Preview

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Anthony Butseev Book V.S. Movie

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
470 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Anthony Butseev Book V.S. Movie
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an extremely original and creative story written by James Thurber. Mr. Thurber wrote in the genre of comedy and enjoyed animating his stories with comically drawn cartoons. Soon after the short story was published, Sam Goldwyn made a film adaptation which James Thurber wasn't to happy about. I agree with Mr. Thurber. The movie is not at all the books story. It was changed up tremendously and doesn’t reassemble the original story in many ways. The only thing that was kept the same was the name Walter Mitty that he day dreams. Many new unnecessary characters were added and a different story line. The movie is also a whole lot more humorous compared to the short story which puts the two in completely different genres. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty short story is about the importance of daydreaming and how it can make your life extremely colorful and pleasant. The story uses brilliantly thought out transitions between real life and day dreams where as the move uses ok transitions. In the movie it is very easy to guess when it will happen and what the dream will be. The book just throws it at you when you are not expecting it. A good example of this is happens when Walter is playing defendant in his day dream. Him acting out this role showed us that he was very guilty for forgetting what his wife asked him to get at the store. The transitions happens in a matter of a few words. This causes surprise and excitement in the reader unlike in the movie. In the movie, you can see that Walter is going to have a day dream because he seems to be getting hazy and the visual effects cause a foreshadowing type effect. You can also easily figure out what the dream will be about will be about. The book has many advantages over the movie The short story and the movie are two different pieces of art with the same name. The short story wins the battle hands down because of its originality and the incredible skill the author posed when writing

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was written by James Thurber. I wouldn't have dinner with Walter because he would be a terrible guest for several reasons.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both “A&P” and “Secret Life Of Walter Mitty” are simple stories about everyday life, and the way normal people deal with the monotony of their lives. Both stories include characters that are faced with simple but tough problems. Sammy, the main character in “Secret Life Of Walter Mitty”, obviously hates his job at the A&P, and he finally quits after his boss does something that he thinks was unfair. Walter Mitty is tired of his boring life so he daydreams to get through it and to escape from his overbearing wife. Both characters are similar but the main difference comes in their actions. Sammy faces his problems head-on while Walter Mitty just tries to forget his problems instead of doing something to fix his boring life.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Any movie based upon a piece of literature can make or break its source of inspiration. Some movies do no mercy toward the book, while some exceed the quality of the novel. The movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed by Norman Mc Lean, was a much better piece of work than the short story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," written by James Thuber, because the video had a satisfying conclusion, more action, and a much more developed and advanced plot.…

    • 683 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    From reading the book, “Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and watching the movie, it is made clear that Walter Mitty is not just any ordinary man. In both the short story and the movie, it seems Walter Mitty is completely lost. Mitty has trouble focusing on what is in front of him, instead he daydreams about an exciting life, that he does not have. The book and movie both show how Mitty has relationship issues, how his daily routine is absolutely boring and how he daydreams about the exciting life he actually wants.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    First of all, one of the biggest reasons the movie is better than the book is because of the quality of the flashbacks. In the book the flashbacks were more set in the past and much longer, sometimes too drawn out and a little boring for how much background story there is for just one day dream, whereas in the movie the daydreams are a bit shorter but more set in the present and more affect by what he does in that moment with little background because of how short they are and how close to the present they may be. The daydreams are usually much more exciting in the movie as well, whereas in the book it's set back to just a boring doctor surgery, that was…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    I chose these two stories because they both have the same theme about marriage and love. (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Necklace) are written in third-person narration, and throughout the two stories one person point of view is used, it allows you to see the dreams and thoughts of the main characters.…

    • 2553 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    I liked the dvd better than the short story. In the dvd you can hear the creepy noises and facial expressions. You could also see the lighting of the dvd better than the short story. In the short story you couldn’t see the people’s facial expressions or hear the creepy noises in the background. In the dvd you could see the angles of the dvd, but in the short story you couldn’t see the angles. In the dvd you could hear some of the music, but in the book you couldn’t hear the music.…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Many movies are derived from novels, and all of them have major differences from the book version. While there are many similarities in the movie and the book Of Mice and Men, there are many differences also. Some differences are presented through the characters, scenes, and the way the actors play their roles.…

    • 1367 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The film and the novel were both great. The novel was better in many ways. The novel gave an immense amount of detail in the characters and the settings. The film made it simple and to the point and didn't really consider the detail that was in the novel. The film would have been better if they didn't change the most important parts of the novel.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, by author James Thurber tells the reader about a story where a man tries to escape his extremely mundane life with numerous fantasies. For example, Walter Mitty's daydream comes as he waits for his wife and picks up an old copy of Liberty and visions himself fighting Germany while volunteering to pilot a plane normally piloted by two people.…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The literature that I chose to write an analysis on is “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”. This short story was written in 1939 by James Thurber. Thurber’s writing style for this story is very imaginative, humorous and symbolic. Thurber tells the story in a third- person point of view, which allows the narrator to reveal the thoughts of Walter as they take place.…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The story of Harrison Bergeron in the book is better than the movie script. Both the movie and the short story share these themes; they also have multitude similarities, but also have just as many differences. The story move around a change that happens in the U.S that makes an age of inequality. There's also a huge contrasts between the book and the movie. The title is different in the movie and the book, the rolls of Hazel and Harrison have been changed and in the book Harrison was shot by the handicap general but in the movie he was shot by Diana moon. However, there are also some similarities such as that the both stories started in…

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are a handful of reasons why I think the novel is better. One of the main reasons is because the novel was described in full detail and was very well written. This gave me a very strong connection with the characters. The novel shared information that the movie didn’t. In the novel, it told us about the grandmother’s feelings towards the Holocaust which proved that not all the German’s agreed with the madness. The Grandmother represented the other Germans that felt the same as she did but were too afraid to speak. The novel also tells me that the father is a man of many layers. In the novel, the author said what Father did for Maria. Such as pay her mother’s medical bills when she was sick, took her in, and gave her a job when her mother passed away. The father isn’t as cold-hearted as he seems. In the movie, Shmuel isn’t asThis story shared feelings and true identity from all angles.…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many movies are derived from novels, and all of them have major differences from the book version. While there are many similarities in the movie and the book Of Mice and Men, there are many differences also. Some differences are presented through the characters, scenes, and the way the actors play their roles.…

    • 672 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the readers distinguish fiction plays a big part in the lives of human beings. Any little thing such as, driving past a hospital triggers Walter Mitty’s mind into dreaming he’s the best doctor in town. Having a wild imagination creates not only positive implications, but also negative. For example, imagination can be used to create new inventions, but can also be used by a serial killer to murder the next victim. This quotation reflects the way Walter lives his life because daydreaming excessively helps him stay kind. He uses his vivid imagination in a positive way, to have a sense of adventure. His imagination creates new worlds where he is young and worshipped by others. It refrains him from getting angry at his ungrateful wife when she says, “I wish you’d let Dr. Renshaw look you over,” or, “You’re not a young man any longer.” As a human being, having a broad imagination is helpful way to be artistic and channel images in mind onto a…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays