“Reality leaves much to the imagination” (Lennon). This quote is especially true when it comes to Mitty. Mitty is disappointed in his life and uses his dreams as a method to escape from reality. The tale is about a gentle man who uses his boring and mundane surroundings as inspiration for his exciting and heroic daydreams. Walter Mitty is a dreamer who uses his dreams to escape his monotonous life. This story was written by James Thurber in 1939. Thurber had a prolific career as an author and cartoonist. James Thurber uses Irony, Allusion and Symbolism to express the theme of the contrast between a human being's life hopes and his reality. Symbolism is an important literary device in this tale and is used primarily to illustrate Walter's weaknesses and negative traits. At the beginning of the story Walter and his wife are going into town to run some errands when she insists that he wear overshoes. Although Walter objects to the overshoes, Mrs. Mitty forces him to buy and wear them. “Remember to grab those overshoes while I do my hair,” she said. "I don't need overshoes," Mitty said. She put the mirror back in her bag. "We've been through a lot." (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty). This symbolizes Mrs. Mitty's control over her husband. By forcing Walter to buy overshoes, readers can see that Mrs. Mitty is in control of her husband. Throughout the story Walter is bossed around by his wife because of the way she controls him. "He indulges in a daydream in which he is a brave military commander flying a seaplane, but his wife interrupts him by exclaiming that he is driving too fast. This pattern repeats itself several times." (EBSCO) Mrs. Mitty controls every detail of Walter's life. Wh...... half of the paper ......u whatever you want, to get what you want you have to strive to be successful and achieve your goals. Gandhi once said, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” This quote encapsulates the message and meaning of the story. Life is about taking a step forward and stepping out. We must be the change we wish to see in the world because if we are not then that change will never see the light of day. In the end, life is about choices. Many people spend their entire lives wishing and dreaming, but some take the road less traveled. Some step up and step up and those are the people who succeed, those are the people who achieve their goals, who have what they want and who we should all emulate. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty teaches everyone who reads it to stop dreaming, step up, step up and be the change they wish to see in the world.