanding of these sources that they reproduce, retain, leave out or change. Therefore, they are not an exact depiction of these sources. Short stories use narrative, dialogue, descriptive and figurative language while films use first person language, contrasts, expressions, movements, music, and sound effects. The short story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, by Thurber James that was first published on March 1939 by The New Yorker, is amongst the most frequently used Short story in the American literature.
This masterpiece by Thurber has been adapted into several movies from 1947 to 2013 with several differences and similarities to the original short story. The title Walter Mitty is derived from the word ‘Mittyesque’, which, denotes a person who intentionally tries to mislead others about personal status and spends time daydreaming than being serious about the real world issues (J Kennedy 50).
Short Story
These are brief literature works that are written in a narrative pose. They usually feature a few characters to employ resonance, plot, and various dynamic components. They have varying lengths of novels and other works, which differ in different countries, and genres. Short stories like novels have evolved over time (Thurber 25). In the 2008 book called The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Thurber noted that these short stories have been adapted into various films. However, these films do not have to necessarily in...
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...otography, which had been sent to him, Walter travels to Iceland, Greenland, and the Himalayas. Stiller changes certain proceedings in with a bighearted spirit and curiosity-y about real life issues today (Craddock 213). The depth of Walter Mitty is also evident in the film:
Todd Maher: How was the... daydreaming going?
Walter Mitty: Lately less.
Todd Maher: Good. Less is good! (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, 2013)
Conclusion
There are great variations in the film adapted from the short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The short story Viewers rarely have any interest left for tacked-on praise on the displaced workers, the found photo’s contents and the success of Walter getting a date. However, some scenes capture ones attention. These include the periods of Mitty’s daydreams performed in a quietly moving, broadly comic and in effect driven --rambunctious.
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
James Thurber's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. In James Thurber's wonderful short story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", I get the feeling that he may be a victim of Attention Deficit Disorder, rather than just being a daydreamer. Throughout the story, Walter changes persona several times. He flips back and forth between reality and fantasy so much he may have a problem with his attention span.
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.
Someone once said,“People don’t change, they reveal who they really are.” Through the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry’s develops the character Walter the most as he transforms from self centered to a caring man.
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 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 portion of the best movies ever in a wide assortment of literary genres have been adapted from short tales. In particular, when we look to the classical horror movies adapted from books; it seems that there is a remarkable number of fictitious films that were based on short stories.
A short story is a work of literature that is shorter than a novel. Although some may believe the length may not be enough to develop a noble story, in these few pages an author can pack a tight punch that will leave one in awe, disgust, or utter sadness. Whether there is a moral of the story or it is simply for the reader’s enjoyment, each author has their own style of conveying a message through their work in very diverse ways. Through Flannery O’Connor and Chuck Palahniuk’s works we can see this very evidently.
Living in a poverty stricken area, Walter can only think about one of the many things he lacks, money. On the contrary, there are African Americans on the other side of Chicago who do have money and run large businesses. This pushes Walter to not only want to provide more for his family, but also dream big and become determined. The only way that he sees fit for him to make his dream come true and earn more
Have you ever wanted to learn about an interesting short story? Then I have the perfect short story for you. You could think of possibly anything and Walter Mitty would dream about it and make it seem special. The short story is called “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”by James Thurber, it is an interesting story about a guy named Walter Mitty, who has a nagging wife constantly on him, but he goes through his boring life imagining about all the cool stuff he could do. A dominant theme in James Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is Imagery. He shows imagery in his short story by making his character, Walter Mitty, imagine he's in these obstacles, which he pretends he's something he's not. Throughout the story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” James Thurber uses literary elements like imagery and allusion to get his theme across to the readers.
At first, Walter starts as a man who does not have many traits and characteristics that a leader in the family should has. He feels frustrated of the fact that his mother can potentially support his sister, Beneatha, in her education career. Walter complains and feels depressed about his current life when he has many aspects that not many African men had during his time. Walter has a happy family, a loving wife, and an acceptable occupation. Unfortunately, Walter wants more in his life, and he feels hopeless and depressed when something does not go in his ways. Walter starts to change when he experiences and learns Willis’s betrayal, his father’s hard work, his son’s dream of becoming a bus driver, and his mother’s explanation about the Africans’ pride. Through many difficulties, Walter becomes the man of the family, and he learns the importance of accepting and living a happy life with his family. Like Walter, many African men had to overcome the challenges and obstacles. They had to face and endure through racism. These two ideas often led to many tragic and depressed incidents such as unequal opportunities, inequality treatments, segregation, and
Although it toys with the visually fascinating concept of dreams and their possibilities in ordinary life, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" seldom explores the theme with the imagination it deserves. Walter's search, the mysteries he must solve, the completely unsurprising pat ending, and the tiresomely predictable love between him and Cheryl simply overwhelm the notion of the dream life and its connections to what we like to regard as real life, that endlessly fascinating subject for the cinema.
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.
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’ 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.