The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Essays

  • 'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty'

    1212 Words  | 5 Pages

    heads, but for others, it becomes somewhat of a reality. In James Thurber’s adventurous short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Walter Mitty lives half of his life in his imagination. Walter and his wife, Mrs. Mitty, are taking a trip into town. Throughout the trip, Walter is shown to be unable to complete simple tasks, such as driving correctly. However, in the world inside his mind, Walter is quite an adventurous hero. A constant theme shown by Thurber in the story is the different versions

  • 'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty'

    512 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber, is a short story about a man who daydreams so frequently that it causes trouble in his life. In the story the protaginist’s wife, Mrs. Mitty, is seen as quite a nag. However, I believe that she is trying to keep Walter Mitty safe from himself, although one could see her attempts as very harsh and emasculation. I thourghly believe that she is trying to help him, but has a poor way of showing it. There’s a psycolighical disorder

  • 'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty'

    714 Words  | 3 Pages

    “ The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” analyzes the daydreams by expansion, disappointments, and wants of the main character. Thurber narrates the story through a third person point of view, limited. The life of Walter Mitty is not one to be overly fascinated about. As a matter of fact, it is exactly opposite of an interesting life that others would be impressed with. Walter has entered fantasyland! Through Foils, to make up for many failures and disappointments Walter constructs a, “secret life” in his

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    909 Words  | 4 Pages

    Perspective of Dreaming James Thurber's short story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," explores the theme of reality vs dreams and isolation through the character of Walter Mitty. Mitty's daydreams serve as a way for him to escape the monotony of his everyday life and create a more exciting reality. However, this creates a divide between his actual life and the one he imagines, leaving him isolated from the world around him. In his daydreams, Mitty is a hero, a commander, a doctor, and a daring pilot

  • Daydreams In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    782 Words  | 4 Pages

    of pleasant thoughts that distract one's attention from the present. In the book The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, by James Thurber, Walter, the main character, tries to escape reality by daydreaming about a more exciting life. The main characters in this book are Walter Mitty and his demanding wife. Throughout the story Walter is driving his wife to a hair appointment and running some errands. Walters life is stagnant and he shows this with many traits including, being unadventurous and having

  • Identity In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    787 Words  | 4 Pages

    of the past or present. In Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the protagonist’s life is routine and lacks vibrancy. Eventually, an arduous adventure spurs past aspirations and present commitments forwards. Through this film, Stiller demonstrates the importance for humans to integrate personal beliefs into everyday life while staying pragmatic, and maintaining balance in order to develop and understand identity through adversity. Walter Mitty begins as a one-sided character lacking the

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Essay

    542 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Movie Review The major motion picture The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, starred in and directed by Ben Stiller is a perfect example of a daydream and the original short story by James Thurber. The picture follows the life of inattentive Walter Mitty who works as a negative assets manager behind the magazine LIFE. To escape from his monotonous day to day life, Walter escapes to an internal dream world, where he is not only a hero but has the girl of his dreams. Everything

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Essay

    1082 Words  | 5 Pages

    disagree and think it is a doorway to creativity. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber, presents Mitty’s daydreams to show that he wants to escape his wife’s control and constant nagging which also expresses his emotions of dissatisfaction and self-pity. Walter Mitty spends most of his time escaping into daydreams in which he is heroic and life is adventurous. He is literatures greatest dreamer. As “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” begins, a military officer orders and airplane crew

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Essay

    822 Words  | 4 Pages

    Justin Gonska Short stories May 19, 2023 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty We have all wanted to be somewhere else in a situation where we are uncomfortable, bored, or even sad. In the short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty written by James Thurber, the main character Walter Mitty can do just that. Walter Mitty is an ordinary, boring guy who has almost all of the aspects of his life controlled by others around him, but when he daydreams he becomes an adventurous man who can do anything he

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Essay

    1490 Words  | 6 Pages

    “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” has a few different ideas flowing throughout, but the most noticeable and important aspect is his daydreaming. Walter daydreams a total of five times throughout the story, each time a bit more dramatic than the last. Throughout the paper, the reader will see many different reasons why Walter daydreams. Out of each smaller theme running through the story, the major theme is escapism because Walter Mitty is constantly fantasizing about who he could be if the world

