The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is a story about an individual that constantly seems to be caught up in numerous daydreams and thoughts that have nothing to do with everyday matters. James Thurber treats Mitty’s actions very entertaining, and at the same time his humor catches our attention to the need of communication and the importance of human relationships. In marriage relationships is critical that we know how to communicate.
Imagination is the human power that shapes artistic expression; it enables a writer’s work to become an expression of meaning in our world, allow readers to engage in identifying with what the writer’s work has to say about things that matter (Clugston, …show more content…
2010). Imagination is your sensation, and your ability to picture and dream about settings, people, or places in your mind.
In this particular story “The Secret Life of Water Mitty”, imagination played a huge role and mainly showed the importance for communication in marital relationships.
Mr. Mitty is a character who fills his mind with crazy fantasies, in which he always play the super hero role, save lives, and makes sound decisions. Mr. Mitty uses the daydreams of exciting adventure to escape from his boring life with his wife. She is so boring to the point she is afraid to drive over the speed limit. Thurber’s amusing depictions of Walter Mitty’s issues allow people to connect with the person in our lives who constantly daydream and once again live with everyday matters.
Mrs. Mitty is Walter’s controlling wife. She is always harassing him about putting on his gloves while driving, buying overshoes, and to slow down. In the story Walter’s wife was wondering why he didn’t put in his shoes. At this moment in time he was getting aggravated. Even though in this story it may seem his wife his somewhat dominating. Walter is lacking the ability and rejects the responsibility of being an adult. Honestly in this short story she prevents any type of accidents and helps Mr. Mitty focus on everyday life in
general.
Mr. Mitty is a daydreamer who constantly imagines himself as a big hero with his fantasies as commander in the navy, a surgeon, accused witness, bomber pilot, and a victim of a firing squad. Walter is married to a woman who actually treats him like a child than a husband. This is due to his childish ways and the crazy fantasies rather than live a normal life in the real world. He is continuously getting scolded by parking lot attendants, policeman, and his wife for his sidetracked behavior. James Thurber characterizes this man whose wife who basically controls him, who lives and daydreams all the time has became an ineffectual and lazy male figure in American culture.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty tells a story of an older man who goes on numerous trips into town with his harassing wife, Mrs. Mitty. Mr. Mitty is very incompetent with many things; he’s an absent minded driver, and he can’t fix simple mechanical issues, and has a horrible memory.
While Walter goes through a day of ordinary tasks and errands, he escapes into a series of romantic fantasies, each spurred on by some mundane reality. As he drives his car, he imagines he is commanding "a Navy hydroplane" through a terrible storm (1). When he rides past a hospital, he imagines he is a world-famous surgeon saving a VIP 's life. When he hears a newsboy shouting about a trial, he imagines he is a crack shot being interrogated in the courtroom. As he waits for his wife to finish at the hairdresser 's, Walter sees pictures of German plane and imagines he is a British pilot willing to sacrifice his life for his country. Lastly, as Mitty waits outside against a wall for his wife to buy something in a drugstore, he fantasizes that he is a bold and brave man about to be shot by a firing squad. The story ends with the inscrutable Walter Mitty awaiting this romantic death.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” reveals a marriage in which his wife is dominating, controlling, mean, bossy, and definitely wears the pants Walter is a humble, passive, and will not say anything to his wife about how he actually feels. A point of view that stood out to me the most was how James Thurber, gives the impression that Mrs. Mitty is a sexist individual. It’s a strong possibility that he is saying all women are bossy and unloving at times.
Form: Third Person Omnscient
The Secret of Walter Mitty is told by an uninvolved third person narrator. In the story they are just following Walter Mitty on his everyday duties and see only what he actually sees or continue to do. Even though the point of view is in third person, Walters’s character widens the influence in the narration.
Plot:
The short story deals with a vague and mild-mannered man who drives into Waterbury, Connecticut with his wife for their regular weekly shopping and his wife 's visit to the beauty parlor. During this time he has five heroic daydream episodes. The first is as a pilot of a U.S. Navy flying boat in a storm, then he is a magnificent surgeon performing a one-of-a-kind surgery, then as a deadly assassin testifying in a courtroom, and then as a Royal Air Force pilot volunteering for a daring, secret suicide mission to bomb an ammunition dump. As the story ends, Mitty imagines himself facing a firing squad, "inscrutable to the last." Each of the fantasies is inspired by some detail of Mitty 's mundane surroundings:
References:
Clugston, Wayne R. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. Inc
Snowotherway.com. (2002). eNotes. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Retrieved from:
http://stories.snowotherway.org/wp-content/uploads/sites8/2011/09
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is a story about an individual that constantly seems to be caught up in numerous daydreams and thoughts that have nothing to do with everyday matters. James Thurber treats Mitty’s actions very entertaining, and at the same time his humor catches our attention to the need of communication and the importance of human relationships. In marriage relationships is critical that we know how to communicate.
