In the following essay, Sundell discusses various conflicts in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."

Any unit of literature which attempts to deal with the appreciation of the short story, either for pleasure or for the recognition of the principles involved in creative writing, would do well to include in its table of contents Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." Long recognized for its entertainment value, Thurber's most popular short story is rarely subjected to the careful scrutiny so deserving of a perfect architectural design.

As is the case with so much literary criticism, my own notes on "The Secret Life" are not so much a result of private musings as the fruit of a dialogue involving students and myself engaged in observing, through sample pieces, the structural elements of this genre. I read "The Secret Life" to a group of highly sensitive and alert young...