Welcome to the secret life of Walter Mitty. Through his miraculous journeys, Walter has always been able to transcend his everyday life and experience something new and exciting. From daydreams of being a famous explorer to catching the biggest fish in the sea, Walter’s journeys are truly extraordinary. In this article, we will explore the imaginative world of Walter Mitty, his remarkable adventures and what they mean for him and those around him.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a timeless classic that has resonated with readers for decades. It tells the story of an ordinary man who dreams of leading an extraordinary life, full of adventure and excitement. The story follows Walter Mitty as he embarks on a journey to make his fantasies become reality. Throughout this journey, readers gain insight into both Walter’s inner thoughts and his external actions as he attempts to break away from his mundane life.
Walter Mitty, American literary character
Walter Mitty, the classic American literary character, has captivated readers for decades. First appearing in James Thurber’s 1939 short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Mitty is a daydreamer who escapes reality by retreating into his vivid imaginations. In these imaginative journeys he can be anyone – a brave sea captain, an ace fighter pilot or even a surgeon performing intricate operations. Despite being overshadowed by popular heroes such as Sherlock Holmes and Batman, Walter Mitty still captures people’s hearts with his remarkable ability to bring the impossible to life.
In “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” we are taken on five miraculous journeys which span from reality to fantasy and back again. His adventures leave readers questioning whether they should take life more seriously or let their imaginations wander off and explore beyond what is real, a meek and bumbling man who spends much of his time lost in heroic daydreams.
The short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (1939) by American author James Thurber begins with its protagonist’s fearlessly leading a Navy crew through an aircraft takeoff amid near-hurricane conditions, only to reveal that the scene is merely his fantasy; in reality he is driving with his wife into town for their weekly errands. Mitty struggles to remember a shopping list, bungles parking his car, and endures routine scolding from his wife. All the while, he pictures himself in a variety of dramatic fantasies as a maverick surgeon, a devilish assassin, and a British Royal Air Force pilot.
The imaginary Mitty never triumphs
The story of Walter Mitty has been a classic for generations, but what if the protagonist never triumphs? In James Thurber’s short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Mitty imagines a life full of exciting and heroic escapades. Yet he continues to remain in his mundane reality as an average man with no real courage or ambition. Even though he takes part in these grand adventures in his own mind, they are ultimately just that – our hero’s imaginary journeys. For him, there is no great victory; instead he remains comically trapped within this world that he has created for himself.
This makes us wonder: what would happen if the imaginary Mitty never triumphs?
Just as he is about to achieve his fantasy destiny, he is always pulled back into real life, usually because of an incident resulting from his own distraction. At the end of the story, he envisions himself fearlessly facing death at the hands of a firing squad.
Thurber’s story, first published in The New York
Gained a much wider readership when it was reprinted in Reader’s Digest. Subsequently, it became one of the most anthologized and well-known American short stories of the 20th century. In 1947 actor Danny Kaye portrayed Mitty in a feature film that diverged substantially from its source material. Walter Mitty’s name entered the cultural lexicon, appearing in several English dictionaries as a term for a commonplace, unadventurous person who seeks to escape reality through daydreams.
Walter Mitty’s Life
The classic American short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber, is the perfect example of someone living a dual life. Walter Mitty leads a routine and mundane existence but dreams of exciting adventures that take him all around the world. He can be anyone he wants to be in his fantasies, from a pilot and an explorer to an admired surgeon – but only in his own mind.
In reality, Mitty must play out his role as an unassuming husband and has no control over his day-to-day life or boring job; however, when he finds himself in moments of danger or excitement, those mundane worries simply fade away and he is free to explore his wildest dreams with no limits or consequences.