Question

What is the structure of the short story the secret life of Walter Mitty

Answer 1

The structure of the short story 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' includes character development, conflicts, and dialogue, centered around a single event with a climax and often a twist ending to highlight the story's theme.

Step-by-step explanation:

The structure of the short story 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' consists of an introduction, body, and conclusion, which is typical for narrative short stories. The story focuses on character development, a series of conflicts, and occasional dialogue to propel the plot forward. Like many short stories, 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' is centered around a single event or character and unfolds within a relatively short span of time, incorporating a turning point or climax which directs the plot in an unexpected direction. It may also include a twist ending aimed at summarizing the theme and provoking reflection from the reader.

Short stories are written with precision and tend to have fewer characters and a more concentrated plot than novels. They often include parallel structures or snapshots that help move from event to event while maintaining a clear central narrative. These elements create an engaging story arc that keeps readers invested from the beginning to the end.

Answer 2

This story vascillates between the everyday humdrum life of Water Mitty, the hen-pecked husband sterotype, and the extravagant adventures he lives in his daydreams. Mitty flits in and out of reality, his daydreams concocted by a stream of consciousness association triggered by the sputtering of his car's exhaust pipe, a pair of gloves, and finally a freshly lit cigarette. In such a way this docile "hubby" gets to be the captain of an icebreaker, a famous surgeon, a defendent in a murder trial and finally a fighter pilot taken captive distaining a firing squad. Mitty's imagination is his "second life," which nurtures his deflated ego and helps hims escape the insufferable mediocrity of his existence.

If you do a graph of the plot line of this story, it would look very much like a cardiograph printout, with the steady horizontal line of Mitty's real life intermittantly broken by the highs and lows of his "virtual" existence.