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Symbolism In The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

1001 Words5 Pages

In the short story and movie, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” many different types of symbolism have a huge impact on the story. Symbolism is used in these stories to take something small and give it an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. Symbolism can have a huge impact on the reader or viewer. In many cases it can make them take time to think about the real meaning of the story. This will often create a desire to re-read or re-watch the story again to understand it even more. Symbolism can help add meaning and emotion to the storyline. One example of symbolism in the story are the gloves. In the movie the skateboard and the beards create precise examples of symbolism. In the movie there was a great …show more content…

One main difference between the two, is in the movie there is a skateboard and in the book there are the gloves. This was a main comparison because in the movie the skateboard is show as a risk-taking symbol. The skateboard was more of his own idea to go off and be adventurous and teach the kid on his own how to do a kickflip. While in the story the gloves are more a symbol of being timid. Also, in the short story the gloves weren’t really his choice. His wife was made him do it to make him feel secure and protected. This difference is very influential because they are the two biggest symbols in the book and movie. These symbols affected the reader in both positive and negative ways. As we watched the scene with him riding the skateboard, we had to view it over again to truly understand what was going on and what the symbol actually meant when it happened. Or when he had wear the gloves in the short story I didn’t understand the meaning until I further investigated it. As a reader when looking at the guys with beards it was not clear that they were superior or seemed more masculine but as the movie went on it became clearer and clear what was going on. I found it more interesting to have go through and look everything over to make sure I made the right analysis of the

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I would recommend the book rather than watching the movie. The book provides a clear description of each character and tells the story very detailed.

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