In the stories “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber (Clugston, sec. h1.1) and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (Clugston, sec. h2.1) escapism is a similar theme with in both these stories, yet there is a slight variance in how each of these authors place these characters into their escape from reality, relationships, and everyday chaos. In each of these stories the author shows the characters escaping the realities of the relationship, one through Walter Mitts’ daydreams, and the other through one brief hour when Louise Mallard pictures her new life of freedom. Through the use of characterization, imagery, point of view and setting these authors bring in the element of escapism to each story.
In the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, James Thurber uses Walters daydream characters in a way to portray the effect Mrs. Mitty’s overbearing attitude has on his masculinity and feeling of self-worth. The use of characteristics in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is important to the understanding of the story and how Mrs. Mitty is the just one cause of Walters daydreams; because, without it a reader would get the sense that Walter merely has the imagination of a child and would leave the reader in confusion, and bewilderment, however in the “Story Of An Hour”, Kate Chopin uses characterization to portray Mrs. Mallard as a grief stricken widow; whom in the last hour of her life began to have revelations of sadness, serenity, and at last anticipation of what the future holds for her. In this story Mrs. Mallard did not realize how badly she wished for the freedom to be a carefree and charismatic woman until the death of her husband had set in, so while the stories differ a great deal in how each character lea...
... middle of paper ...
...Zl
James Thurber (1894 - 1961). (2000), In The Columbia Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Short Story. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/columamshstory/james_thurber_1894_1961
Jamil, S. (2009). Emotions in the Story of an Hour. Explicator, 67(3), 215-220. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=14&sid=22784632-7344-4773-b893-cf8bf6fe7019%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGNwaWQmY3VzdGlkPXM4ODU2ODk3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=40121203
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber (1942), Rosemary A. Thurber (1968), published by Harcourt Brace (N.D.), Retrieved from: http://www.drwrite.com/analyzing/stories/mitty.shtml
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, James Thurber (1942) Michael J. Cummings (2009) Study Guide Retrieved from: http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides6/Mitty.html
In the short story, “ The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty” written by James Thurber, it describes a man who while in the midst of everyday life, floats off into daydream that often cause him more trouble than it is worth. His wife, Mrs. Mitty, on the surface does not seem like a well-rounded character. It always seems her life’s mission is to demean Walter and to always use her overbearing nature to nag him. However, there may be more to this character than what meets the eye. I believe that Mrs. Mitty is actually a well-rounded character in the fact that she only acts the way she does only for her husband and his well-being.
Life is about finding yourself, each other, and being true to one’s self. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an extremely original and creative story written by James Thurber. The movie, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, starring Ben Stiller, conveys a daydreamer escaping his typical life by disappearing into a realm of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. In both the movie and the book, the title character retreats into fantasy as an escape from his mundane reality because in the real world, he is ordinary, insecure, and passive. In the short story, Walter simply retreats into his daydreams and tolerates his domineering wife, while in the movie he actively pursues finding himself.
The symbols and imagery used by Kate Chopin's in “The Story of an Hour” give the reader a sense of Mrs. Mallard’s new life appearing before her through her view of an “open window” (para. 4). Louise Mallard experiences what most individuals long for throughout their lives; freedom and happiness. By spending an hour in a “comfortable, roomy armchair” (para.4) in front of an open window, she undergoes a transformation that makes her understand the importance of her freedom. The author's use of Spring time imagery also creates a sense of renewal that captures the author's idea that Mrs. Mallard was set free after the news of her husband's death.
In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, is a clear example of how Mrs. Mallard will not recognize that she feels like a prisoner, but the moment she knows that her husband is “dying”, she feels freedom instead of sadness. Mrs. Mallard has a heart disease and Richards try to tell her the news carefully so she won’t suffer an attack. The house is her place but she feels like a prisoner and after the news she feels like is she is release from the house. She is happy but when she sees her husband on the door she feel like everything will go back to the way it was. Mrs. Mallard is a women with thoughts about her freedom, she will imagine about what she will ever want, she will look outside the window and look at the new life. explore the men’s world.
