Wednesday, May 6, 2009

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

Walter Mitty is a henpecked husband who goes on a mundane shopping trip with his wife. He keeps escaping from reality into fantasies of drama and adventure that parody (A work that ridicules another work by imitating some aspect of its style or content) stereotypical movies and novels.

In approximately 100 words describe what Mitty imagines he is doing as he is driving to town, passing a hospital, and hears the shouting of a newsboy and what happens in his final daydream.
Also include what Thurber (the author) parodies in ONE of these fantasies. Discussion prior to your response is encouraged - collaborate a bit.

11 comments:

L.K said...

The first time he imagines sailing a boat through a hurricane, the second time he imagines being a doctor saving a guy, the third time he imagines being in court for shooting somebody, and the last time he is a pilot during one of the world wars. In the last thing he imagines he is parodying a battle during one of the world wars in which the Germans are attacking and he is going to fly out and take them on himself because the others need rest and he is portrayed as very cool and collected.

J.A.K. said...

The first time Walter Mitty jumps into one of his fantasies, he imagines that he was sailing a boat through a hurricane. The second time he imgines himself as a doctor saving a guy. The third time he jumps into his fantasy, he imgines that he is in court for shooting a guy. The last thing that he imagines that he is a pilot during one of the World Wars. In the thrid fantasy, his parody, he is in court for shooting a guy. Then, one guy says that he couldn't of shot thee guy because his arm was in a sling but then Walter, said that he could of shot the guy with his left hand. Then, he became the best shooter because he shot the guy from 300 feet.

B.R. said...

I sort of think that Walter Mitty is a crazy person but I can't judge because I find myself daydreaming a lot, and they tend to be about crazy things also! In his first day dream he is flying a plane through a hurricane. At the hospital he is a doctor who also wrote a book about streptothricosis. When he hears the shouts of the newsboy he daydreams about being in a trial where he is convicted of murder. In his final daydream he is a pilot for a bomber plane during the war. In his dream of the trial, Thurber is mocking a soap opera or a dramatic book. These novels or shows usually over exaggerate drama in everyday life and that is what he is doing in this daydream.

jodi lea said...

Right away in the beginning of the story it is a daydream of Walter Mitty driving a plane and pretends he is going through a hurricane! His wife is such a serious acting person and doesn't like to drive fast like Walter Mitty did when he was fantasizing. He's also a author and a doctor at the hospital. In his last daydream he is looking at pictures of bombing planes and of ruined streets and he is pretending to be a pilot drinking brandy with a sergent, and then he walks out whistling.

C.K said...

When Mr. Mitty passes the hospital he starts to daydream he's flying a plane in a hurricane and something breaks on the plane so he puts a pin to hold what’s broken till they can land. When he walks outside from getting his overshoes he hears a boy yelling giving out newspapers and he starts to day dream about being in court and getting convicted for murder but they could not charge him. When he shows up to pick up his from getting her hair done he sits down in an old chair and starts reading the magazine "Liberty". He starts daydreaming he is in war and somebody has to risk there life to go get more help. The author Thurber parodies a mystery seen because when he talks about getting convicted for murder but they can't actually convict him because they don’t have enough evidence on him.

R.S. said...

He is first day dreaming about flying an airplane the second thing he imagined was that he was a doctor working on a millionaire banker. The third was that he was on trial. In the trial he said that he could of killed the man by firing the gun with his left hand instead of his right hand which as he explained it cause a lot of pandemonium in the court room. The last dream he had was that he was in front of a firing squad and that he was a mysterious man that was going to be shot. He described himself as a proud and disdainful person while he was standing in front of the firing squad. He thinks he is on trial for a murder and he is making fun of the mystery category.

H.K said...

In "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" Walter Mitty finds himself imagining his own little world to escape reality. He is imagining that he is flying a plane during a huge tropical storm and he is fighting and shooting, he then hears a newspaper boy and he then thinks that he is a doctor in surgery, he and two other doctors are working on a man that was what they called the millionaire banker, he had been shot and they were working to save his life. He then imagines he is a criminal on trial for murder in a mystery film and they are trying to get him to tell the truth and in his final day dream he is fighting in a war and he gets captured by the enemy lines and in his last drag of his cigarette he is facing a firing squad and he is shot and killed.

jek said...

As Mitty is driving to town he imagines he is flying a plane during a hurricane. As he passes the hospital, he imagines that he is a doctor performing a high stress surgery. He is in charge of everything and he is keeping his cool while everyone else is losing it mentally. An anesthetizer is breaking down and it is up to him to fix it before time runs out. As soon as he hears the shouts of the newsboy, he imagines he is on trial for the murder of Gregory Fitzhurst with a gun. In his final day dream, Mitty imagines he is at war. In the dream of the courtroom scene, Thurber parodies the drama and exageration of facts that is played out in a murder mystery.

h.h said...

I did not understand this story perfectly, but in his first dream to escape from reality, he was a commander, who was brave, strong mind. In second dream, he was the smartest doctor. He could drive the things around him. Third dream, he was in the war, fighting so bravely against enemies. In the last his dream, he was a Captain in

L.O. said...

In "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", Walter Mitty has trouble with his fantasies, thanks to his nagging wife. On the way to town for Mrs. Mitty's hair appointment, Walter imagines that he is flying a navy hydroplane through a terrible storm. He is then interrupted by Mrs. Mitty telling him he is driving too fast. Once she leaves, he drives on passes a hospital where he imagines he is working with other doctors in the OR and fixes a complicated machine. When he begins walking on the street and passes a newsboy, he starts his fantasy of being on trial for murder. He went to the hotel where he was supposed to meet Mrs. Mitty and began his final fantasy of being in the war. He was day-dreaming of flying a plane himself in the middle of a battle. In final fantasy, I believe Thurber parodies a war film.

tm said...

As Walter Mitty is driving through town he is dreaming he is driving a plane through a hurricane. As he passes the hospital he is dreaming he is part of a stressful surgery. As he hears a newsboy shouting he is dreaming he is in a trial for the murder of Gregory Fitzhurst. In his last daydream he is dreaming he is in a war. As he drinks his last brandy he walks to the door of the dugout and says Cheerio to the sargeant. In this story in the scene of the murder trial Thurber parodies a murder mystery.