Autumn Eberhart

March 2018
Character Analysis
AP American Literature

Someone very intelligent once said “Reading a good book is like taking a journey.” This

saying consummately describes the feelings felt while reading ​Uncle Marcos ​by Isabel Allende

and ​The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ​by ​James Thurber. Although both of this short stories are

stupendous and adventurous, they have different themes and purposes.

Uncle Marcos​ is a man that goes on many adventures.With his niece Clara believing in

him through every step,even through his most meaningless adventures. After long amazing

journeys flying and traveling the world he dies from African Plague.

Walter Mitty​ is a story about a platitudinous man with a vexatious wife. As he completes

ordinary task, ​he escapes into a series of fantasies, each spurred on by some mundane reality. In

this fantasies Mitty has a variety of traits including leadership, intelligence, and courage.

Both Uncle Marcos and Walter Mitty are round and dynamic characters. Uncle Marcos

undergoes change by (in his own way) matures toward the end. He is round simply because he

shows different traits throughout the story. He has an independent side, his funny side, his loving

side, and his courageous side. One very example would be when he ensembled this outrageous

flying machine, a mechanic bird, that he was going to fly. All of the townspeople came to

observe Uncle Marcos fly through the sky. We was gone for several weeks, and pronounce dead.

Eventually, he came back. This definitely shows his courageous side.

 Walter Mitty is dynamic and round because he too goes through a change. At the

beginning he was a prodigious push-over. However, towards the end he begins to develop a

backbone. Walter Mitty is definitely round, when he transform into his fantasies he becomes an

intelligent, clever, independent, courageous man. For an excellent example,in his last fantasy he

basically faces death. This shows how courageous he was.

Walter Mitty is a character that dreams of being spontaneous and adventurous. Whereas

Uncle Marcos he is spontaneous and adventurous. However both characters have traits that are

the same such as; independence and a sense of charisma. For example both Walter Mitty and

Uncle Marcos undergo change. Therefore making them a dynamic character. Throughout the

story Walter Mitty shows many different character traits.