The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Analysis

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a fun adventure movie about a man who wants to be brave

As Walter's dreams become bigger and bigger, he seems to neglect the 'smaller' things such as his family. "Here I am a giant surrounded by ants! Ants who can't even understand what the giant is

Walter has long dreamed of making his family’s condition better, of giving them wealth that his low-paying job is unable to do. Nature appears to be against Walter and his family, for they are living in a poorly maintained tenement apartment while surrounded with racism. Walter understands this

Walter struggles in understanding who he needs to be for his family. He wants to take his place as the patriarch of the family, but he feels incapable of providing them with the lifestyle they deserve. This concern is always at the forefront of his mind, and it affects his attitude and outlook. The anxiety that Walter is dealing with creates confrontation with his sister. He fears that her dream will interfere with his own agenda of making a better life for his family. The severity of the tension becomes more and more apparent with Walter’s unwise investment. Walter is dealing with the burden that he has let his family down, while Beneatha is flabbergasted by the reality that her future has been snatched away from her, and she had no control over it. While reflecting on the situation, Beneatha remarks, “ I sound like a human who just had her future taken right out of my hands! While I was sleeping….things were happening in this world that directly concerned me and nobody consulted me—they just went out and did things—and changed my life” (Hansberry 3.15). Walter and Beneatha’s individual issues with the outcome of the situation cause them to find fault with one another during a time when their family needs to pull together to get through such a financial hardship. Walter is in an emotional pit; his turning to alcohol and music instead of his family for support expands the

    In the movie the movie of Walter Mitty they had more places for the setting, while in the short story the setting only takes place in a city named Waterbury where all they do is run errands. It had basically explained how they were in Waterbury but different places within the city. Due to this the short story didn't have many characters. However in the movie Walter was in the office and traveled many places. He was trying to track down Sean O’Connell to set negative 25 which was the cover photo. Some of the places Walter traveled included Greenland, Iceland, and Afghanistan, while he did these things it showed him that he is an important person. Every time Walter traveled he would always have some type of daydream, an example is when he was on the way to the volcano and he fell due to a daydream he had. Therefore the daydreams that Walter has affects what he gets done and i say that the movie adds much more detail than the short story.

Sometimes when you are in a relationship, you start to wonder what your life would be like if you hadn't been with the person you are with if you aren't happy. In the short story by the author James Thurber called "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", a man named Walter Mitty daydreams about having different lifestyles away from his controlling wife. The theme of the short story is that you can be whoever you want to be as long as you are yourself. Throughout the short story, the literary terms found in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" are characterization and conflict and they are explained in many forms. They both show how Walter's daydreams relate to his real life and how he wishes his real life was different.

     As Walter's dreams become bigger and bigger, he seems to neglect the 'smaller' things such as his family. "Here I am a giant surrounded by ants! Ants who can't even understand what the giant is talking about,? (Hansberry 85). Walter has big ideals, but his methods of achieving his goals and ideals are somewhat irrational. Walter can be regarded as more concerned with becoming self-employed without really thinking about the consequences, which may be imposed on his family. Later in play, Walter learns that he needs to set his dreams aside for the sake of the

Walter Lee is a dynamic character who changes several times throughout this story. At the beginning of the play, Walter is very ambitious and wants more out of his life. He says, “I got me a dream” (pg 33). He is motivated own the liquor store and to succeed. His first change in character happens when Mama refuses to help pay for the liquor store and his wife has another bun in the oven. His needs moved and he wound up plainly discouraged, going out, drinking too much alcohol, and missing shifts. His point of view changed again when Mama gave him some cash from the check and let him know, “I’m telling you to be the head of this family from now on like you supposed to be” (pg 107).  From that moment on Walter became more responsible, loving, and took on a leadership position in his family. This change was apparent when his dreams returned while talking to Travis about driving a, “plain black Chrysler” (pg 108). Walters change in his perspective of life demonstrates that he is a dynamic, round character.

Even when people do not realize it, everyone is always learning from other people. Characters in stories all have a variety of different personalities. One character from the stories desires to be daring and fearless, while the other character is both both of those qualities. Since one character desires to be something that he is not, he puts his imagination to the test and makes his own perfect scenarios.

Families play a large role in the lives of every person to ever live. If one is born without a family, their lives will be much different than one who is born with a family, whether that family has a positive influence on said person or not. Every member of a family shapes a person’s identity, especially when they are growing up. If a child grows up with irresponsible parents that do not care for their child or adhere to their needs, the child will most likely grow up to become a person of a similar fashion with similar characteristics as their parents because that is all they have experienced and that is the only way that they

Yessir- whatever you want to be- you name it son! And I?ll hand you the world.? (108-09). Walter?s false confidence allows him to make such a strong promise to Travis. Walter is unable to see that these things he is promising Travis quite easily may not become reality because he is solely focused on his dreams. Therefore, he believes everything he promises as a result of his dream will become a reality. Furthermore, as a result of his sole focus on dreams, Walter is unable to associate himself with decent people. The prime example of this poor association is Willy Harris. At this present time in the novel, Walter is seeing the true extent of his impaired judgment due to focus on his dreams. As he discusses his ?business transaction? with Bobo, one of his colleagues, Walter is unable to see Willy Harris for the true epitomic evil doer he is. As his evident mental block continues, Bobo gives him insight on the growing problem, ??what?s a matter with you, Walter! When a cat takes with your money he don?t leave you no road maps.?? (128). Walter is beginning to learn the consequences of trusting a malevolent man like Willy Harris. Walter is solely focused on his dreams and quite palpably, it was a mistake. His judgment is so impaired, he trusts this man with the money Mama selflessly gives to him and his sister and it instantly vanishes. Finally, Walter is unable to see he is affecting those around him because he is singularly focused on

Walter's frustration festers and his anger turns inward towards his family who, in Walters eyes, do not understand him. Walter's family members do understand him and they also want to amass material dreams, but Walter's family members know that it is going to take work to get there.

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

Mrs.Mitty drives Walter insane and triggers his dreams. Walter can not stand his wife and in response ignores her through his fantasies. In “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, Mrs.Mitty finds Walter in the hotel lobby in a daze while reading a news paper and ask him “Why do you have to hide in this old chair?”(Thurber 47). Walter without realizing has once again found himself in a dream.

Relationships are hard, especially when the couple does not see eye to eye. Walter Mitty and his wife know exactly what that is like. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is a short story written by James Thurber. The setting takes place at Waterberg, Connecticut. The two main characters in this short story are Walter Mitty and his wife, who play significant roles in making this short story come alive despite being very different in many ways. Walter is the protagonist because he is the leading character, while his wife is the antagonist since she causes friction with Walter and his imaginations. Knowing this helps develop the theme of dysfunctional marriages as seen in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” as it is portrayed through the