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Empathy In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

785 Words4 Pages

Niko Zarkos
Mr. Myers
2R
5/22/23
Empathy and finding identity
All humans are inclined to empathize with others. Coming of age is when a person attains maturity, respect, and, recognition. Two big components of coming of age are developing empathy and finding one's identity. The main character of the book Nothing but the Truth by Avi is Philip Malloy. Philip is a young, naive, and selfish kid. The component of coming of age that Philip develops is empathy. The main character of the book The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber is Walter Mitty a middle-aged man whose mind wanders. The coming-of-age component that Walter Mitty develops is identity.

To begin, the start of the Book Nothing But the Truth by Avi Phillip Malloy is a young …show more content…

This part shows how Walter lets his mind wander and makes his life seem more interesting and wild than it is. This makes Walter's life seem very boring and mundane compared to the world he dreams about. A monument where Walter finds some of his identity is in his daydreams where he dreams about how he sees himself or what his identity is to him instead of how others perceive his identity. One of the daydreams where Walter finds his identity is when he drives by a hospital and has a daydream about him being a world-renowned surgeon. This represents how he wants to be known worldwide for something instead of just living a normal life. An event where Walter matures is the final daydream where Walter imagines himself being shot down by a firing squad after having little argument with his wife. This shows how Walter perceived what happened with his wife and how he identified himself as the bad guy who needed to be killed for his crimes. A quote that shows how Walter Mitty found his identity “ I was thinking. ... Does it ever occur to you that I am sometimes thinking?” This is what Walter said to his wife after a little argument. This shows how Walter found his identity because in his daydream he always images himself as a brave man and he finally takes that to the real world and stands up for himself from his wife.

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