John MacGillis
ENG3U
Mr. Langevin
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
The Examined Life of Walter Mitty
A Comparison of Character Traits in the Short Story and Film of the Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Walter Mitty says in one of the first scenes, “I just live by the A-B-C’s, Adventurous, Brave, and Creative.” (Stiller, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty). This quote soon shapes both his real life and his day dreams in the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Walter Mitty has both striking similarities and differences between his representation in the movie and the short story that represent his desire to be brave in his personal life to give his life a sense of self-worth. The character traits under examination are his meekness in real life in the short
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First of all, Walter Mitty as portrayed in the short story is a very meek person. An example of this character trait is how he obeys his wife, no matter how demeaning she may be. Walter Mitty’s wife says to him, ““You’re not a young man any longer.” He raced the engine a little. “Why don’t you wear your gloves? Have you lost your gloves?” Walter Mitty reached in a pocket and brought out the gloves” (Thurber Para 4). This is representative of how she acts as if she is his parent, imposing herself on to him in a manner that Walter yields to. Another example of Walter demonstrating his meekness is when his wife makes him stand outside of the drugstore, and says, ““Wait here for me. I forgot something. I won’t be a minute.” (Thurber Para 15). In this quotation, Walter Mitty’s wife orders him to wait outside of the drugstore in a similar manner to a child or a domesticated animal. Walter Mitty allows his wife to completely dictate his actions proving he is a meek individual. The meekness demonstrated by Walter Mitty in his real life is the reason that he has such a brave “alter-ego” in his day dream. In the movie, Walter Mitty has the character trait of bravery. Whether it be skateboarding towards active volcanos in Iceland or climbing the upper Himalayas, Walter was ready to rise to any challenge within the movie (Stiller, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty). In the movie, the …show more content…
Firstly, daydream Walter Mitty in the short story was a heroic individual who saved lives in the operating room (Thurber Para 6) or a pilot who was taking down the Luftwaffe (Thurber Para 13). This is an example of Walter Mittys desire to satisfy his thirst for adventure and give himself a sense of self-worth. Secondly, daydream Walter Mitty possess the character trait of bravery for different reasons. Walter is Brave in his dreams but not in the 1950’s sense of his equivalent in the short story. In the movie, Walter dreams of ridiculing his boss and ultimately beating him in a fight and speaking to the women he has expressed interest in (Stiller, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty). This is more of a hero to himself, benefitting not the masses, but the individual, being himself. He does act heroically, as a superhuman who jumps in to burning buildings to save a dog, but this exemplifies Walter trying to impress a woman, not better society as a whole. For these reasons, Walter Mitty’s day dream bravery is ultimately a tool to give himself a sense of
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.
A similarity between the walter mitty movie and the walter mitty short story is that they both day dream alot and have basically the same daydreams about having an amazing and adventures life. An example of this in the short story is when he daydreams that he is the world's best surgeon and fixed a complicated machine with just a simple pen and in the movie walter mitty saved people from an exploding building and during that time he made a synthetic leg for the dog of his crush. Another example is that they both have boring lives and they seek for something to show off meaning that they are finding something to be proud about. an example of this in the walter mitty short story is when he tells his wife that he is not going to wear the gloves
Every marriage has there ups and downs. In fact, there are no such things as a perfect marriage. The subject of marriage and gender roles are usually mentioned in literary pieces that put the emphasis on mostly on the way the family is set up. The following comparative essay will put the emphasis to center on the two fictional stories; 'I'm going' by Bernard Tristan and 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' by James Thurber. The researcher is able to relate to both of the stories on account of the certain dealings that he has had in marriage unions. These two literary pieces are the researcher's preferred choice to talk about the subject of gender roles and marriages. This following two sources of literature puts the emphasis on the marriage that is among Henri and Jeanne also as Mr. and Mrs. Mitty.
As Walter's dreams become bigger and bigger, he seems to neglect the 'smaller' things such as his family. "Here I am a giant surrounded by ants! Ants who can't even understand what the giant is talking about,? (Hansberry 85). Walter has big ideals, but his methods of achieving his goals and ideals are somewhat irrational. Walter can be regarded as more concerned with becoming self-employed without really thinking about the consequences, which may be imposed on his family. Later in play, Walter learns that he needs to set his dreams aside for the sake of the
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a fun adventure movie about a man who wants to be brave
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.
The secret life of Walter Mitty written in 1939 by James Thuber and the film adaption the secret life of Walter Mitty directed by Norman Mclean, is a story that both center on a man ‘’Walter Mitty,’’ a man who constantly daydreams to escape the harsh reality he lives in. While both the movie and short story focus on Walter himself, they both portray different aspects of the conflict, setting, and the characters in general. One similarity between the conflict both in the short story and the film, is that they portray Walter as a shy and unconfident man. Even though Walter is different in the story and the movie, confidence is what appears to be Walter’s weakness. However, with the conflict in the short story, Walter and his wife Mrs. Mitty clearly have issues that cannot be resolved.
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.
Characterization is great to have in a short story such as "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". Thurber shows characterization right from the beginning of the short story. The start of the story takes place in Walter's first day dream where he is flying an aircraft in the war but his wife ends up coming into the daydream and telling him he needs to slow down. Walter Mitty is a dynamic character because he is always changing and becoming more and more out of his wife's control. In the story, Walter is faced with a lot of hardship with his wife ruining his daydreams. His daydreams are a way for him to get away from reality and for him to be whoever he wants to be. "We only live
Mann, A. (1982). TAKING CARE OF WALTER MITTY. Studies in Short Fiction, 19(4), 351. Retrieved from
Second, a lot of character traits are shown for each person in the film. Walter Mitty is very shy and quiet at first but then changes throughout the movie. “To see the world, things dangerous come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.” This quote can relate to Walter Mitty having a very shy, quiet, and awkward life. After going through all the action, danger, and experiencing all sorts of obstacles to find Sean, he became a person that stood up to everything he didn’t like. He was not afraid to speak up and make a move. Also, he was a braver person. Cheryl was also very quiet and turned out to be a very helpful and supportive person. She helped him
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.
One second he's a pilot next second he's being told what to do by his constantly nagging wife, this is a reoccurring situation as Walter zones in and out from reality, but these aren't just loose thoughts or fantasies, these are extraordinary worlds he thinks of and it is like no other. The secret Life of Walter by James Thurber is a perfectly portrayed story by Thurber, he effectively goes in depth on the thoughts that’s run through Walters head, Thurber illustrates to the audience the contrast between Walters external and internal relationships Walter has with those in his environment. In “the secret life of Walter Mitty” James Thurber uses dramatic irony and imagery to convey versions of reality Mitty zones out to escape his poor rather
Life is about finding yourself, each other, and being true to one’s self. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an extremely original and creative story written by James Thurber. The movie, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, starring Ben Stiller, conveys a daydreamer escaping his typical life by disappearing into a realm of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. In both the movie and the book, the title character retreats into fantasy as an escape from his mundane reality because in the real world, he is ordinary, insecure, and passive. In the short story, Walter
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.