Name
Date
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber
Reading Warm-up A
Read the following passage. Pay special attention to the underlined words. Then, read it again,
and complete the activities. Use a separate sheet of paper for your written answers.
You may not remember your dreams. Even so, you
could have more than half a dozen of them every night.
We have most of our dreams during the Rapid Eye
Movement (REM) stage of sleep. During that time our
eyes dart back and forth beneath our eyelids. If you
remember a dream at all, you probably had it an hour or
two before you woke up.
The study of dreams may seem simple, but it is actually an extremely complicated subject. A specialist in the
study of dreams must be an expert in biology, psychology,
and several other fields of science. Dream researchers
observe people while they sleep. They wake them periodically to ask about their dreams. Although researchers
awaken their subjects as delicately as possible, most people forget their dreams almost as soon as they are awake.
Once we are awake, our dreams are usually no more than
misty memories of vague events. We usually cannot quite
bring them back into focus.
People often report similar types of dreams. Many people dream about a menacing figure—a person, an animal,
or a monster of some type—that threatens their safety.
Other common dreams feature some kind of performance
that goes horribly wrong. For example, you are in a play
and you forget all your lines. Of course, not all dreams
arise from stress. If you spend a lot of your waking hours
thinking about your favorite sport or someone you have a
crush on, chances are that those things will show up in
your dreams as well.
Did it ever occur to you that your dreams might have
hidden meanings? Some experts believe that dreams
reveal secret feelings that we cannot express in our waking hours. Others have voiced their objection to this idea.
They suggest that dreams are just meaningless stories
that our brains make up while we sleep.
May all your dreams be happy ones—whether you
remember them or not!
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176
1. Underline the word that means
the opposite of complicated.
Write a sentence about something you think is complicated.
2. Circle the word that means
almost the same as specialist.
Write a sentence about
another kind of specialist.
3. Underline the words that
tell what the researchers do
delicately. Write a sentence
about something you might
do delicately.
4. Circle the word that has the
same meaning as misty.
Explain in your own words
why the author compares
dreams to misty memories.
5. Underline the words that tell
what a menacing figure
might do to people. Explain
how a person or an animal
could be menacing.
6. Circle an example of a
performance. Write a sentence about how some other
performance might go
wrong.
7. Write a question that might
occur to a dream researcher.
Then, write a question that
occurs to you about dreams.
8. Underline the idea that
researchers raise an objection
to. What is your opinion on
this subject?
Name
Date
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber
Reading Warm-up B
Read the following passage. Pay special attention to the underlined words. Then, read it again,
and complete the activities. Use a separate sheet of paper for your written answers.
Billy was a daydreamer.
It started when he was in preschool. Billy would start
doing a jigsaw puzzle, but his mind would begin to wander even before he inserted the first puzzle piece into
the rectangular frame. At first, his thoughts would drift
aimlessly, with no apparent direction. Then, his eyes
would close, and a story would start to take shape in his
mind. Soon, Billy would be off on a great adventure in
some distant land that was far more exciting than Miss
Hannah’s Preschool.
That is when Miss Hannah would tap him on the
shoulder and ask why he was not working on his puzzle
like the other kids.
When he got older, Billy learned to daydream with his
eyes open. He would be sitting in class, carelessly doodling in his notebook, when suddenly his mind would be
elsewhere. For a few fleeting moments that never lasted
long enough, Billy would know what it felt like to lead a
squad of fearless soldiers into battle or pilot a space
shuttle through the treacherous rings of Saturn.
Then he would feel the teacher’s fingers tapping
sharply on his shoulder.
“Time to rejoin the real world,” she would remark
scornfully, and the whole class would start to laugh.
Billy did not care, though. Sometimes, when his parents were bickering, Billy would escape into a private
world where people never argued or raised their voices.
When he reached high school, Billy began to write
down some of his daydreams as stories. His teachers had
to admit that the stories were good, even if Billy did have
trouble paying attention in class.
By his sophomore year, Billy suggested that he and
other student authors begin a school literary magazine. The
faculty decided it could be funded with money from the
school enrichment initiative passed by local voters. Before
long, this particular dream of Billy’s had become a reality!
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177
1. Underline the words that tell
what Billy inserted. Then, tell
what inserted means.
2. Underline the words that
explain what aimlessly means.
Write a sentence about something that might be done
aimlessly.
3. Circle the word that tells
what Billy did carelessly.
What does his carelessness
suggest about him?
4. Underline the words that suggest what fleeting means.
Write a sentence about something else that is fleeting.
5. Underline the words that
identify the members of Billy’s
squad. What kind of squad
would you enjoy leading?
6. Why does the teacher make
her remark scornfully? What
could she have said if she did
not want to speak scornfully?
7. Circle the words that tell
what Billy’s parents did when
they were bickering. How
does Billy respond to his parents’ bickering?
8. Underline the words that tell
what the voters decided to
pay for when they passed
the initiative in the local election. How did the initiative
help Billy?
