Symbolism In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities and it is found in several places throughout the short story and the movie of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Both the story and the movie use the literary technique of symbolism by using objects or ideas to represent something bigger. This gives these stories a more profound meaning and make the reader think beyond the surface to find the bigger picture that the author or director intended. Whether its skateboards, beards or overshoes, almost any object can be used to represent an idea that the author wants to convey to their audience.
In both the short story and the movie, the main character, Walter Mitty, constantly fantasizes about wild adventures that are very different

from his everyday life. This constant drifting in and out of reality tells the reader that Walter is not satisfied with the normal, boring life that he lives. In the short story, Walter dreams of being in the Navy, a renowned doctor, a confident witness in an important court case and a brave commander fighting in World War II. He has these fantasies but quickly returns to reality and then back again, in a seemingly ongoing cycle. His wife thinks he needs to see a doctor and even says, “It’s one of your days. I wish you’d let Dr. Renshaw look you over.” (Thurber 2). She is obviously worried about him and Walter soon becomes irritated with her, saying “Does it ever occur to you that I am sometimes thinking?” (Thurber 6). The character of Walter Mitty has similar fantasies and “zones out” several times throughout the movie to escape reality. He dreams of being a brave adventurer to win over his love interest, fighting his stuck-up boss and having the courage to ask out his crush. No one in the movie is overly concerned about his zoning out like Walter’s wife in the story, but he is made fun of by people when he blanks out during his fantasies. The occurrence of these fantasies has a common theme in both stories, which is confidence and being brave. These are two qualities that Walter does not possess, and it symbolizes his desire for becoming a better and stronger man.
Another idea that is represented through symbolism is masculinity and being considered a man through society’s eyes.

The short story and the movie use different objects to represent this idea, but they are both still present throughout. In the movie, Walter’s new boss at Life Magazine and all of his closest advisors have beards. These beards represent the idea of masculinity and having power. In today’s society, beards are viewed as a way of showing manliness. This is important because Walter does not have a beard for much of the movie, but when he comes back from finding Sean O’Connell, he suddenly has a beard and you can tell that he is beginning to develop as a character (Stiller). When he has the beard, he stands up to his boss and defends himself with confidence. The viewer can tell that Walter has changed and the beard is a key indicator of it. In the short story, the idea of masculinity is not represented as strongly, but it is still present within the story. Cars and driving fast are often associated with being manly. When Walter and his wife are driving into town, she yells at him for going too fast and tells him to slow down. She says, “Not so fast! You’re driving too fast!” (Thurber 1), and yells at him to go slower. This shows Walter’s lack of a masculine side and that he allows his wife to control him, which we never see change in the short story. Nevertheless, masculinity is represented by beards and cars in the stories and exposes Walter’s lack of

it.
The idea of taking risks and being safe to stay inside your comfort zone are opposites, and they were both represented separately in the short story and in the movie. In the shorty story, one of Walter’s errands he has to run in town is to go to the store and buy some overshoes. His wife instructed him to do so and he listened like he usually does. These overshoes represent safety and the idea of being protected. Walter is waiting patiently in the hotel for is wife to get done at the hairdresser’s and he begins to drift off into one of his realities. She finally finds him and makes sure that he has done all of the errands that she asked him to do earlier. She notices he has the overshoes but becomes upset when he does not have them on his feet, saying “Couldn’t you have put them on in the store?” (Thurber 6). This continues to show the reader that Walter’s wife is trying to protect him and shield him from the world the best that she can because she believes that he is incapable of doing so himself. On the other hand, a skateboard is used in the movie to represent the idea of taking risks and seeking thrills in life. Walter is in the park with his co-worker Cheryl and her son, where her son is riding his skateboard. He is struggling to perform some tricks and Walter shows him how to do it, which surprises the kid (Stiller). This gives the audience a glimpse into Walter’s past life and it is later revealed that he used to be an up and coming skater when he was younger. This shows a much different person than what Walter is at the time. The audience also learns that Walter’s dad died when he was a teenager, which could have changed his life and altered the way that he lived. With the glimpse into his younger self, the audience knows that Walter has that risk-taking side in him and it eventually comes back out in the end of the movie. Overall, these two opposite items are used to represent certain qualities that both end up defining them as characters in these stories.
Symbolism is an effective tool that authors use to convey certain messages or even leave up to interpretation for their audiences. The use of objects to represent ideas can enhance a story or movie and add another element that was not present before. In The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, both the short story and the movie, symbolism is used creatively and makes the stories more enjoyable as whole. These symbols help to develop the characters further and give some deeper meaning for the audience to discover.