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