James Thurber Research Paper

James Thurber was an innovator of using humor in writing. He took everything he did to a whole new level. These idea's came from his unique childhood and his very humerus family. It was mainly these things that shaped his writing. Thurber's writing style was made unique by his handicap, his families unique sense of humor, and his uncommon view on life.

Thurber was a normal child who did all of the things that a normal child would do. All of this changed one day when he was partially blinded by an arrow. His brother William was responsible for this tragic accident. R.E. Morsberger says, " When James was unable to participate in games and sports ( due to his childhood accident ) with other children, he developed a rich fantasy life, which would serve to inspire his later fiction" (22). This
Handicap A. Thurber was partially blinded by a childhood accident 1. couldn't play games so he developed a rich fantasy life 2. poor eyesight gave basis for misunderstanding 3. writing became sadder and more fatalistic in tone as career progressed 4. became totally blind in the last 10 years of his life but continued to work II. Family A. Thurber's family influenced his writing a great deal 1. Mary Thurber, his mother, was a strong-minded woman and a practical joker 2. Thurber's father, had dreams of being an actor or lawyer was the basis of the typical small, slight man of Thurber's stories 3. Mary Thurber was addicted to practical jokes involving elaborate diquises and sudden shifts of identity 4. Thurber often wrote about incidents in his own life 5. Thurber also was inspired by confusion which came from his mother III. Writing Style Bell ii A. Thurber liked to write about the frustrations of the average man without stepping over the line 1. "James Thurber was the unique, unpredictable wild card of American humorist, at once whimsical and the chronicler of everyday absurdities." 2. "I am not sure what poetic sensitivity is, but I am paretically certain Thurber has got