The Role of Fantasy in James Thurber's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

1423 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Analysis

The Role of Fantasy in James Thurber's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

In "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," James Thurber tells the story of a henpecked old man who escapes his monotonous life with frequent excursions to fantasy. In the real world, he is a forgetful old man who must obey his wife's every whim. But, in his fantasies, Walter Mitty is intelligent, brave, and the epitome of manliness. He makes up for the characteristics he lacks in the real world through the heroic characters he embodies in his fantasies. Eventually, the story leads to Walter's death-a brave, heroic death in his fantasy world.

Because the story opens in Mitty's fantasy world with no explanation that it is imagination, we assume that Walter Mitty is the man we are first introduced to: an old commander who is powering his ship through a hurricane. His crew fondly says of him, "The Old Man ain't afraid of Hell!" (565). He's tough, fearless, and holds the respect of his crew. But when his wife hollers, "Not so fast! You're driving too fast!" she brings him back to reality and we realize for the first time that Walter Mitty is just a daydreaming old man, not a fierce mariner (565). In the fantasy, he was commanding an entire ship, but in reality he cannot even decide how fast to drive. "You know I don't like to go more than forty," his wife continues to scold (565). He just sits and looks at her, then listens to her list of errands that she wants him to do, and begins driving around aimlessly, just killing time in his boring, ordinary existence.

As Walter drives by the hospital, he flashes back into fantasy and we are introduced to the intelligent, well educated Dr. Walter Mitty. After they are called over the intercom, Dr. Pritchard-Mitford co...

... middle of paper ...

...n die like a hero in his fantasies.

The execution at the end of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" leaves us wondering whether Mitty is really dead or if his fantasy execution was completely unrelated to his real life. Either way, we know that he was never able to be the manly, heroic man that he wished to be in real life. Walter Mitty, throughout the story, escaped his inadequacies by escaping to fantasies which his mind had created. But, in the end, no matter how brave he was in his fantasy world, he could not be what he wanted to be in the real world. James Thurber's story shows us an excellent example of how a mind can cope with a monotonous, unexciting existence by the invention of fantasies.

Works Cited

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.

Show More
Related

  • Punishment: The True Story

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...rigo, Bruce. "Punishment, Freedom, and the Culture of Control: A Review of Torture: America’s Brutal Prisons 1." Contemporary Justice Review 9.2 (2006): 229-33. Print.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Suspension Bridges

    124 Words  | 1 Pages

    According to Suspension bridges: Concepts and various innovative techniques of structural evaluation, “During the past 200 years, suspension bridges have been at the forefront in all aspects of structural engineering” (“Suspension”). This statement shows that suspension bridges have been used for over 200 years, and that people are still using them today because they are structurally better bridges. This paper shows four arguments on the advantages of suspension bridges, and why you should use one when building a bridge. When deciding on building a suspension bridge, it has many advantages such as; its lightness, ability to span over a long distance, easy construction, cost effective, easy to maintain, less risk

    Read More

  • Exemplary Use Of Imagery In Vonnegut's

    260 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Torture in Abu Ghraib

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    Torture is continuing under the Obama administration (2010, January 10). In Washinton Blog. Retrieved June 6, 2011, from http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2010/01/torture-is-continuing-under-obama.html

    Read More

  • Sarty's Point of View in Barn Burning by William Faulkner

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    His moment of truth sets into motion a chain reaction of events that Sarty is unable to halt. He runs down the drive “blood and breath roaring”(287) trying to make his way to the barn and his father. His grief at betraying his father is outweighed only by his need to get to him. So, he runs harder, faster than ever and then “knowing it was too late,”(287) Sarty hears the shots.

    Read More

  • The Chilling Torture at Abu Ghraib Prison

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the news of torture at Abu Ghraib prison broke in early 2004 during the “global war on terror,” much of the public was outraged and did not know how to react. Heavy debate began over the issue and media reporters on the issues took sides. Many books were written about the subject. The conservatives attempted to downsize the issues and take the side that it was simply ‘bored’ and ‘tense’ soldiers trying to blow off a little steam with horseplay. However, the photographs that surface said quite differently. Naked photographs of prisoners engaged in simulated sexual acts, deceased prisoners in sexual poses and prisoners tied up and left for dead tell the chilling story of the terror and torture behind the prison walls. Did the US do anything to stop or lessen such torture committed by American soldiers? Most will say that they did not. To some this may considered a crime and to others it is simply “common military practice”.

    Read More

  • The movie, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Should Prisoners of War be Treated?

    3179 Words  | 7 Pages

    Friedman goes on to write that the United States has been very lax when it comes to punishing those United States officials and officers in charge during the time that prisoners of war have been tortured and killed. Friedman calls for President Bush and the United States government to “Just find out who were the cabinet, C.I.A. and military officers on whose watch these 26 homicides occurred and fire them. That will do more to improve America's image in the Arab-Muslim world than any ad campaign, which will be useless if this sort of prisoner abuse is shrugged off.”

    Read More

  • Ethical Ethics Of Torture

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    Torture may be an inhumane way to get the information needed to keep the citizens of the United States safe from the attacks that are threatened against them, but there is rarely a course of action that will ensure the safety of a nation’s citizens that doesn’t compromise the safety of another group of people. Nevertheless, we must conserve as much humanity as possible by looking at the situation we are in and ensure that we are approaching the torture in an ethical manner. Although torture is valid on moral grounds, there are many who oppose it, such as Jamie Mayerfeld as he states in his 2009 article “In Defense of the Absolute Prohibition of Torture”.

    Read More

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Compare And Contrast Essay

    1489 Words  | 3 Pages

    ‘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.

    Read More

  • Dickens, Thurber, Andersen, London and Perseus

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    James Thurber (1894-1961) ranks as one of America’s most popular humorists. He is most renowned for his short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” a meek, absent-minded hen-pecked’ character who suffers the sharp-tongued ire of a dominant bossy wife.

    Read More

  • Walter's Daydreams In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” expresses the theme that satisfaction is harder for those who are not normal. With all of Walter Mitty’s daydreams in between everything that he does, it shows that his actual life is lacking something that he desires.

    Read More

  • Use Of Imagery In James Thurber's The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Themes of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, the Mitty motifs are the themes that include: disharmony between the sexes and males escaping routine. Another theme James Thurber includes in his work is the life as a married couple. Thurber has accomplished many great short shorties in his life, but “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” his most popular work. He has learned to live his life through his short stories, expressing his feelings in his writings. Many individuals have been inspired by his writings. James Thurber has made his mark on the world and will be forever known and never forgotten.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, the power behind the imagination is revealed. The use of the narrative point of view, the clear juxtaposition of Mitty’s real life and imagination, as well as the diction, allegories, and symbolism used contribute to the theme in various ways.

    Read More

More about The Role of Fantasy in James Thurber's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Open Document