Walter Mitty Thesis
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” Thesis Essay
In life, change is inevitable, but some people want and need change to make their lives more interesting. Everyone handles change in a different way, but in the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber, Walter Mitty embraces change. Walter Mitty lives a boring, humdrum life. He is an old man who does not have many friends or family, besides his wife. Walter Mitty has a strange relationship with his wife. She does not understand him, treats him like a child, and calls him feverish for his thoughts. In reality, Walter Mitty does not have much control over his life. His days mostly consist of driving Mrs. Mitty around and following her orders. When he daydreams, Walter Mitty
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He is tired of living and impotent life and wants it to change. Walter Mitty is described as “inscrutable” making it harder for him to build strong relationships with the people in his life, such as his wife. In the beginning of the story, Walter Mitty is dropping his wife off to get her hair done. Mrs. Mitty tells Walter Mitty to get overshoes while he waits for her even though she knows that he doesn’t want to get them. “Walter Mitty stopped the car in front of the building where his wife went to have her hair done. ‘Remember to get those overshoes while I’m having my hair done,’ she said. ‘I don’t need overshoes,’ said Mitty. She put her mirror back into her bag. ‘We’ve been through that,’ she said getting out of the car” (1). Right after this conversation with his wife, Walter Mitty begins to daydream. In his daydream, Walter Mitty is a surgeon, a position of power and authority. This shows that feeling powerless and being treated like a child triggers Mitty to daydream.
Theme is a universal idea that can be explored throughout the story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” because Walter Mitty constantly daydreams to change his life and be in control. He is tired of being told what to do, and he is ready to die. When he daydreams, not only is Mitty in control of his life, but he is in control of his thoughts, too. Mrs. Mitty is not capable of calling him feverish or forcing him to do things that he does not want to. Everybody likes to have their way and nobody likes constantly being nagged. If someone lived a life like Walter Mitty’s, they would want change,
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How To Be Able To Have Dinner With Walter Mitty
350 Words | 2 PagesIf I were able to have dinner with Walter Mitty from James Thurber 's “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” I would have to say yes. I have three main reasons to say yes and many a person may say no. I however may find his company enjoyable and much like my own. I would also have to see the way he looks at the world.
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The World Of Nethergrave By Gloria Skurzynski
719 Words | 3 PagesIn other instances of the book, Walter is found saying strange things or speaking aloud. On page 332, Mrs.Mitty asks Walter why he hadn’t put on his overshoes in the store. Walter responds with “I was thinking,” to which Mrs.Mitty retorts, “Does it ever occur to you that I am sometimes thinking?” This dialogue between the couple further emphasizes the way Walter’s thoughts often get in the way of his
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Movie Analysis: An Analysis Of Walter Mitty's Daydreams
735 Words | 3 PagesConsequently, Walter Mitty’s daydreams aid the plot of the movie to move forward. When the story begins, it is possible to see a Walter Mitty who doesn’t express his feelings; he doesn’t communicate his desires nor his opinions. He is always doing what he is told to in his work, sorting negatives for Life magazine’s publications, without complaining. He has a tedious routinely life, he only goes from home to work and back home. Furthermore, he has to take care of an aging mother and a wacky sister since his father’s death.
Walter Lee Younger In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
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Raisin In The Sun Quote Analysis
452 Words | 2 PagesThe last reason why Walter is rude and disrespectful to his family is when mama came looking for him and found his at the local bar. She sat down with his and starting talking to him about everything like his life, how he has a good life and what kind of changes that need to be made. Once mama starting talking about money doesn't matter Walter totally disagrees with her. Mama: Son--how come you talk so much `about
The American Dream In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
1664 Words | 7 PagesHe feels that if he cannot achieve greatness and get his family out of the slums of Chicago, then he has failed at everything. It not only concerns his family that he sees his human worth out of money, but it worries them because they are not able to trust him to be responsible and just when making decisions. While the Younger family wants to own a house and receive a stronger income, Walter is the only one who obsesses over it and allows it to alter the ways in which he treats important people in his life. Segregation caused dreams to become deferred, and weights were put onto the families during the 1950s. Due to segregation, they could not afford what white families could, and this was because they were paid less in the workforce.
A Raisin In The Sun Walter's Dream Analysis
466 Words | 2 PagesDespite the fact that dreaming of a liquor store is shallow, Walter’s motivation to be able to support his family helps reconcile his somewhat immoral hopes. Later, Walter shows the idiocy of his plan to own a liquor store when he gets drunk. In act 2, scene 2, Walter borrows Willy Harris’s car and drives around Chicago for two days, then “just walked”, and finally “went to the Green Hat” (2.2 105). Through his actions, Walter shows that he is immature and cares more about pretending to be rich than his job that would allow him to provide for his family.
Walter Mitty Identity Analysis
830 Words | 4 PagesKey details in the film illustrate how the rest of the world see Walter. He is a shy dull man that is boring and maybe some might say a loner. When you watch the movie beginning to end you see his identity transform from timid to brave and courageous. He steps out of his shell and does thing he thought he would never do. Walter Mitty found his identity.
Theme Of The Scarlet Ibis And Lennie's Death
717 Words | 3 PagesLennie before he died. George didn’t want to kill Lennie. George was apprehensive to kill Lennie. Throughout the story “The Scarlet Ibis”, Brother was always disappointed by Doodle no matter how hard Doodle tried. George stated he was never mad at Lennie in Lennie’s final moments, but he was frustrated with him throughout the story.
The Importance Of Money In A Raisin In The Sun
826 Words | 4 PagesThe way that Walter thinks is that if he had lots of money he would be better and act different, but sometimes people with too much don’t really act like they enjoy and also money never solves big problems but walter thinks it will. I believe that if you have too much money you think that everything is going so well at the moment and you don't care about spending money, but one day something could occur and you will lose all of so this just shows that no one should rely on money. In life you need to make sacrifices that could be should i spend money on an investment that could be helpful and help out my family in the future or if that I should buy something so I could help out my family instead of later. I believe that you should always help out the family when they are in need because something could happen and it could all go away. Having money should never define the person you are because you could be rich you could just be rude and not help anyone and be selfish and if you are wealthy you could have the nicest heart and be very helpful to people that are in need.
Raisin In The Sun Gender Roles Essay
950 Words | 4 PagesWalter was introduced as a man who cared about nothing other than his business. He had sacrificed his sister’s dream of becoming a doctor, and held the power to wipe out Mama’s dream for a better home. Walter sees the gender roles as boundaries keeping him from loosening up to his family. He is given the insight that men must be powerful, wealthy, and demanding for them to truly be the head of the household. However, Walter sees past these gender roles, and not only challenges these rigid roles, but he also regains his family’s trust along the
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Literary Analysis
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