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A story is only as good as the one who tells it. Anyone can write a story, but a good writer knows the different points of view a writer can use. There is first person, where the teller is participating in the story.
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Proficient in: The Narrator Сharacter
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Then there is third person, where the teller of the tale is not participating in it. With third person, the teller could be in everyone's minds. They know what everyone is thinking or just know what one character is thinking.
Yet another type of third person is where the teller or the story describes the setting, but does not give access to anyone's thoughts. In "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," the author uses the third person point of view, but the teller of the tale only knows what Walter is thinking. This is otherwise known as third person selective omniscient. This allows the reader to make their own decisions based on what they know about the people, Walter and his wife.
The storyteller does a good job of giving a neutral portrayal of events in the story. He lets his readers make up their own minds about what is happening. For example, when Walter was dropping his wife off at the hairdresser's, the story read, "Remember to get those overshoes while I'm having my hair done," she said. Some people might have taken this as her nagging Mr. Mitty, but that would be "Remember to get those overshoes while I'm getting my hair done," named Mrs. Mitty. The author lets us decide for ourselves whether she is nagging or not.
The teller of this tale is not a character in this story.
He is more like a ghost in that he witnesses the events taking place without any of the characters noticing him. He also has access to Mitty's inner thoughts and daydreams. Also, it seems he doesn't think, he only sees. The narrator acts like a portal that projects the scene for the readers to see. I think that this is important to note, as the storyteller's perspective is his own and the readers may then likely sympathize with either Mr. or Mrs. Mitty, thus affecting how we read the text. For example, in the beginning of the story, the two are driving to town and this is now how the text reads, "Not so fast." If the narrator had been a character from the story, he may have sympathized with Mrs. Mitty here. Then the story could have read, "Not so fast, dear!" said the poor, terrified Mrs. Mitty. "Is it really necessary to drive that fast?" "Hmm?" said crazy old Walter. As you see, the teller is biased. He favors Mrs. Mitty, so his interpretation of what was happening is an alteration of reality. Therefore, it does matter, in my own opinion, whether the narrator does or does not take part in the story.
What might be different in the story if Walter Mitty or his Mrs. Mitty had told it? Well, if Walter had been the one telling the story, I think we might know a little more about him. Not just what he is thinking, but also what he is seeing while all this is going on. What is the cause of these fantasies? Possibly Walter is feeling plain bored, with Mrs. Mitty seeming to take care of most of the thinking. Walter has nothing better to do than daydream, or maybe these fantasies are his only way to feel adequate. The one idea that is common in all the daydreams is that the character that Mitty plays is able to overcome whatever obstacle comes his way.
Now, if Mrs. Mitty had been the teller of the tale, I think it would have gone in a completely different direction. The readers might have felt compelled to take pity on her for having to put up with a man who appears to be losing his mind. One might also think that Walter should be grateful to have such a caring and loving wife to look out for him. So, as I mentioned before, the same exact story can change dramatically depending upon the person who is telling it.
This story was written for the purpose of humor. It is suppose to be funny. But I fail to see the humor. In the beginning of the story I was kind of surprised when it went form a ballsy Commander flying a plane through the worst storm in twenty years of Navy flying, to some seemingly old man and his wife driving to town. After the initial shock, I thought that this man was absolutely losing his mind. I figured Mitty to be some crazy old man. I assumed him to be old, but I dont think that his age was ever mentioned during this story. Well, after that first seen I began to become curious as to what his next fantasy would be. I wanted to find out whether there was any truth to them. I dont believe there was. Ive come to the conclusion that Walter was just an ordinary man, possibly going through a midlife crisis, thinking about what he could have become and how great he could have been.
To me this is not very funny. The only remotely funny part of the story, in my opinion, was at the end when he stood before a firing squad and he said, To hell with the handkerchief. This final scene put a cartoon like picture in my mind of a great and honorable man getting executed for his crimes. All things considered, I dont believe this wasnt a funny story. Overall, I think that James Thurber did a good job of putting this together. I liked how he left this whole story open to different types of opinion. One can get from this story whatever he desires. Just because I didnt find this to be funny, doesnt mean that someone else, with a different viewpoint, cant find humor in it. I think that that is a good writer who can portray a story to be understood in different lights.
A Discussion on the Importance of the The Narrator Сharacter. (2023, Apr 06). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/a-discussion-on-the-importance-of-the-the-narrator-sharacter-essay
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