The Black Balloon Belonging Analysis

The theme of belonging is presented through various ways in the both the film The Black Balloon and the text The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The Black Balloon is a film directed by Elissa Down which was released in 2008, it’s based around the Mollison family when they move into a town in Australia, the main character Thomas, played by Rhys Wakefield, attempts to fit into a school that does not treat people who are different kindly, which is an issue for Thomas as he has an brother Charlie, played by Luke Ford, which has autism. The film explores how Thomas deals with belonging in school while having to face the trouble of this autistic brother at home. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a short story written by James Thurber, which was published

Walter Mitty is a very ordinary man who has an ordinary life, but at times he would go from reality into his own mind of imagination where he would have wild adventures. In the short story you can tell that Walter Mitty is a man who fears his wife, he would often not talk back when his wife is shouting at him as he is too afraid, he is also a man who feels useless in this world and think better of himself when others try to help him, this is shown when he felt that he did not need the over shoes. In the result of this he feels the need to rely on his imagination to take him places that reality cannot, the author has shown when he moves into imagination by having “…” just before the text. Out of all the different imaginations ranging from the war to being in a hospital the one thing that is similar in all of these are that he is the most important person in that ‘place’. The constant nagging of his wife shows that they do not mix well together, however he is still inferior to her, he never gets a say and never get what he wants. Walter Mitty feels that through imagination he could be in a place he could really belong but the thing is, by having these “episodes” it excludes him from belonging in reality which poses the question, is it more important to belong with yourself or with others around you? It is clear that Walter Mitty uses his mind to escape reality where he feels he belongs, but it is also interesting to see how he has given up on trying to belong in reality and accepted the fact that he will be useless as time