  • Symbolism In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    1001 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the short story and movie, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” many different types of symbolism have a huge impact on the story. Symbolism is used in these stories to take something small and give it an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. Symbolism can have a huge impact on the reader or viewer. In many cases it can make them take time to think about the real meaning of the story. This will often create a desire to re-read or re-watch the story again to understand

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Comparison Essay

    1088 Words  | 5 Pages

    Stiller's The ‘Secret Life of Walter Mitty Walter leads double lives in dreams and reality I will be exploring how Walter's connection to dreams and reality change over time. Both versions of Walter initially rely on dreams to escape from reality but we see that Walter's confidence and self-belief are tied to the dreams he has. At the end of the film, The film version of Walter learns to make his dreams a reality, while the novel version is more content with who he is. Walter Mitty relies on his

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty By James Thurber

    827 Words  | 4 Pages

    In, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” James Thurber uses his personal experience and symbolism to connect the historical climate at the time for the purpose of developing the conflict between man vs. society. The main character, Walter Mitty, goes through his day while battling icy waters as a lieutenant and performing surgeries on millionaire bankers with some of the best doctors in America. As he goes along, readers are able to see how technology and the war had impacted people’s lives during

  • Internal Conflict In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    1011 Words  | 5 Pages

    Walter Mitty's Daydreams verse Reality “Make your life a dream, and of a dream a reality” (“A quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry”). Famous French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, wrote this quote that relates to the main protagonist's internal struggle in the story which creates a lasting conflict throughout the story that makes his life miserable. Walter Mitty, the protagonist, struggles with the internal conflict of wanting to have authority, to be looked upon as a hero, and to be in control

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty: Constructed Response

    345 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” Constructed Response In the story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber, Walter Mitty is a character that often daydreams of exciting adventures to occupy his very dull and ordinary life. Most times, his daydreaming gets him into trouble so his wife, Mrs. Mitty, tries to look out for him. Some may think Mrs. Mitty does not respect Walter Mitty and she is guilty of emasculating him however she is motivated to protect Mr. Mitty from himself and really

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Rhetorical Devices

    657 Words  | 3 Pages

    novel, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, by James Thurber, an average man, Walter Mitty, dreams of the vast mysteries of life and imagines great stories of himself as a commander, surgeon and defendant in a court case. The story uses several rhetorical strategies such as juxtaposition, imagery and dramatic irony in order to exemplify the theme of the innate nature for better understanding oneself and living life to the fullest. The story begins with a vibrant scene in which Walter Mitty imagines himself

  • Dramatic Irony In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    824 Words  | 4 Pages

    this is a familiar situation as Walter zones in and out from reality, but these are not just loose thoughts or fantasies, these are astonishing worlds Walter ponders upon and it is similar to non-other. The secret Life of Walter by James Thurber is a perfectly depicted story by Thurber, he excellently goes in depth on the thoughts that course through Walters' head, Thurber illustrates to the audience the disparity between Walters external and internal relationships Walter has with those in his environment

  • The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Literary Analysis

    1278 Words  | 6 Pages

    short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, written by James Thurber. The short story follows a middle aged man, Walter Mitty, as he goes through fantasies which involve him in situation that are far from his reality. People use imagination to put themselves in situation where they posses certain qualities or a lifestyle which they lack in the real world. Throughout the short story, Walter escapes into event-triggered fantasies in which he can do or be anything he wants to be. Walter uses his imagination

  • Mrs. Mity In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    838 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mrs. Mitty is clearly the strongest supporting character in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” She is static because she doesn’t experience enlightenment into the thought process of her husband like we do. Mrs. Mitty helps us understand Mitty through her passive role in his life. Because of her low expectations, Mitty doesn’t have anyone in his life to push him towards becoming the person he desires to be, a strong, popular hero and thus remains static. The monotony of Mitty’s life, caused by his

  • Compare And Contrast The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    926 Words  | 4 Pages

    At some point in their life, everyone wishes they could be someone or somewhere else. In The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber, Walter Mitty often daydreams, wishing he were somewhere or someone else. He does this to make up for his average and boring life. In the story, Walter is an average husband who is treated like a child by his wife. In the movie, Walter starts as an ordinary negative asset manager for LIFE magazine but eventually lives out his daydreams. Moreover, his character