The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber is a short story about escaping the mundane repetitiveness of everyday life through familiar places that remind the main character of historical moments in history. Walter Mitty is an ordinary man who dreams of being extraordinary. Part of the reasoning for his dissatisfaction with his everyday life is that he fails to live up to what he holds as masculine ideals. (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008) He is a lousy driver, forgetful and a passive husband. In his daydreams, however, he is brave, skilled, decisive and possibly most importantly respected by those around him. The story begins with Walter Mitty fantasizing about being the Commander on a Navy seaplane. Almost immediately we are thrust
into the inner workings of his mind where the line between fantasy and reality are blurred. His wife yelled not to go so fast and began speaking and giving directions as a mother does to a child. This scolding highlights one of the causes of the fragile masculinity that Walter has and possibly explains his frequent fantasies throughout the day. He also has another daydream about being a surgeon where he was well respected and trusted enough that he was utilized to both fix a faulty anesthesia machine as well as to take over surgery from the other specialists in the room.
While he was having these fantasizes, a parking lot attendant barks at him for trying to enter a garage through the exit only side. Here we are confronted with more signs of his fragile masculinity when the parking lot attendant shows him up by back the car up with offensive skill. This reminds him of a time when he tried to take his tire chains off by himself and ends up getting them wrapped around the car's axels. Since then, Mrs. Mitty had always made him go to a garage to take the chains off. We are shown that he is very embarrassed by these actions and even thought to himself that the next time he goes to the garage, he would wear a sling to prove that he couldn't have taken the chains off himself. In ending, the themes the author conveys is one of a man who feels like less of a man than he should and one who thinks that he is more suited for extraordinary things than the mundane, boring life he has chosen. He frequently uses fantasy to escape his world and the passive role that his wife has given him
into the inner workings of his mind where the line between fantasy and reality are blurred. His wife yelled not to go so fast and began speaking and giving directions as a mother does to a child. This scolding highlights one of the causes of the fragile masculinity that Walter has and possibly explains his frequent fantasies throughout the day. He also has another daydream about being a surgeon where he was well respected and trusted enough that he was utilized to both fix a faulty anesthesia machine as well as to take over surgery from the other specialists in the room.
While he was having these fantasizes, a parking lot attendant barks at him for trying to enter a garage through the exit only side. Here we are confronted with more signs of his fragile masculinity when the parking lot attendant shows him up by back the car up with offensive skill. This reminds him of a time when he tried to take his tire chains off by himself and ends up getting them wrapped around the car's axels. Since then, Mrs. Mitty had always made him go to a garage to take the chains off. We are shown that he is very embarrassed by these actions and even thought to himself that the next time he goes to the garage, he would wear a sling to prove that he couldn't have taken the chains off himself. In ending, the themes the author conveys is one of a man who feels like less of a man than he should and one who thinks that he is more suited for extraordinary things than the mundane, boring life he has chosen. He frequently uses fantasy to escape his world and the passive role that his wife has given him