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.
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short stories‚ “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber and “Uncle Marcos” by Isabel Allende‚ they dream about different situations happening to them that would not happen in their regular life. Mitty always imagined himself as different people‚ sharing Mitty’s identity‚ doing different and more exciting jobs than the one he had currently. Marcos‚ in an opposing situation‚ imagined flying away in his “bird” over the city far away. Both “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “Uncle Marcos”
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excitement in Rip Van Winkle‚ when old Van Winkle return to town after his long slumber he is shocked by the citizens curiosity into his political ideology. The people vigorously ask him questions about who he voted for and wonder if he is supporter of the Brits. Having just fought a war for their freedom the American people must have been very excited. They were facing the unknown‚ the country’s future was in their hands and the American people wanted nothing to get in their way. Rip Van Winkle
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Sometimes a person’s life is not as exciting as they want it to be. People often try to excite their lives through various methods. In the short stories‚ “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “The Open Window”‚ both main characters try to stimulate their lives by changing the perception of reality. First‚ “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”‚ by author James Thurber tells the reader about a story where a man tries to escape his extremely mundane life with numerous fantasies. For example‚ Walter Mitty’s daydream
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The characters in “Rip Van Winkle” are exaggerated and strange. For the most part‚ Irving uses Rip Van Winkle & Dame Van Winkle to show exaggeration in the characters. People in their town view Rip Van Winkle as someone who is friendly & loves to help everyone. His wife‚ Dame Van Winkle‚ only saw him as being lazy due to Rip not doing much work around his house. Dame Van Winkle spends most of her time in this story criticizing him and Rip just “….shrugged his shoulders‚ shook his head‚ cast up his
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Rip Van Winkle was considered a happy‚ careless‚ and foolish man who was unconcerned with his own life‚ but would help help his neighbors who are in need with their daily tasks. He is one to sit on a bench and smoke his pipe incessantly‚ rather than help out his wife‚ Dame Van Winkle. One day Rip takes a walk with his dog up into the mountain and comes across some strange people‚ they offer him a drink‚ and the next thing Rip knows‚ he is waking up at the stump of a tree‚ with his dog nowhere to
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After Rip Van Winkle awakes from his twenty-year long slumber‚ he realizes that his dog and his gun are unable to be found. He is determined to revisit the spot that he was at the night before to demand his gun and dog back. Due to the forests long years of growing‚ he could not again find where he was before‚ so he decides to walk back to his village‚ fearing what Dame Van Winkle would say to him. As Rip approaches his village‚ he sees many people‚ none of which he recognizes. They were all pointing
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Cecília Rip van Winkle Excerpts – study “Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the Catskill Mountains. They are a branch of the great Appalachian family‚ and are seen away to the west of the river‚ swelling up to a noble height‚ and lording it over the surrounding country. Every change of season‚ every change of weather‚ indeed‚ every hour of the day‚ produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains‚ and they are regarded by all the goodwives‚ far and near
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the outcome of a story. In Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle‚” Irving incorporates exaggerated characters‚ magical events and their consequences‚ and places the setting in past times to create an American mythology. With these characteristics‚ Irving impacts the entire story and how the ending resolves. In the story‚ Irving uses mainly Rip Van Winkle and Dame Van Winkle to show exaggeration in the characters. The townspeople see Rip Van Winkle as a whole-hearted fellow who loves helping everyone
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In James Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty‚” the character Walter Mitty dreams of being a hero‚ and this contrast in characterization in real life reveals how unhappy he is with his dull and cowardly existence. Mitty’s life is monotonous‚ spent doing what his wife tells him to do. Mitty waits for his wife’s hair appointment to end when he realizes she will be done soon. He knows he has to get back to the hotel to meet his wife because “she didn’t like to get to the hotel first; she would
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