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. DiYanni Robert. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986. 38-41. Print.
‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ is about a boring man who has a lot of daydreams. It was originally a short story by James Thurber, but was also made into a movie. The way that the story is presented in both is a key factor in either’s success, and when compared, the two are very different. For example, in the short story, Walter has little to no character development, but in the movie, nearly the entire production is him being put through a lot of situations that let us see more of the true character of Walter Mitty. This example and others is what makes the movie adaptation of ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ better than that of the short story.
The film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed by Ben Stiller, thoughtfully explores the timeless theme of identity: through Walter (played by Stiller), Stiller reminds that adversity is necessary in one’s life in order to bring about growth and change. Through the detailed presentation of the minutiae of Walter Mitty’s day, the viewer understands that he is a man stuck in a rut of existing rather than living. The film opens with images of Walter’s apartment: nothing out of place, nothing with colour, even Walter, himself, is dressed in black and white. Despite this mundane opening, there are elements of humor (an error sending a wink on a dating site and dreams of super-human rescue missions), and this accurately depicts Walter’s internal
The time period, season, location, and surroundings of a character reveal a great deal about them. Kate Chopin's "The Story of An Hour" is an excellent example of how setting affects the reader's perception of the story. There is an enormous amount of symbolism expressed through the element of setting in this short story. So well, in fact, that words are hardly necessary to descriptively tell the story of Mrs. Mallard's hour of freedom. Analyzing the setting for "The Story of An Hour" will give a more complete understanding of the story itself. There are many individual parts that, when explained and pieced together, will both justify Mrs. Mallard's attitude and actions toward her husband's death and provide a visual expression of her steadily changing feelings throughout the story.
Kate Chopin provides her reader with an enormous amount of information in just a few short pages through her short story, “The Story of an Hour.” The protagonist, Louise Mallard, realizes the many faults in romantic relationships and marriages in her epiphany. “Great care [is] taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin 168). Little do Josephine and Richards know, the news will have a profoundly positive effect on Louise, rather than a negative one. “When she abandoned herself,” Mrs. Mallard opened her mind to a new way of life.
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” expresses the theme that satisfaction is harder for those who are not normal. With all of Walter Mitty’s daydreams in between everything that he does, it shows that his actual life is lacking something that he desires.
Kate Chopin’s story “The Story of an Hour” focuses on a married woman who does not find happiness in her marriage. When she hears of her husband’s death, the woman does not grieve for long before relishing the idea of freedom. Chopin’s story is an example of realism because it describes a life that is not controlled by extreme forces. Her story is about a married nineteenth-century woman with no “startling accomplishments or immense abilities” (1271). Chopin stays true to reality and depicts a life that seems as though it could happen to any person.
“The Secret Life of Walter Witty” is one of the most well known short stories by James Thurber (Morsberger 44). His themes are evident throughout the story. Also, he is able to become alive through the story by expressing imagination. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” explores the main themes of disharmony between the sexes, males’ escaping routine, and life as a married couple. In the Mitty motif, there are two themes, and the first is, “.the domination of the American male by the American female” (Morsberger 66).
Several symbols in Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" create a feeling of comfort, wellness, and wonderfulness within the reader's mind. The first symbol I will speak of is the "comfortable chair" which she sinks into after the news of her husbands' death. Then, I will speak of the open window, which she sits in front of through which she sees many symbols of things that are good. Finally, I will speak of the description of Mrs. Mallard herself and her comfortable situation, which will tie together all the symbols that create the feelings of comfort and wellness in the reader.
In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Louise Mallard suffers from many different emotions after hearing about her husband’s death. Her husband Brently was reported to have died after a railroad incident. Mrs. Mallard has suffered from heart issues, but shortly after hearing about the death of her husband they started to get worse. The author uses symbolism throughout the short story by using objects to symbolize her new beginnings. Kate Chopin symbolizes the theme by experiencing her personal freedom. In the short story after Mrs. Mallard’s husband dies she finds her new self and independence. Instead of being overpowered by her husband, she is now able to live more freely and without burden. The symbolism in this story is represented immediately
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.