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Posted By: Mitty Sep 10, 2000 - 03:23 pm

Can anybody please tell me what is James Thurber's sense of fantasy in his fantasy story called The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ?

Posted By: The Master Sep 10, 2000 - 05:06 pm

I'm not sure I understand your question. I never read the story, but the movie was a comedy that starred Danny Kaye (Boris Karloff play the bad guy). Mitty daydreams to get away from his drab and unhappy life, so I guess its escapist fantasy?

Posted By: Gablety Apr 01, 2001 - 12:35 pm

Arrgh.. this question makes me really mad. First, the way Mitty asked it, it sounded like he was some sort of clueless student who was trying to make online people do his homework for him instead of really considering it and using his imagination himself. (I'm assuming Mitty is a he, since the story was The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.) Second, the way it was asked sounded not only as if he was spitting the question back from a book, but as if he was making all of these assumptions: that there is such a thing as "fantasy", that the story was a fantasy story, and then he didn't know why! Third, the one reply talks about the story as a movie and then brands it "escapist fantasy"! (Apologies to you, Master.) That makes me so mad!

I personally didn't think The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was fantasy; but then so much fantasy is like it that it sort of is. Walter Mitty is really the same cultural/mythological symbol as the insane 42-year-old played by Kevin Spacey in American Beauty is. (I despise that movie!). But about half of the story is the life of Walter Mitty in the "real world"; the rest of it takes place in an "imaginery" world of Walter Mitty. The charachtar's imagination turns ordinary everyday acts into spectacular, fantastical, out-of-this world, world-saving acts and things. We ndon't really know waht is real, but it's pretty safe to assume that the "real" world is real, and the one where he's doing all of the world-saving and stuff is imaginery, is "the secret life" of Walter Mitty. (I don't think there was any evdence for it either way, though.) So it was a really interesting story.

But, "Mitty," next time you have a school assignment due, please think about it a little bit before spitting it back on us! I can agree with you that the idiots who made that question really didn't explain it at all (if the quetion was all they gave you), and they make awful assumptions about what assumptions you make which would make that a much simpler question; but it's still you're reponsibility! If you want us to answer the question, tell us what you mean by it, and explain it first!

Posted By: mayra Aug 01, 2002 - 05:09 pm

Could you give me a thorough explanation of the plot, setting, & chronology in 'The secret life of Walter Mitty'?

Posted By: Jrpilot747 Jan 18, 2004 - 01:39 pm

Walter was repeatedly forgetful throughout the story. why do you believe this is to be so and what dose theis say about his personality?