Creation of One’s Own Version of Reality in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber

Society has created unrealistic standards, which individuals are expected to meet in order to be respected by society. Standards can vary from body standards to income standards, needed to be considered valuable by society. In James Thurber’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the character of Walter Mitty is the portrayal of a man who lives an ordinary life but is insecure about himself because of the lack of control and satisfaction he feels towards his own life. Throughout the short story, he experiences dissatisfaction, versions of reality, and the desire to feel masculine. In order to feel in control of his life he creates these versions of reality, to feel in control.

Walter Mitty finds himself dissatisfied with everyday life, which is described as being mundane. He is not satisfied in his marriage as he feels he is a passive husband, he dislikes the way that he is treated as a clumsy, ageing man. He would like to be treated as an extraordinary man. The character of Mr. Mitty correlates with the reader because, at one point or another, the reader has felt dissatisfaction in their own life. As if their life is too boring, ordinary, or the skills that one has are common and not as unique as they were once believed to be. Mr. Mitty’s way of dealing with dissatisfaction is retreating into a world of fantasy that he has created for himself, the same way individuals have dreams and goals for themselves.

To escape his mundane reality, Mr. Mitty retreats into a version of reality, he has created for himself. In actual reality, Mr. Mitty is ordinary, passive, and sometimes incompetent, but in his version of reality that he has created Mr. Mitty is decisive, and possesses every good quality he lacks in his real. Mr. Mitty is not a passive husband but rather in control of his marriage. Walter Mitty is endearing, and respected by the people around him, and seen as the extraordinary man that he believes he is. Mr. Mitty creates a version of reality he wishes to be true, to make up for his actual life that he is extremely dissatisfied with.

Walter Mitty feels dissatisfaction with his everyday life because he believes that he does not live up to his understanding of masculinity. Mr. Mitty is a passive husband, forgetful, and a poor driver, to him a masculine man should not have these attributes. Walter Mitty in his created version of reality is skilled, decisive, bold, brave and most importantly respected by those around him. He strives to feel the satisfaction of being treated as an extraordinary man by those around him, to feel accepted as a masculine man. To Mr. Mitty’s understanding of masculinity you must have these attributes, so he created himself to be masculine in his version of reality because he does not feel masculine in his everyday actual life.

Walter Mitty creates a version of reality to fulfill his desire to feel masculine, to fulfill the dissatisfaction he feels with his own life, and to feel in control in some aspect of his life. Walter Mitty is a character that correlates with the reader, as many individuals have a created version of reality they want to live up to.