Comparison between Walter Mitty and Holden Caulfield essays

Comparison between Walter Mitty and Holden Caulfield essays Comparison between Walter Mitty and Holden Caulfield Inability to live a successful and fulfilling external life The short story The secret life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber, and the novel The Catcher in the Rye by the author J.D Salinger, are two works of literature of the twentieth century which have been analyzed and criticised broadly. Walter Mitty and Holden Caulfield are the main characters of each of these narrations. Both authors refer to the themes of loneliness, escaping reality, meaning of life, and lack of maturity amongst others. These themes are reflected in the protagonists, and similarities between Mitty and Holden Caulfields personality make these two characters recognizable in literature. Both are engrossed in failure, failure to productive society Walter Mitty is a middle-aged man who escapes from his unhappy and mediocre life into a world of fantasies where he is an outstanding and successful man, where he is respected and does not depend on anyone. This contrasts to his real life, where he is dominated by his wife, Mrs. Mitty, and he is just an ordinary weak man, who is constantly humiliated whenever he interacts with normal people. His fantasies and his real world have almost turned into an indivisible one. His illusions make his life tolerable, fulfilling him at least for a concise time. In the Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old boy who has been sent to a mental institution after having a mental breakdown. He is an immature adolescent who is scared of becoming an adult, because he sees adults as phoney, hypocrites and obscene. All this has lead him into depression, because he keeps fighting responsibilities, thinking that that way he can achieve not turning into horrible grown ups image he has. Mitty is constantly daydreaming, for he does not know how to confront life, and is afraid to face reali ...