Imagination is the human power that shapes artistic expression; it enables a writer’s work to become an expression of meaning in our world, allow readers to engage in identifying with what the writer’s work has to say about things that matter (Clugston, …show more content…
2010). Imagination is your sensation, and your ability to picture and dream about settings, people, or places in your mind.
In this particular story “The Secret Life of Water Mitty”, imagination played a huge role and mainly showed the importance for communication in marital relationships.
Mr. Mitty is a character who fills his mind with crazy fantasies, in which he always play the super hero role, save lives, and makes sound decisions. Mr. Mitty uses the daydreams of exciting adventure to escape from his boring life with his wife. She is so boring to the point she is afraid to drive over the speed limit. Thurber’s amusing depictions of Walter Mitty’s issues allow people to connect with the person in our lives who constantly daydream and once again live with everyday matters.
Mrs. Mitty is Walter’s controlling wife. She is always harassing him about putting on his gloves while driving, buying overshoes, and to slow down. In the story Walter’s wife was wondering why he didn’t put in his shoes. At this moment in time he was getting aggravated. Even though in this story it may seem his wife his somewhat dominating. Walter is lacking the ability and rejects the responsibility of being an adult. Honestly in this short story she prevents any type of accidents and helps Mr. Mitty focus on everyday life in
general.
Mr. Mitty is a daydreamer who constantly imagines himself as a big hero with his fantasies as commander in the navy, a surgeon, accused witness, bomber pilot, and a victim of a firing squad. Walter is married to a woman who actually treats him like a child than a husband. This is due to his childish ways and the crazy fantasies rather than live a normal life in the real world. He is continuously getting scolded by parking lot attendants, policeman, and his wife for his sidetracked behavior. James Thurber characterizes this man whose wife who basically controls him, who lives and daydreams all the time has became an ineffectual and lazy male figure in American culture.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty tells a story of an older man who goes on numerous trips into town with his harassing wife, Mrs. Mitty. Mr. Mitty is very incompetent with many things; he’s an absent minded driver, and he can’t fix simple mechanical issues, and has a horrible memory.
While Walter goes through a day of ordinary tasks and errands, he escapes into a series of romantic fantasies, each spurred on by some mundane reality. As he drives his car, he imagines he is commanding "a Navy hydroplane" through a terrible storm (1). When he rides past a hospital, he imagines he is a world-famous surgeon saving a VIP 's life. When he hears a newsboy shouting about a trial, he imagines he is a crack shot being interrogated in the courtroom. As he waits for his wife to finish at the hairdresser 's, Walter sees pictures of German plane and imagines he is a British pilot willing to sacrifice his life for his country. Lastly, as Mitty waits outside against a wall for his wife to buy something in a drugstore, he fantasizes that he is a bold and brave man about to be shot by a firing squad. The story ends with the inscrutable Walter Mitty awaiting this romantic death.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” reveals a marriage in which his wife is dominating, controlling, mean, bossy, and definitely wears the pants Walter is a humble, passive, and will not say anything to his wife about how he actually feels. A point of view that stood out to me the most was how James Thurber, gives the impression that Mrs. Mitty is a sexist individual. It’s a strong possibility that he is saying all women are bossy and unloving at times.
Form: Third Person Omnscient
The Secret of Walter Mitty is told by an uninvolved third person narrator. In the story they are just following Walter Mitty on his everyday duties and see only what he actually sees or continue to do. Even though the point of view is in third person, Walters’s character widens the influence in the narration.
Plot:
The short story deals with a vague and mild-mannered man who drives into Waterbury, Connecticut with his wife for their regular weekly shopping and his wife 's visit to the beauty parlor. During this time he has five heroic daydream episodes. The first is as a pilot of a U.S. Navy flying boat in a storm, then he is a magnificent surgeon performing a one-of-a-kind surgery, then as a deadly assassin testifying in a courtroom, and then as a Royal Air Force pilot volunteering for a daring, secret suicide mission to bomb an ammunition dump. As the story ends, Mitty imagines himself facing a firing squad, "inscrutable to the last." Each of the fantasies is inspired by some detail of Mitty 's mundane surroundings:
References:
Clugston, Wayne R. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. Inc
Snowotherway.com. (2002). eNotes. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Retrieved from:
http://stories.snowotherway.org/wp-content/uploads/sites8/2011/09