The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Analysis

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Have you ever daydreamt about a better life before? Walter Mitty has experienced some daydreams. In “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, a short story by James Thurber, Walter Mitty is a submissive man who has frequent daydreams. His life is very dull and monotonous, and he always seems to be doing something wrong. Three characteristics that Mr. Mitty possesses are passiveness, incompetence in normal tasks, and daydreaming about better lives. The first characteristic that I see in Walter is passiveness. His wife, Mrs. Mitty, always takes control and tells Walter what to do. He never stands up for himself but always just “goes with the flow.” Mrs. Mitty usually sends him on errands even though he hates to go on them. “In a way he hated these weekly trips to town--he was always getting something wrong.” (Thurber 190) After reading the story, I felt as though Walter, if he wanted, could have a much better life than the one he has now. All he has to do is take control of his life and do something about it. This is also a result of his passiveness. Not being able to remember the lists of items Mrs. Mitty gives him is also a deficiency of his. Another characteristic I observe in Mr. Mitty is incompetence in normal tasks. He seems to be amateurish when he is driving …show more content…
Mr. Mitty was very passive in his way of life, and this teaches that we should be assertive in our everyday lives, not aggressive, but assertive, in order to avoid being bossed around by others. There are a few regular abilities lacking in Walter’s skillset, but he can get better at those things if he tried to. In his daydreams, he dreams of better and more manly lives, which shows that he is not satisfied with his life right now. In conclusion, if you ever daydream about better lives, don’t be like Walter Mitty, do something about your life