SE Preparation - Short stories
SE Preparation – HAVO 4
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Examination Day
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SE Preparation – HAVO 4
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Examination Day
Let's review!
Wat moet je kennen van The Secret life of Walter Mitty?
James Grover Thurber
The Author
What background information do you remember about James Thurber?
Childhood (Blinded when he was young)
Employment (The New Yorker)
Hobbies (Cartoonist)
Check out: thurberhouse.org/biography
Analysis of
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
What is NOT a theme of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty?
Marital conflict
The desire for wealth and power
Heroism and masculinity
Dreams vs reality
Which best describes Walter Mitty’s personality in real life?
Brave and confident
Passive and forgetful
Agressive and selfish
Talkative and outgoing
What role do Walter Mitty’s daydreams play in the story?
They confuse the plot and distract the reader
They show that Walter Mitty is mentally ill
They reveal his inner desires and dissatisfaction
They provide comic humor without deeper meaning
In one of his fantasies, Walter Mitty imagines himself as a:
Teacher
Surgeon
Police officer
Movie director
How does Walter Mitty’s wife treat him?
With love and respect
As an equal partner
With indifference
As if he’s incompetent or childlike
What causes most of Walter Mitty’s daydreams?
His wife tells him to dream
Normal things he sees or hears in real life
He is bored while waiting in line
Reading books or watching movies
How does the story end?
Walter Mitty stands defiantly, lost in another heroic fantasy
He decides to change his life for real
He tells his wife about his dreams and she understands
He gets into trouble for daydreaming at work
Figurative Language
Nonse words: words that are made up.
"His mind drifted like a balloon floating into the sky."
Metaphor
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Simile
"The wild winds whipped through the woods."
Metaphor
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Simile
"Muggle" or "Quidditch"
Metaphor
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Nonse words
Reading Questions
1. Can you explain the exposition of the story line: what is going on, when does the story take place (year, season, weekend or weekday?)
2. What average daily activities does Mitty do throughout the story?
3. Describe one of Mitty’s fantasies as he goes about his day.
4. Describe the relationship between Mitty and his wife.
5. What does Walter Mitty wish were different about his life?
6. Describe an example of simile, onomatopoeia & alliteration in the story.
7. What does Mitty’s last daydream reveal about how he views his own future?
The Plot Diagram - Examination Day
What happens when?
Exposition --> Beginning of the case where characters, conflict
and settings are introduced.
Rising Action --> Where the protagonist is faced with the situation
of interest.
Climax --> Where the decision of the situation is made.
Turning point
Falling action --> Where the impact of the decision is traced; Actions
And events after the climax .
Resolution --> End of the case; where the conflicts or problems
are solved.
Homework for next monday:
Make a plot diagram for Examination Day
Let's review!
Wat moet je kennen van Examination Day?
The Plot Diagram - Examination Day
Exposition
Characters:
Dickie
Mr. and Mrs. Jordan
Setting:
In the future?
A different kind of society with a strange government.
A small apartment with a 'tiny wall kitchen' showing the family lacks tokens of affluence (the setting is stark, emotionless)
Rising Action
It's Dickie's 12th birthday
Mrs. Jordan mentions a test that makes Mr. Jordan nervous.
Dickie asks his dad a lot of questions, annoys his dad.
Mr. Jordan tells him about the test.
They go to the government building.
Climax
Lights appeared on the machine, and a mechanism whirred. A voice said " Complete this sequence. One, four, seven, ten …....
Falling Action
Mr. And Mrs. Jordan are in the living room, nervous
They receive a phone call from the government agency.
They are informed that Dickie completed the test.
They are given options for his burial.
Resolution
We can conclude, that Richard (Dickie) Jordan was killed because he was too intelligent.
The Author
What background information do you remember about Henry Slesar?
Background (military - Air Force)
Employment (science fiction/ mystery novelist, playwright, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, TV series writer)
Key elements of a Dystopia
Analysis of Examination Day
What is the author warning readers about through this story?
The dangers of too much homework
The risks of too much government control
The benefits of intelligence tests
The importance of school attendance
Which of the following is NOT characteristic of Totalitarianism?
Exercises control over public and private life
Is a form of government
Outlaws individual and group opposition to the state
Free and open elections
How does the story reveal the government’s attitude toward intelligence?
Intelligence is seen as a threat that must be controlled
Intelligence is ignored completely
Intelligence is praised and rewarded
Intelligence is a personal achievement
Why does Dickie ask so many questions before the test?
He is scared and wants attention
He is curious and intelligent
He wants to annoy his parents
He already knows the answers
How do the parents' actions reveal their relationship with the government?
They trust and support the government
They are happy to follow the rules
They work secretly against the government
They fear the government but feel powerless
What does the government’s phone call at the end reveal about the society?
It shows kindness and personal concern
It treats people as unimportant and not as individuals
It values each citizen as an individual
It expresses sadness for the family's loss
