Compare And Contrast The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

At some point in their life, everyone wishes they could be someone or somewhere else. In The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber, Walter Mitty often daydreams, wishing he were somewhere or someone else. He does this to make up for his average and boring life. In the story, Walter is an average husband who is treated like a child by his wife. In the movie, Walter starts as an ordinary negative asset manager for LIFE magazine but eventually lives out his daydreams. Moreover, his character traits differ between the movie and the book both in the real world and in his daydreams. In the short story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Walter Mitty is an average husband who daydreams frequently to escape from his boring life. In reality, Walter is a meek, quiet, and submissive man who constantly listens to his wife. One example of this is when Walter’s wife tells him to put his gloves on, treating him like a child. “‘Why don’t you wear your gloves? Have you lost your gloves?’ Walter Mitty reached in a pocket and brought out the gloves. He put them on” (336). Just minutes before this occurred, Walter had

To continue, Walter is first shown looking at eHarmony profiles while eating his breakfast and reading through his checkbook. This showcases his loneliness because Walter doesn’t have a significant other. His loneliness is also evident on his walk to work, walking alone and not talking to anyone. Though Walter is ordinary in real life, his first daydream is far from ordinary. Walter’s first daydream is of him being a brave and heroic man, saving a three-legged dog and several people from a building with a bomb in it. He shows that he aspires to be brave and heroic, but is too fearful in reality to do something like that. As can be seen, Walter Mitty in the movie begins as an ordinary man with exciting daydreams, much like in the