Narrative on the Secret Life

¶ … Narrative on the Secret Life of Walter Mitty (James Thurber)

The theme of this story by James Thurber would at first seem to be that this middle class American male is hen-pecked and escapes into his daydreams as a way to survive the nagging of his wife. That potentiality certainly enters into the picture upon first reading of the story. Thesis: upon careful reading and investigation it would seem more likely to view the theme as a classic portrayal of the American "everyman," the little guy who can never do what he would like to achieve so he does the next best thing -- he dreams of the success that he can never achieve.

Walter Mitty is bored to death with his life, even though he and his wife are not wanting for food, clothing, or shelter. But there is something missing. He is living a middle class life in which day after day he confronts the boring repetition of the previous day. No wonder he daydreams and fantasizes about lives and careers he will never be able to achieve.

Two literary elements that are worthy of mention here are characterization and setting. Readers have a good idea about the characters right away, given that the story begins with Walter fantasizing that he is piloting a Navy hydroplane. He is so locked into that daydream that when Mrs. Mitty speaks to him Walter "…looked at his wife, in the seat beside him, with shocked astonishment. She seemed grossly unfamiliar, like a strange woman who had yelled at him in a crowd." Any person that could drive a car and while driving, enter into a fantasy daydream and be so deeply involved in the fantasy that his own wife riding in the car with him comes as a shock.

Of course Walter is speeding because in his fantasy dream, he is going fast. The characterization of Walter is strong in this passage. Also, his wife nags him to do this and do that, while seeming to be concerned about his health. He resents the nagging and rebels against it by pretending to put on his gloves and as soon "as she had turned" and entered the building, he took those gloves off. By this point early in the short story, readers understand the Walter Mitty character fairly well. Next, he's a surgeon in the operating room, but he's actually in the parking lot. He is a constant dreamer, perhaps daydreaming about position he would rather have in society (pilot, surgeon) or what he would not want to be (a witness accused of a crime he didn't commit, facing a firing squad). Readers also know that Mitty's character is so given to daydreams he has practically lost his ability to remember things. It comes across in this

Added to that, his wife is obviously a strong personality and his personality appears to be very meek and easily intimidated. Still, Mitty is an endearing character, someone that could be the absent-minded uncle, or grandfather who needs to be reminded of what his duties are for the household.