The Dazzling Daydreams of Walter Mitty
Walter Mitty has the most exciting, important, action packed life-in his own mind. Short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber is about an ordinary man with elaborate fantasies which he prefers to live in instead of his normal boring life. Walter is imaginative, heroic and adventurous at heart, while a man of few words in day to day life. Walter Mitty is just a simple man who wishes to escape from a monotonous life, just like the rest of us, and uses his imagination to do it. Walter shows the extent of his imagination through multiple daydreams, each of them, where he is an irreplaceable part. He will be walking down the street and hear something, or see something that launches …show more content…
This shows his frustration with his reality where he seems lost and not in control. His wife is often shown disapproving and disbelieving of him, so it is completely understandable that he likes to imagine scenarios where he takes that control back. It also shows his true character, if the opportunity were to arise he would launch in headfirst to save the day. "We can only live once sergeant" (37) proclaims Mitty to one of the many characters in his dream, right before he goes in to save the day.
If Walter is a hero at heart, and adventure seeking, he is definitely a man of few words. We do see a fair amount of dialogue in his daydreams, but those are fiction, made up by him in his mind, so he is essentially talking to himself. Every time Mrs. Mitty tried to strike up a conversation with him, it was pretty one sided. "Walter Mitty drove on to Waterbury in silence." (33) He seems to be more a man of action, he hates being still, and this is the root of why he feels the need to escape to these alternate universes.
In the end of the short story we essentially see one of Walter's alter egos taking over, and it seems that maybe by "facing the firing squad" he is giving in to the persona of a
Walter Mitty has the most exciting, important, action packed life-in his own mind. Short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber is about an ordinary man with elaborate fantasies which he prefers to live in instead of his normal boring life. Walter is imaginative, heroic and adventurous at heart, while a man of few words in day to day life. Walter Mitty is just a simple man who wishes to escape from a monotonous life, just like the rest of us, and uses his imagination to do it. Walter shows the extent of his imagination through multiple daydreams, each of them, where he is an irreplaceable part. He will be walking down the street and hear something, or see something that launches …show more content…
This shows his frustration with his reality where he seems lost and not in control. His wife is often shown disapproving and disbelieving of him, so it is completely understandable that he likes to imagine scenarios where he takes that control back. It also shows his true character, if the opportunity were to arise he would launch in headfirst to save the day. "We can only live once sergeant" (37) proclaims Mitty to one of the many characters in his dream, right before he goes in to save the day.
If Walter is a hero at heart, and adventure seeking, he is definitely a man of few words. We do see a fair amount of dialogue in his daydreams, but those are fiction, made up by him in his mind, so he is essentially talking to himself. Every time Mrs. Mitty tried to strike up a conversation with him, it was pretty one sided. "Walter Mitty drove on to Waterbury in silence." (33) He seems to be more a man of action, he hates being still, and this is the root of why he feels the need to escape to these alternate universes.
In the end of the short story we essentially see one of Walter's alter egos taking over, and it seems that maybe by "facing the firing squad" he is giving in to the persona of a