The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber Essay Example

In the story by James Thurber called “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Mr. Mitty is not in good condition to be having dinner with someone. He may not be old or too young, but still needs help. Mr. Mitty can hallucinate at any given time without any warning, so he could be dangerous to be around. Walter Mitty isn’t a good companion to have dinner with because he can’t get rid of his past, he is very ill, and he can hurt someone. 

Walter Mitty is having flashbacks about his life when he was younger. Walter doesn’t want to remember but he has no choice. He wouldn't be a good dinner companion because what if he starts talking about the war, he will start freaking out, but he wouldn’t understand that he is in the present time not the past. He could be freaking out and going crazy, and talking about the war and his guests could get hurt with him and he could get aggressive around others too. In the story about Walter's Secret Life it states, “ ‘We can’t make it, sir. It’s spoiling for a hurricane, if you ask me.’ ‘I’m not asking you, Lieutenant Berg.’ said the Commander. ‘Throw on the power lights! Rev her up to 8,000! We’re going through!’ The pounding of the cylinders increased: ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa. ” This shows that Walter still can’t seem to get rid of his past and will still need help bringing him back to the present time. Walter doesn’t seem to have control when this happens because whenever he looks at something, he hallucinates about something from his past or he daydreams about something he saw that he wants to do. Being around Walter at his state of condition may be a bit dangerous considering that he remembers his past which involves a lot of violence and a lot of dangerous moves and language. Imagine being with someone at dinner and all of a sudden they are shouting about throwing power lights and waving a fake gun around the place. What would have happened if Walter was holding a knife at dinner and he remembers his past? He will be freaking out while waving a knife in his hand going all crazy. He could really get someone injured just because he was hallucinating about his past. Of course he wouldn’t want to hurt someone intentionally, but he wasn’t in his right head. Walter Mitty wouldn’t be a good person to be around normally or just to have dinner while he has hallucinations going on whenever his brain wants him to remember. 

Mr. Mitty is very ill and both him and his wife won’t check it out. They both know that Walter is very ill and they haven't done anything about it. If I were in their household I wouldn’t feel safe because they won’t take care of his needs. He could easily see a doctor because of his fantasies but choices not too. In the story it says, “ ‘You’re tensed up again,’ said Mrs. Mitty. ‘It’s one of your days. I wish you’d let Dr. Renshaw look you over.’ ” This proves that Walter Mitty is ill but chooses not to get the help he needs. Mrs. Mitty knows about his conditions but lets him drive alone or is the one driving her around. Mr. Mitty is an unstable young man who deals with many things. Hallucination will not help him, it will make him worse because he may want to be in that place instead of the real one. Driving while in his condition isn’t safe for anyone around him or himself.  In the story it states, “ ‘Not so fast! You’re driving too fast!’ said Mrs. Mitty. ‘What are you driving so fast for?’ ‘Hmm?’ said Walter Mitty. He looked at his wife, in the seat behind him, with shocked astonishment.” This proved that Mrs. Mitty does not acknowledge his illness and still doesn't do anything. Mrs. Mitty didn’t care that he was having a hallucination while trying to drive her to her hair appointment. All she wanted was to be dropped off and for him to leave. He had a hallucination while going there and after when he was driving, by himself. Both wouldn’t be good friends for dinner since they won’t acknowledge each other's health issues and won’t consider each other's feelings or problems. Mr. and Mrs. Mitty seems to not care about his condition and makes it seem normal. They don't acknowledge the fact that he is seriously unil and won’t get a look at from a doctor. Walter Mitty hallucinates whenever and wherever, and this shows that he doesn’t have self control over it.

Walter Mitty, as you can tell, is very ill. He could constantly hurt someone without intending to do so. Mr. Mitty is delusional, while being in another world of his, he was alone driving around the street. It is clearly unsafe to drive while fantasizing about a war or being a doctor. In the story it states, “He drove around the streets aimlessly for a time, and then he drove past the hospital on his way to the parking lot. … ‘It’s the millionaire banker, Wellington McMillian,’ said the pretty nurse. ‘Yes?’ said Walter Mitty, removing his gloves slowly. ” This shows that in his other fantasy. He is delusional because he was just driving by the hospital and then started to think about becoming a surgeon. Walter Mitty can get someone seriously hurt someone or get someone dead just because of his illness. He is very unsafe to be around especially when he starts to hallucinate again. He wouldn’t be a good dinner companion because he is easily distracted. He was driving a car and was also speeding, but also having hallucinations. When he is driving he remembers his past about being in a war or something that relates to his past. Another example was when he was driving by a hospital, then he started to imagine being a famous surgeon. His other world that he wants to be in, and his real life world would never be the same. It is normal for him to think it's the same though, but imagine being in a room with Walter Mitty and serving food. Imagine Walter was holding a knife to slice something and he remembers something or starts to hallucinate. He is still holding the knife and he could get someone hurt. So it wouldn't be a great idea to have dinner with him in his state of mind. Spending time with him will be completely absurd considering the fact that he can lash out at any given moment 

Walter Mitty isn’t at the right moment to be with anyone at this time. Both Mr. Mitty and Mrs. Mitty would not be able to keep others safe while being at a dinner. He wouldn’t be a good companion because of him constantly remembering his past, his illness, and he could get someone hurt.