Get ready to explore The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and its meaning. Our full analysis and study guide provides an even deeper dive with character analysis and quotes explained to help you discover the complexity and beauty of this book. " The Secret Life of Walter Mitty " (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, [1] it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1942). [2] It has since been reprinted in James Thurber: Writings and Drawings (The Library of America, 1996, ISBN 1-883011-22-1), is available on-line on the New Yorker website, [3] and is one of the most anthologized short ... When he's not daydreaming, the not-so- secret life of Walter Mitty is the opposite of his heroic alter-ego's; he's just an everyday guy facing imminent career downsizing, who's too timid to ask out ... The Secret Life of Walter Mitty : Directed by Ben Stiller. With Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Jon Daly, Kathryn Hahn. When both he and a colleague are about to lose their job, Walter takes action by embarking on an adventure more extraordinary than anything he ever imagined.