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The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

Satisfactory Essays

Look at your life, are you content with what you see? “To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”, according to Life Magazine. Most people are too preoccupied by the tedium of day to day concerns to take the time to analyze their life and decide what they want it to look like. Walter Mitty is a character who takes a step back and envisages his life through his daydreams. Mitty is the main character in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty written by James Thurber. He is also the lead character in a movie loosely based on the same short story. Both Walters use their daydreams as coping mechanisms and escapism because they don’t like what they …show more content…

The pictures on his bulletin board mock him as he responds to the service representative at eHarmony, “I haven’t really been anywhere noteworthy or mentionable.” Walter is made fun of, ignored and taken for granted by the Manager of Transition as he asks for the photo for the cover of the magazine. He mocks Walter as he addresses him, “Ah, Major Tom!” and hurries him along saying, “All right, let’s do it. Let’s process some quintessence. Come on. Go, now. That’s why I’m clapping” Both of these two Walters have good reason to feel discouraged and the frequency with which they use their daydreams to escape is evidence of their dissatisfaction.

In order to cope with their lives, each of the Walters fall into elaborate daydreams, playing heroic main characters who are valued and revered for their extraordinary talents and bravery. As the Walter from the short story faces the daily nattering from his wife and his menial daily routine, he slips into a daydream where he is an officer flying “through the worst storm in twenty years of Navy flying.” As Walter from the screenplay faces life as a mundane photo-processor, he dreams about epic adventures. When he’s too fearful and socially awkward to stand up to his boss who is attacking him with belittling words, he imagines a face off where he slings a clever quip at him remarking, “you know who looks good in a beard? Dumbledore. Not you.” Both

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