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The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Critical Analysis

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“For the rest, he knows himself to be the master of his days,” A quote by the great philosopher, Albert Camus. Life is filled with both success and failure, but what truly defines the quality of life is how those components are dealt with. Enthusiasm to make change and amend the failure as well as improve on successes will provide a positive life. In the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” the author, humorist James Thurber, tells the tale of a man named Walter Mitty. Walter, unhappy with several aspects of his life, seeks refuge from the external hardships by imagining a world where his nobility is boundless. Although this tactic does not make permanent enhancements to his life, it grants Walter’s mind comfort. Throughout the story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” James Thurber uses conflict and symbolism to portray the theme of success and failure to the reader. The conflict is an issue that prevails within a story. Every story contains a conflict, and James Thurber uses it to portray the theme. Although Walter Mitty faces several conflicts within each of his daydreams, the main conflict is internal. His internal conflict is his choice on how to deal with his wife. Thurber describes the conflict in the story as, “‘You’re tensed up again,” said Mrs. Mitty. “It’s one of your days. I wish you’d let Dr. Renshaw look you over,’” (Thurber 626). Walter keeps his frustrations to himself because he is not sure how to deal with them. His wife bores him and makes life miserable. Rather than communicating his grievances with Mrs. Mitty, he turns to his own imagination. In the story, it states, “‘Don’t tell me you forgot the what’s-its-name.’ A newsboy went by shouting something about the Waterbury trial,” (627). Walter knows his wife will be upset with him for forgetting, but he is so uninterested in his life that he disregards it all. Life has become a routine for Walter. His wife will ask for him to do a task, he will forget because of his daydreaming, she complains, and then he is sent into another daze. This internal conflict is tied back to Walter’s strive towards success and his inevitable march towards failure. Walter has become so accustomed to failure that he settles for it. Kathleen Wilson

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