The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The story follows Walter Mitty, a man who escapes his mundane and dominated life through vivid daydreams.

These fantasies range from being a Naval commander, a world-famous surgeon, a defendant in a murder trial, a World War I pilot, and finally, a man facing a firing squad.

The narrative contrasts Mitty’s heroic fantasies with his drab real life, highlighting his dissatisfaction and the lack of understanding from his wife.

First published in The New Yorker in 1939, it is one of Thurber's most famous and anthologized works.