The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Group

Question:


ilovespanish
Student
High School - 9th Grade

What is the setting in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"?

Short story by James Thurber.

Rate question:

Posted by ilovespanish on Monday October 19, 2009 at 4:18 PM and tagged with james thurber, setting, the secret life of walter mitty, walter mitty.

Answers:

  1. parkerlee
    parkerlee Teacher

    eNotes Editor

    Throughout most of the story, Mitty is driving around town with his wife, then he drops her off at the hairdresser while he runs some errands. He first gets scolded at by his wife for driving too fast and then gets yelled by another driver while stalling at a green light. He has trouble parking, and then forgets just what it was he was supposed to pick up at the grocer's while his wife gets her hair "done." In his daydreams, however, Mitty finds himself dominating difficult situations in more exotic settings - in an icebreaker up near the pole, in an emergency surgical unit, in a courtroom, and finally before a firing squad.  The contrast between Mitty's real life and that of his imagination is of course the humour of the story.

    James Thurber was a popular American humorist during the 1950s, and one of his favorite subjects dealt with stereotype sex roles in marriage.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/authors/james-thurber
    http://www.enotes.com/james-thurber-salem
    http://www.enotes.com/james-thurber-salem/james-thurber-0...

    Rate answer:

    Posted by parkerlee on Tuesday October 20, 2009 at 12:37 AM

  2. kiwi
    kiwi Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    There is a contrast of settings between the boring humdrum suburban existence which Mitty has and his fantastical hero exploits. In reality Mitty is driving his wife to town, then waiting around for her whilst completing the menial tasks he has been set to do:

    ''Remember to get those overshoes while I'm having my hair done,"

    We get the feeling that this is the sum total of his excitement.

    The second setting is as wide as Mitty's imagination which ranges from the depths of a hurricane to the warring skies; the tense operating theatre and the dramatic courtroom. One of the most engaging aspects of the story is facilitated by this distinction in settings.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/secret-life

    Rate answer:

    Posted by kiwi on Wednesday October 21, 2009 at 8:49 PM