James Thurber Research Paper

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit” (Bach 3). Every writer had to have started somewhere with their career. The amateur writers who did not quit are most often those who become famous later. James Thurber, an American humorist wrote a vast amount of stories. Although he struggled in the beginning of his career, he did not give up on his passion for writing. Thurber’s short story writing style was greatly influenced by the events in his early life, in his career, and in history. While James Thurber’s early life could be considered normal, it was a main focus in his writing. For example, when Thurber was a young boy, he and his brother, William, were playing a game that resulted in a terrible eye injury. The injury resulted in near blindness in the one eye, and in turn made him a very shy and awkward child. Several years after the injury, …show more content…
A few years prior to The Great Depression, Thurber began to write his short stories. When America fell into this misfortune, Thurber undertook writing humorous stories. “To escape such a world the individual resorted to fantasy to create something he could comprehend and control” (Britannica School 1). Thurber wanted to escape the horrid things occurring in the world, and he did that by writing amusing stories. Not only did this help him escape, but his stories were also a distraction for others who were struggling during the difficult times. Walter Mitty, a character from one of his short stories, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, is a great example of an escape from reality. Mitty imagines himself experiencing different realities in many different ways, one being a surgeon saving a pateint’s life. “That will hold for ten minutes… get on with the operation” (Secret Life of Walter Mitty 3). James Thurber wanted the people reading his stories to feel like Walter Mitty, and think of themselves in a happier