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Will Pickens

Mr. Shelton

English 8, Period 4

29 January 2002

Mitty and Smithers

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," written by James Thurber in 1942, is a short story about Walter Mitty, who has very little self-esteem. To make up for what his personality lacks, he often fantasizes of being some type of hero. "The Two Bottles of Relish," written by Lord Dunsany in 1932, is a short story about Smithers, a relish salesman in London, and how he helps his roommate Linley solve a puzzling murder case. Both Mitty and Smithers have little self-esteem, but each deals with his problem differently; also, although both men have ambition of some kind, Smithers does something to fulfill his ambition, while Mitty does not.

The low self-esteem of both Mitty and Smithers is shown throughout the stories, but it is shown differently. For example, Smithers' low self-esteem is shown by what he says about himself. Smithers calls himself"a small man...in a small way of business"(42) and says that he would not have gotten his job as a relish salesman if the relish was not so "easy to push"(42). On the other hand, Mitty's low self-esteem is not shown by what he says, but by what he does. Mitty is always getting pushed around, but he never does anything about it. Mitty's lack of self-esteem is shown when he does not stand up to his wife while being bossed around by her; whenever Mitty is with his wife, she gives him orders and gets angry with him for very small things, like not sitting in the right place while waiting for her at the hairdresser. Mitty's low self-esteem is shown several other times; a traffic policeman and a parking-lot attendant as well as a woman passing him on the sidewalk later put Mitty down in some way. Therefore, both Smithers and Mitty have a lack of self-esteem that is shown in one way or another.

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One area in which Mitty and Smithers differ is the way they deal with low self-esteem. While Smithers does not do much to try to overcome his lack of self-esteem, Mitty constantly fantasizes about being some one that is respected and regard highly. Mitty fantasizes about being people such as a famous, respected doctor, a Navy commander that "ain't afraid of hell" (272), "the greatest pistol shot in the world" (276), and a courageous Air Force pilot. Smithers' lack of self-esteem does not appear to bother him much, but Mitty has to resort to his imagination to get over his lack of confidence.

Another thing that Mitty and Smithers have in common is ambition. Both men have ambition of some kind. The difference between Mitty's ambitions and Smithers' is that Mitty's ambitions are farfetched, such as being a world-famous doctor, or the commander of a Navy hydroplane, but Smithers' ambitions, like selling more relish, are more reasonable and achievable. Another difference in Mitty's ambitions and Smithers' ambitions is that, since Smithers' are more reasonable, he does more to achieve them than Mitty does. Mitty does nothing to satisfy his ambitions but only fantasizes about them. Smithers and Mitty both have ambition, but while Mitty's ambitions are farfetched, outrageous, and unachievable, Smithers' ambitions are more reasonable, and Smithers actually tries to accomplish his goals.

Although Smithers and Mitty both have low self-esteem, they deal with the problem differently. Also, both men are ambitious, but since Mitty's extreme ambitions are so hard to achieve, he makes no attempt to do so. On the other hand, Smithers ambitions are practical and he makes attempts to satisfy them. Therefore, Mitty and Smithers have some traits in common, but the men differ in several ways.

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Works Cited

Plunkett, Edward J..M..D. (Lord Dunsany). "The Two Bottles of Relish." 1932. 21 Great Stories. Ed. Abraham H. Lass and Norma L. Tasman. New York: Mentor, 1969. 41-55.

Thurber, James. "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." 1942. 21 Great Stories. Ed. Abraham H. Lass and Norma L. Tasman. New York: Mentor, 1969. 271-277.