Walter's Daydreams

To begin this essay, I’ll start with some critical thinking about “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, before I transition to my comparison of “On the Surface”. One admirable component of this story written by James Thurber in the year 1939, is his sharply observed, usually ironic, small details of human action that reveals distinct perspectives of the character’s personality. The back and forth construction of the story was used to illustrate the protagonist’s realm of thought, however it ends up creating an almost imperceptible observation. An example of such observations could be Mitty racing their vehicle, after being instructed from his wife that he has to have overshoes simply because “he is no longer a young man.” A response that illuminates Mitty’s furtive character. Another observation would be Mitty’s actions after being ordered by an officer to “Pick it up, brother” at a stop light that has changed. Mitty initially is ordered to put his gloves on in their car, by his wife, but then removed them after he had gained enough distance, and thus now Mitty has felt the need to equip himself with his gloves. Which gives us the slight frame of reference that he ranks his spouse equivalent to the officer in terms of authoritarian individuals, who he had been defiant towards in regards to his gage. Though simply instructed to proceed considering the stop light had changed. Mitty’s instinct prompts him to correct all of his unwarranted misbehaviors. Mitty’s obstructed

Escaping Reality 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.

The short story The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin, describes a woman conflicted with the death of her husband and her outlook on life after his assumed passing. Through the story, Chopin shows the transformation of Mrs. Mallard from that of an ordinary wife to that of a woman cherishing her newfound freedom. Although Mrs. Mallard is deeply saddened at the news of her husband’s passing, she finally begins to feel a sense of relief and witnesses what it means for her as a woman. Just as she begins to fully cherish her life, she is horrified at the sight of her “dead” husband’s return and proceeds to perish. Through the use of imagery and syntax, Chopin illustrates the interchanging psychoanalytic perspective of an individual following a personal loss.

Analysis: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Tara Jackson ENG 125 Introduction to Literature Instructor Alfaro April 18, 2011 The short story that I will do an analysis on is the Secret Life of Walter Mitty, written by James Thurber in March of 1939. This story centers around the hilarious and amusing daydreams of Walter Mitty an ordinary man, who resides in Waterbury, Connecticut, with his overbearing, nagging wife Mrs. Mitty. Throughout this short story Mitty is characterized as being a pathetic, timid man, who daydreams to deal with situations, and conflicts that arise in his life with his wife and others he encounters on a daily basis.

Erich Maria Remarque explores the idea that war can destroy a generation of men physically, mentally and emotionally in his anti-war novel titled All Quiet on the Western Front. The author uses first-person narrative through a young German soldier named Paul Baumer to illustrate the terrorizing and difficult lives of

The novel Fly Away Peter expresses specific attitudes and values by encouraging the reader to identify with the central character, Jim Saddler. David Malouf, the author, attempts to expose the brutality of war and encourages readers to realise that one can be living a very sheltered lifestyle oblivious of the cruelty and negative side of life. In this text dealing with the experiences of Jim during World War I and events leading up to his signing up, the author uses biblical allusions, evocative and sensuous imagery, contrast of settings, metaphors and other characters to aid readers to establish an identity for the protagonist. It is through his central character that he communicates his disparaging perspective on war and points out

In the incredible book, All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, the reader follows Paul Baumer, a young man who enlisted in the war. The reader goes on a journey and watches Paul and his comrades face the sheer brutality of war. In this novel, the author tries to convey the fact that war should not be glorified. Through bombardment, gunfire, and the gruesome images painted by the author, one can really understand what it would have been like to serve on the front lines in the Great War. The sheer brutality of the war can be portrayed through literary devices such as personification, similes, and metaphors.

Howells' short story sheds light on the unreasonable outlook of the literal world from a perception fueled by standards of romanticism. Personified through Editha Balcom, a shallow, impersonal, perfection-seeking young woman, the influence of the ideal is emphasized through her self-centered demeanor, lofty expectations, and naive character. Early on, It is evident that Editha lives in a world of her own, unaware of wrong from right, rather, she only acknowledges whether an act is heroic or not. She looks at her fiancé, George Gearson, a humble, rational, peaceful young man, with this exact sentiment upon his weary announcement of the beginning of war. As expected, she calls the otherwise brutal act of war "glorious!" (Howells 168) in a frenzy of emotion. Editha seeks a perfect man who should return from war having done "something worthy to have won her" in other words, somebody to "be a hero, her hero" (169). As Editha prepares herself to relinquish George to war, the reader witnesses the true debilitating forces of one who is congenial with the ideal. Through dramatic and emotional outpourings to George by letter, her writing evinces to be the quintessence of unrealistic virtues; one in particular filled with fluffy, over

“awkward” stage. Holden Caulfield has low self-esteem. “I almost wished I was dead.” (p. 48) He says this at one point in the novel after a fight with his

Each of the characters confronts the four main themes throughout their wartime experience. Remarque feels that these men should not have to show bravery in war, however, bravery is possibly the most important of the major themes in the novel.

He writes about the coping mechanisms the soldiers used to help them handle the war. O’Brien uses the literary elements of coping mechanisms, such as escapism through fantasizing and escapism through substance abuse, laughter and humor, and talking, as well as, repetition and imagery, to develop author’s purpose of describing and informing, O’Brien does this, so the audience knows that war was very difficult for the soldier’s and changed their lives.

Many stories have been modified to be turned into movies. But there is always the age old question, which one is better? This essay is going to focus on this question with the movie and short story “The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty”. There are many factors that fuel each statement of which one is better but in the end the movie can usually reign supreme. There are many examples of this in the movie/literature scene but in recent years “The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty” is the most familiar.

Through the use of symbolism, setting, and character, Erich Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front demonstrates the psychological effects war has on the soldiers. In "On the Nature of Things," Lucretius argues that not a single thing can be created from nothing. Generally, Lucretius explains that the gods are not

The Things They Carried, a novel by Tim O’Brien, tells stories of soldiers in the Vietnam War. Some of the characters, all soldiers of the Alpha Company, include Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, Tim O’Brien, Rat Kiley, Kiowa, Mitchell Sanders, Ted Lavender, and Norman Bowker, among others. In the beginning, the author

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