How Does Walter Mitty Study The Benefits Of Daydreaming

O’Brien shows that imagination can help us do things that could not be done in real life, and it can help us escape reality. For instance, the first chapter talks about how Lieutenant Jimmy Cross always daydreams about a relationship between himself and Martha.

In both the short story and the movie Walter Mitty daydreams,

In his 1947 essay, “Thought,” Louis H. Sullivan offers concepts on how to improve one’s creative thinking process. He suggests that the most highly productive, creative thinking is accomplished better without the use of words, thus promoting the use of more imaginative cogitating. Sullivan calls the process of thinking an art, a science, and compares it to being like an army. He also equates thinking to being a philosophy, and it is here that a problem arises. He mentions the use of reading and states, “The best that reading and listening can do is to stimulate you to think your own thoughts, but nine times out of ten, you are thinking the other man’s thought, not your own.” Sullivan is suggesting that generally, the act of reading only permits the reader access to the author’s thought process and does not allow them to develop their own ideas from the source. Therefore, does the act of reading diminish one’s creativity and originality? Certainly not, reading inspires one to meditate on the source’s idea; therefore, stirring up the reader’s thought process to create new thinking schemes.

The film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, which was converted to a movie from a short story, talks about the negative consequences of daydreaming. Walter, who is the protagonist of the movie, daydreams in his daily life frequently. He imagines extraordinary events and loses his connection with the world. This habit of Walter Mitty leads him into a couple of bad consequences. His colleagues make fun of him while Walter Mitty was daydreaming. For instance, his boss says, “Do you think, if I hit him with a paper clip, would he move?” (Stiller, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) and throws a paper clip to him. This movie showed me that people cannot think properly and their relation with the real world disappears as they daydream. That’s why, they cannot notice what is going on around them, which is a negative

Walter Mitty uses his fantasies to avoid his wife. Ferguson points out that Mr.Mitty’s dreams usually occur during or after one of his dreams(433). Walter falls into his dreams to escape his wife even though sometimes he

The movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, uses the stream of consciousness technique very well. The premise of the movie is essentially built on this writing technique. At the beginning of the movie, Walter experiences daydreams very frequently, while his actual life is very average and boring. The viewer even gains a sense of pity for Walter because he dreams of doing so many amazing things, but lacks the courage and boldness to realize these fantasies.

On lazy days when I'm bored, I daydream a lot. Just staring into space or look at the sky and the clouds or whatever that catches my intrest. I imagine various things, from the future, to the past. Sometimes I think of of the possibility of having a brother or sister since I am the only child in my house. I think of other people and their relationships with their siblings

In the first place, Oates appears to suggest that one of the biggest dangers of adolescence is inherent curiosity. Connie is no different than any other teenager, she wants to explore just as much as the next 15 year old. Connie can't help but let her mind wander to fantasies as she daydreams in her free time and even when her mother is talks to her. While daydreaming is not extremely dangerous in itself, it is the first stepping stone toward a path of darkness as curiosity is able to “overpower” Connie. Curiosity is the driving force when Connie and her friends go out to the older teenager burger joint. They describe the restaurant as a “sacred building” (145) for which they “yearned” (145-146). Connie's curiosity eventually leads to her hooking

Around half of man’s thoughts are daydreams, according to a 2009 neurological study. This supports the thought that daydreaming is a gateway that allows the mind to wonder, not just wander. Therefore, people like Walter Mitty who constantly seem to be daydreaming aren’t that uncommon or abnormal. Walter Mitty shouldn’t be looked down upon or pitied, but instead should be praised for his constant awareness of his own mind’s thoughts, as this continuously happens to everyone.

First, Walter Mitty has many detailed daydreams. For example, “Life is about courage and going into the unknown, into another world so you can develop who you really are” (Cheryl Melhoff). This quote explains that a person must go into the unknown, into another world where you can face your obstacles and develop who you really are. In the movie, it shows that it’s a better medium than the short story. Mainly, the daydreams in the movie are more enjoyable because you can actually see them. Also, “When the flock of birds formed Cheryl’s face, it made Walter Mitty think of her.” Someone watching the movie could feel his emotions. Maybe, if this daydream were in the short story, a person could not have felt the feelings and emotions he felt in the movie. Not only that, but also Walter Mitty has to decide if he’s going to go with the pilot to Iceland and find Sean. Then, “He daydreams that Cheryl is at the restaurant and she is playing the guitar and she sings him a song that encourages him to go to Iceland.” He didn’t want to go at first but then thinking about Cheryl, it symbolizes how he feels her support and makes him change his mind and go to Iceland.

In fact, it is the clear distinction between fantasy and reality that makes “escaping” a theme. The heavy juxtaposition between diction of the dream world and real life is evident. For example, in the second daydream as a surgeon, Dr. Mitty “snapped” at fellow doctors and nurses to give him a fountain pen and uses fake yet complicated sounding medical terms such as “Obstreosis of the ductal tract” (The). However, in the subsequent paragraph as Walter clumsily almost hits another car in the parking lot in reality, he only “muttered” in response to the valet, unable to give a definitive reply. The dramatic juxtaposition between Mitty’s spectacular fantasies and mundane reality drives the story.

Do you ever daydream and picture yourself in daring or outrageous situations you would not normally take part in? Do you know why your mind drifts into these fantasies? Some people have daydreams because they are in a situation that does not interest them; while others use their imagination to escape from aspects of their lives they are not contented with. Sometimes, daydreaming is not just a way out of reality, but it might also help make changes which can improve those disappointing aspects of life that frustrate the daydreamer. Walter Mitty, the main character of the movie

Most days, my head reminds me of a snow globe. As I wake every morning, my thoughts get shaken up and gently rain down in my mind, condensing into full, solid ideas. Most days, I think up fantasies.

This constant reminiscing begins to affect him negatively and blinds him from the reality he is faced with. These occurrences in the novel make it evident that dwelling on memories and past tragedies can obstruct one’s individualism, their relationships, as well

Whimsically and beautifully produced and acted, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed and starring Ben Stiller, is the perfect movie to relate to our own lives. Like countless people on this planet, Walter Mitty (Stiller) works his 9 to 5 every single day in his life, stuck in an endless cycle. Everyone that knows Mitty is aware of when he “zones out” - in some situations, he pictures himself making a wild choice, since he was never brave enough to make those illusions a reality. As the negative assets manager in the photography department, Mitty works at LIFE magazine and has a crush on his co-worker, Cheryl (Kristen Wiig). The magazine is beginning to fall apart, as corporate men take over the company to transition to online.