The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Essay

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In our modern society, the word “hectic” cannot even begin to describe the world that we exist in. With frenzied lifestyles, most people only focus on their short term goals, completely disregarding their long term ambitions and desires. The film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty illustrates a man, Walter Mitty, who is fully absorbed in the present and rarely contemplates about the future. Nevertheless, as Mitty began to reach for his dreams and truly appreciate life, he was able to discover happiness - the quintessence in life. Through this character, Ben Stiller conveyed a message that applies to the day-to-day life of a human being: the shackles of the ordinary world must be broken in order to forge a new and more enjoyable path in pursuit of one’s dreams. …show more content…

Having only one set of clothes and an employee at LIFE Magazine for over 16 years, Mitty’s life completely revolves around his work and family with no time to indulge himself. Through this flat character, Ben Stiller symbolizes the stereotypical tedious life most people lead. The cycle of everyday routines can restrain people from exposing their true potential. There is always a constant need to focus on miniscule tasks causes one to disregard the bigger picture, and never discover the preeminent fulfilment to life. When his father died, Mitty lost his ambitions to explore the world and wasted his life on work. He continues to use a flip phone, which symbolizes his inability to receive closure from the past. This exemplifies that if one focuses too deeply on one thing, change will never be possible. Change may be hard to come by, however, even the slightest opportunities can lead to significant

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