“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by Thurber Essay

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This is a short story on “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” from My World and Welcome to It.” The story gives an account of Mr. Mitty’s dreams and his encounters. It also shows his relationship with his wife. In this narration, the writer has used several themes such as power and authority and the position of women in society so as to show how this piece of writing can be used in relation to real life experiences. The author has used different styles so as to make the story appealing to the audience. He has incorporated the use of symbolism, dialogue and humor to bring out its relevance to his audience. One notes that the author was careful on how he used the setting of a dream so that he could address different issues that affect society. James T uses a somber and relaxed tone. In some instances, he also uses an ironic tone.

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The theme of power and authority has been widely used in this story. In all the dreams, Mitty sees himself as having power. In the first dream, he is the commander of navy militants. He has power over all other people in the navy. We are shown how he uses an authoritative voice when giving instructions. He is tough on his group and sometimes he is even rude to them. For example, Lieutenant Berg was giving an idea of what to do so that they can stop spoiling the hurricane and the commander replies saying that he had not asked for his ideas. Mitty also uses his authority as a commander to instruct his crew to an extent they term him as a man who fears nothing, not even hell, “The Old Man is not afraid of hell!” In relation to this theme of power and authority, the theme of, the position of a woman in society is brought up. Mitty’s wife has no much to contribute in society. Mitty drives her and when she complains about the

The speed he is driving at, Mitty assumes he did not hear what she said and he continues driving. He even looks at her strangely with shock and astonishment after she screams at him.

In the second scream, Mitty dreams being a famous surgeon who is a friend to President Roosevelt. He sees himself as having power and authority over influential men, doctors, surgeons and businessmen. He has the power and authority to give instructions on what should be done in the operating room. They refer to him as sir and address him with a lot of respect. Mitty sees himself as the best surgeon in society and one to who everyone turns to when everything comes to its worst. For example, he gives a solution when a machine in the operating room breaks down and an intern says that no one can repair it. Mitty himself does a few technical observations and it functions again. Secondly when a patient starts fading away, Mitty takes over after Renshaw becomes nervous. All this shows how the theme of power and authority has been brought out. Mitty helps a rich man.

Controversy comes in when in the third dream Mitty is an accused witness in a courtroom trial. However Mitty has been accused of owning a gun meaning he still is fighting for power. Even when he is shown the gun, he does not hold back but openly agrees to own it. “Have you ever seen this before?”. Mitty examines the gun and then answers “This is my Webley-Vickers 50.80.” This indicates that he has a lawyer who has the powers to help him be free.

Mitty dreams that he is a captain in a war plane facing heavy enemy artillery. The theme of power and authority is brought out in the essence of Mitty being the captain. Captains in any war plane have power and they lead troops during war and attacks. He feels courageous ho handle the bomber and the Archie on his own yet they are said to be dangerous. The power Mitty had, allowed him to undertake activities which an ordinary solder could not without permission. This dream shows that one can be in power yet be humble and listen to his juniors

Narration and dialogue have been used as the writing style in this story. There is a dialogue between Mitty and his wife. When Mitty is driving and he over speeds, they dialogue with his wife discussing what speed is the best. There is a dialogue in the courtroom when the District attorney is asking Mitty if the weapon belonged to him. The story flows due to narration as one is able to know the order of circumstances.

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In conclusion, it is important for an author to keep his/her audience in suspense. Through this the story will flow and one will want to know what happened next. In this story, the audience has the suspense of discovering what is the next dream and why he is day dreaming. Symbolism has also been widely used in the passage. Each dream is a symbol. It symbolizes what people desire to be in society.

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IvyPanda. (2022, January 9). “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by Thurber. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty-by-thurber/

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IvyPanda. (2022) '“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by Thurber'. 9 January.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by Thurber." January 9, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty-by-thurber/.

1. IvyPanda. "“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by Thurber." January 9, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty-by-thurber/.


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IvyPanda. "“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by Thurber." January 9, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty-by-thurber/.

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