“Reality leaves much to the imagination” (Lennon). This is an especially true quote when it comes to Mitty. Mitty is disappointed with his life and uses his dreams as a way to escape his reality. The short story is about a gentle man who uses his dull and mundane surroundings as inspiration for his exciting and heroic daydreams. Walter Mitty is a dreamer who uses his dreams to escape his monotonous life. This story was written by James Thurber in 1939. Thurber had a prolific career as an author and cartoonist. James Thurber uses irony, allusion, and symbolism to express the theme of the contrast between a human being's hopes for life and their reality. Symbolism is an important literary device in this short story and it is primarily used to illustrate Walter's weaknesses and negative traits. As the story begins, Walter and his wife are going into town to run some errands when she insists that he wear shoe covers. Although Walter objects to the shoe covers, Mrs. Mitty forces him to buy and wear them. “Don’t forget to put on these shoe covers while I get my hair done,” she said. “I don’t need shoe covers,” Mitty said. She put her mirror back in her bag. “We’ve been through it all.” (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty). This symbolizes Mrs. Mitty's control over her husband. By forcing Walter to buy shoe covers, readers can see that Mrs. Mitty is controlling her husband. Throughout the story, Walter is bossed around by his wife because of how she controls him. "He indulges in a daydream in which he is a brave military commander piloting a seaplane, but his wife interrupts him by exclaiming that he is driving too fast. This pattern repeats itself several times." (EBSCO) Mrs. Mitty controls every detail of Walter's life. What do you want, to get what you want, you must strive for success and achieve your goals. . Ghandi once said, “We must be the change we want to see in the world.” This quote sums up the message and meaning of the story. Life is about stepping up and getting out. We must be the change we want to see in the world, because if we are not, that change will never happen. Ultimately, life comes down to choices. Many people spend their entire lives wishing and dreaming, but some take paths less traveled. Some step up and stand down and those are the ones who succeed, those are the ones who achieve their goals, who get what they want and who we should all emulate. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty teaches everyone who reads it to stop dreaming, rise up, get out there, and be the change they want to see in the world..