Name
Date
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber
Literary Analysis: Character
A character is a person or an animal who takes part in the action of a literary work.
• A round character is complex, showing many different qualities—revealing faults as well
as virtues. For example, a character might be honest but foolish or dishonest but intelligent. A flat character is one-dimensional, showing only a single trait.
• A dynamic character develops, changes, and learns something during the course of a
story, unlike a static character, who remains the same.
The main character of a story is almost always a round character and is usually dynamic.
The main character’s development and growth are often central to a story’s plot and theme. As
you read, consider the traits that make characters seem round or flat, dynamic or static.
DIRECTIONS: For each numbered item, write a sentence telling what character trait or traits the
passage reveals.
1. Mrs. Mitty: “We’ve been all through that,” she said, getting out of the car. “You’re not a
young man any longer.” He raced the engine a little. “Why don’t you wear your gloves? Have
you lost your gloves?”
Character traits of Mrs. Mitty:
2. Walter Mitty: Once he had tried to take his chains off [the tires], outside New Milford, and
he had got them wound around the axles. A man had had to come out in a wrecking car
and unwind them, a young, grinning garageman. Since then Mrs. Mitty always made him
drive to a garage to have the chains taken off. The next time, he thought, I’ll wear my right
arm in a sling; they won’t grin at me then.
Character traits of Walter Mitty:
3. Walter Mitty: A woman’s scream rose above the bedlam and suddenly a lovely, dark-haired
girl was in Walter Mitty’s arms. The District Attorney struck at her savagely. Without rising
from his chair, Mitty let the man have it on the point of the chin. “You miserable cur!” . . .
Character traits of Walter Mitty:
4. Mrs. Mitty and Walter Mitty: “Did you get the what’s-its-name? The puppy biscuit? What’s
in that box?” “Overshoes,” said Mitty. “Couldn’t you have put them on in the store?” “I was
thinking,” said Walter Mitty. “Does it ever occur to you that I am sometimes thinking?” She
looked at him. “I’m going to take your temperature when I get you home,” she said.
Character traits of Mrs. Mitty and Walter Mitty:
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Name
Date
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber
Reading: Reflect on Details and Events to Determine
an Author’s Purpose
An author’s purpose is his or her main reason for writing. In fiction, the specific purpose is
often to convey the story’s theme, message, or insight. Pause periodically while reading and
reflect on the story’s details and events to determine the author’s purpose. Ask questions such
as, What significance might this event have? or Why does the author include this detail? Based on
your reflections, formulate ideas about what the author’s purpose might be.
DIRECTIONS: Write one or two sentences telling why, in your opinion, James Thurber might have
included each of the following details or events in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”
1. Mrs. Mitty scolds her husband for driving too fast and for not wearing his gloves. He does
what she tells him to do.
2. Walter Mitty daydreams, imagining that he is an important surgeon who repairs a piece of
medical equipment and saves a patient’s life.
3. Walter Mitty tells his wife that he does not need overshoes, but his wife insists that he does.
He buys the overshoes.
4. Walter Mitty daydreams, imagining that he is a heroic air force captain about to fly a twoman bomber into heavy combat by himself.
5. Walter Mitty daydreams, imagining himself heroically facing a firing squad—“proud and
disdainful, Walter Mitty the Undefeated, inscrutable to the last.”
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Name
Date
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber
Open-Book Test
Short Answer Write your responses to the questions in this section on the lines provided.
1. Reread the conversation between Mitty and his wife in the third paragraph of “The
Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” Based on this conversation, how does Mrs. Mitty view
her husband? Explain.
2. Fill in the diagram with one of Walter Mitty’s faults and one of his strengths. Give
an example of each.
Fault:
Example:
Strength:
Walter
Mitty
Example:
3. In “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” how do the characters in Mitty’s dreams treat
him? Give two examples from the story.
4. In “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Mrs. Mitty is irritated by her husband’s
absentmindedness. Cite two pieces of evidence from the story that show this.
5. A round character shows many different traits, while a flat character shows a single
trait. Would you describe Mrs. Mitty as a round or a flat character? Support your
response with an example from “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”
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183
Name
Date
6. Reread the paragraph in which Walter Mitty remembers taking the chains off his
tires. In your opinion, what is the author’s purpose for including this memory?
7. Cite a moment in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” when Mitty feels distraught. Base
your answer on the definition of distraught.
8. What kind of man is Walter Mitty? Use evidence from the story to support your
answer.
9. In your view, does “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” end on a comic or a tragic note?
Explain, using examples from the story.
10. In your view, is Walter Mitty inscrutable? Explain your answer on the basis of the
meaning of inscrutable.
Essay
Write an extended response to the question of your choice or to the question or questions
your teacher assigns you.
11. Walter Mitty is treated very differently in his real life than in his imaginary life. In
an essay, describe this difference, and explain why you think it exists. Are Mitty’s
two lives totally separate, or are they related in some way?
Unit 1 Resources: Fiction and Nonfiction
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