James Thurber's The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

A small office setting is where the narration takes place and this is where all the secrets become unraveled. It is almost like he is trapped and has no where else to go so he decides to confess. The scenes on the train also have a sense of claustrophobia because Walter must pretend he is on crutches in a crowded train. Maneuvering in that condition is difficult on its own, but with a small setting it becomes more worrisome. The interactions between Walter and Phyllis also take place in small, confined areas. The grocery store, his apartment, and her living room. This only adds on to the secrecy and entrapment by giving them small places to discuss their secretive acts. Overall, the lighting and designs all support and suggest the theme that secrecy will lead you into a feeling of

Do you ever have a moment where you just sit there and daydream? If you ask me it can be pretty dangerous if you do it at the wrong time! So you should watch what you do so you won't be like Walter Mitty. In the short story of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber there are a lot of differences and very little similarities, in my opinion i say the movie was way better.

Every marriage has there ups and downs. In fact, there are no such things as a perfect marriage. The subject of marriage and gender roles are usually mentioned in literary pieces that put the emphasis on mostly on the way the family is set up. The following comparative essay will put the emphasis to center on the two fictional stories; 'I'm going' by Bernard Tristan and 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' by James Thurber. The researcher is able to relate to both of the stories on account of the certain dealings that he has had in marriage unions. These two literary pieces are the researcher's preferred choice to talk about the subject of gender roles and marriages. This following two sources of literature puts the emphasis on the marriage that is among Henri and Jeanne also as Mr. and Mrs. Mitty.

The film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is the story of Walter Mitty, a negative assets manager for Life magazine. Life is in the process of becoming an online only magazine and Walter is in charge of the cover for the last print of the magazine. Life's favorite photographer sends in a roll of film that was supposed to include a picture that was to be the "quintessence" of Life when Walter discovers that the negative that was meant to be on the final cover of Life is missing he he goes on a journey to find the negative and a journey of self transformation.

In the movie and short story ¨The Secret LIfe of Walter Mitty¨ there was very different external conflicts, themes, and ways Walter acted.For example on the short story, walter's wife is always nagging at him for different things, but in the movie it is walter's boss and co-workers that are making his life difficult. In the short story, Walter is dull and not a very entertaining character 9 and has a very boring life, but in the movie he starts out that way but he gradually becomes a more adventurous, entertaining character with confidence. The theme of the short story was escaping reality, while one of the themes of the movie was beautiful things do not ask for attention. The differences in external conflict, ways Walter acts, and the themes between the movie and short story.

The fight with reality and identity are clearly shown. Both Mittys have relatively normal and typical lives. In the movie, Walter Mitty in is search for the 25th negative film strip that is missing. The 25th film, signifies the missing piece in his life. The part of his life in which he daydreams.

In James Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Walter Mitty faces the every day challenges of the real world. Thurber uses surreal dreams to allow Walter Mitty to escape these challenges. The main two characters are Mr. and Mrs. Mitty. Mr.Mitty finds himself in the middle of action packed dreams until someone or something brings him back to reality. Walter Mitty escapes through his fantasies because he lacks the strength to face reality and the courage to express his real feelings and opinions.

Daydreams can inspire a person with unpredictable dreams which can change a person. In the book The Secret Life of Walter Mitty a “short story” by James Thurber which, is about a man named Walter Mitty who daydreams. Walter Mitty has a humdrum everyday life and daydreams about becoming a heroic person. Walter Mitty a man of action who daydreams and exhibits many traits, as well as virtues. Walter Mitty’s thoughts consistently shift from fantasy to reality. Walter Mitty shows inspiration when daydreaming of becoming a heroic person. Inspiration can bring one’s life a desire to dream and to work hard and set a goal for themselves. Walter Mitty is inspired on other people’s jobs and doesn’t really enjoy the job he has. “In the operating room,

James Thurber is the author of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”. He feels inferior to his wife throughout his marriage. He learns to express these feelings through writing short stories and illustrating cartoons. This is a way for him to escape his everyday life with his wife. Critics have acknowledged Mitty motif, which is used to describe his two major themes in many of his major works such as “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (Morsberger 66). “The Secret Life of Walter Witty” is one of the most well know short stories by James Thurber (Morsberger 44). His themes are evident throughout the story. Also, he is able to become alive through the story by expressing imagination. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” explores the main themes of

Life is about finding yourself, each other, and being true to one’s self. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an extremely original and creative story written by James Thurber. The movie, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, starring Ben Stiller, conveys a daydreamer escaping his typical life by disappearing into a realm of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. In both the movie and the book, the title character retreats into fantasy as an escape from his mundane reality because in the real world, he is ordinary, insecure, and passive. In the short story, Walter

At first Walter is used to portray male succumbs to allowing success and money to lead to tearing of his family. Walter is shadowed by greed and ignorance which causes him to fail to achieve the success he wishes to gain with his

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber is about a man named Walter mitty who daydreams. Walter mitty's daydreams get in the way of him doing what he wants to do. Walter mitty is from CT and he is always forgetful. In his day dreams he is always the hero. Walter mitty's wife miss mitty is very controlling and bossy.

Mann, A. (1982). TAKING CARE OF WALTER MITTY. Studies in Short Fiction, 19(4), 351. Retrieved from

In contrast to the yellow wallpaper in the secret life of Walter Mitty the woman are seen as the more dominant figure in the relationship. This can be due to the possible time period the story is set in or the age of the male and female in question as they are an older couple. Mr Mitty is often seen going against the wishes of Mrs Mitty who likes to keep him in check, this can be observed directly through the relationship of Mr and Mrs Mitty. “Not so fast! You’re driving too fast!” said Mrs. Mitty. “What are you driving so fast for?” (Thurber). Mrs Mitty questions the decisions of her husband numerous times through the story and is seen as the more assertive of the two, Mrs Mitty’s attitude towards her husband is also constant and does not show ambiguity in the way she treats her husband, showing that this dominance isn’t connected with emotions but rather is a fixed integral part of their relationship. The female dominance in the relationship also suggests that there may exist a slight fear

If I ever dared say, ‘Ah, you’re kidding!’ there was trouble” (Singer 994). Seeing just how easy all to the townspeople can take advantage of Gimpel’s social retardation, it becomes quite clear what a setback Walter Mitty 's social ineptitude can be in a corporate environment. Lacking the necessary social skills is more than likely the reason that Mitty defaults to daydreams, they are a reprieve from real life, and often much less stressful. Walter Mitty has one of these such stressful social situations after his employer, Time Magazine, is acquired by another firm. Mitty meets the acquisition manager, Ted Hendricks, for the first time, "Hey, my man, you still there? What? Did you pass out or..." suddenly coming back to reality, Mitty exclaims, "No, I just like, zoned out for a second" (Conrad). This is a fitting example of just how debilitating Mitty 's daydreams can be. Due to a daydream Walter made a terrible first impression on his new boss, a man that now can fire Mitty. After Walter Mitty 's first encounter with his new boss, he quickly loses credibility in the workplace, as Ted Hendricks is talking with other employees he notices Mitty daydreaming again, "Do you think, if I hit him with a paper clip, would he move?" (Conrad). This lack of respect in the workplace that Mitty experiences is very similar to Gimpel’s situation when he first starts work at the bakery, “Every woman or girl that came in to bake a batch of