Compare and Contrast the Secret Life of Walter Mitty and I’m Going

2156 Words9 Pages
Gender Roles, Contrast and Comparison of: “The secret Life of Walter Mitty” vs. “I’m Going!” Milton Wiscovitch Jr. ENG 125 Prof. Jennifer Chunn December 2, 2012 The world as we know it has all types of marriage relationships. Some have overbearing wives with submissive husbands who do exactly what their wives say. In other respects it is the other way around in which the husband takes control and the wife is submissive. Some marriage relationships are balanced in the sense that both husband and wife are team players; they share life’s work load through communication and understanding of each partner’s ability to manage, accomplish, and organize tasks. On the other hand as stated earlier they can be very lop sided. James Thurber’s 1939 short story of “The Secret life of Walter Mitty” displays how an over bearing wife has control over her husband by her constant nagging and telling him what to do. Walter does exactly what his wife wants but displays defiance when she is not present and drifts off into his own little world making him the man he always wanted to be. In Tristan Bernard’s “I’m Going” play written between 1866 and 1947 is comical and a farce much like James Thurber’s “The secret Life of Walter Mitty”. Though they show differences in reverse role playing of the characters; they bear similarities and share a common theme. The theme is marriage, commitment, submissiveness, and personal relationship between spouses and how the characters are treated by one another in ludicrous situations or scenarios. The tone is similar to that of Mrs. Mitty in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and Henri in “I’m Going” in the sense that they control their spouse. The authors’ express similar attitudes towards their spouse by how they communicate and treat each other in other words it is not “what” you say, but “how” you say it. Walter drifts off into his

More about Compare and Contrast the Secret Life of Walter Mitty and I’m Going

Open Document