Walter Mitty Comparison

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.

Walter is a very important character and impacts everybody by his actions and what he says and does. Walter changes a lot throughout the story. He begins to become very hostile and short tempered towards his family. He starts to lose all his family values and only starts to worry and care about the check that is coming in. He says, “did it come?” “will somebody please listen to me today!!!” This shows that he wants everyone to listen to his idea about what he wants to do with the money. While he wants this, he shows no care or regard to anyone else’s ideas or thoughts about it. The quotes show how selfish and rude he is, also it shows how he has lost of all his family’s values because he won’t even listen to anybody else.

which shows how determination leads to accomplishing dreams because all Walter is focused on is his future, which shows how determined he is to make things better for himself and his

Walter’s characters unravels as the story begins and continues to deepen as the story continues. He begins to have an argument with his wife “Ruth”

This has huge significance within the play as a whole because, in the beginning of the play, Walter is a selfish person, midway through, the readers notice the start of his evolution, and towards the end, the character has undergone a complete change. At the beginning of the play, the readers tend to

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.

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.

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.

First, Ruth, is one of the women in the house who changes Walter’s decisions in the story. Her relationship towards him is poor. Ruth nags at the beginning, saying “Eat your eggs Walter” (Hansberry 34). This angers him because she repeats it multiple times throughout, not understanding him, showing their strained relationship. Ruth is also shown to not be on Walter’s side on multiple occasions. For example, when Walter finds out that Mama spent the money on a new house, he does not like it. Ruth however is not feeling the same way as him, and tells him “Walter honey, be glad” (Hansberry 92). Ruth tells Walter to be glad, because their views are different. Ruth thinks this was beneficial to the family, yet Walter does not. This hurts Walter throughout the story as he feels alone with no one on his side. Walter know this when he says “Cause ain’t nobody with Me! Not even my own mother!” (Hansberry 85). Since he is alone, and believes no one cares about him, he tries to fix his own mistake when he decides he will get more money saying, “That White man is going to walk in that door all to write checks for more money than we ever had.” (Hansberry 143). Ruth does not like Walter’s idea, but he does not care as no one is on his side, which disappoints Ruth.

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.

Showing his frustration to his mother, Walter does not feel like he will ever acquire his dream because he feels like he never got the chance or opportunity to. The inability of not able to provide a better life for his household is causing him to stress, act out of character and clouding his decision making. With nowhere else to turn he thought he could use his father’s life insurance money to invest into a liquor store which turned into a scam. Walter feeling trapped from making advancements in life, he makes a huge mistake and learns from this error. In the play Walter is talking to mother describing his anger,

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.

An Anonymous writer once said, “it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” This quote is divided into two sentences. The first sentence represents the protagonist from Marge Piercy’s poem, “Where Dreams Dome From.” This is because College is important to her and she believes that she will find a way to accomplish her dream. The second sentence represents the main character, Walter Mitty, from James Thurber’s short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” Mitty is a man who has daydreams and wishes that his reality would be as adventurous as his dreams. However, that is not always the case. Marge Piercy’s protagonist and Walter Mitty both are members of controlling families that try to constrict them of their

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

Because of this Walter has lost his self esteem and will to do anything to make his life better. This is important because it shows that Walter does not have a firm grasp on his own identity.