Hero :The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

MYTHS AND HEROES /ESCAPISM /ADAPTING LITERATURE FOR THE SCREEN 

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY :  THE SHORT STORY AND THE MOVIE 

 TEACHING RESOURCES

why now ? Because the film has just been released!

( The first movie was shot in 1947 and Thurber hated it)

1) THE SHORT STORY:

http://comicsgrinder.com/category/james-thurber/

The story told in six pannels ( a tribute)

Read Thurber's original short story online ( The New Yorker Archive):

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1939/03/18/390318fi_fiction_thurber?currentPage=all

http://bnrg.eecs.berkeley.edu/~randy/mitty.html

The short story can be found in quite a few (old)  textbooks

Listen to an extract (you can also get the full reading for free !)

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/12/19/walter-mitty-listen/4123103/

Walter Mitty read by Orson Welles (internet archive)

Another reading on youtube (a bit clumsy)

OTHER STORIES READ BY PETER USTINOV

THE UNICORN IN THE GARDEN (text)

THE UNICORN IN THE GARDEN (video)

WALTER MITTY  STUDY GUIDES 

http://www.enotes.com/topics/secret-life

http://cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides6/Mitty.html

http://www.bookrags.com/The_Secret_Life_of_Walter_Mitty/

http://www.shmoop.com/walter-mitty/

WALTER MITTY ANALYSIS

http://fr.slideshare.net/kvelasquez91/the-secret-lifee-of-walter-mitty-analysis

A recent  article :

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/real-secret-life-walter-mitty

Another one here:

http://www.todayinliterature.com/stories.asp?Event_Date=3/18/1939

ON NPR : 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88754469

 A powerpoint :

autres documents : ebookbrowsee.net/the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty

Lesson plans on webenglishteacher.com:

http://www.webenglishteacher.com/thurber.html

Other lesson plans :

http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewResource/Preview/48597

http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?keywords=secret+life+of+walter+mitty

WORKSHEETS

Yvan Baptiste a produit la worksheet suivante :

http://yvanbaptiste.pagesperso-orange.fr/anglrenf/shortstories/mitty.htm

 trouvé ailleurs :

http://skyview.vansd.org/bquestad/mitty/wkstpap.htm

MITTY

http://www.knowledge4africa.com/english/stories/walter-mitty.jsp

"CHEAT SHEET"

http://daniellenglish.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/1295/walter-mitty-worksheets/

Literature

AN INTERACTIVE QUIZ ON QUIA.COM

SHORT STORIES

Escapism:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escapism

Daydreaming

5 fascinating things about daydreams (Huffington Post)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/daydream-daydreaming-facts_n_3745374.html

ZONING OUT : TO ZONE OUT (like Walter Mitty)

http://fr.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=zone%20out

2) THE MOVIE

"Have you done anything noteworthy or mentionable?"

Official Site

trailer analysed here :

http://philipsmithg324.blogspot.fr/2013/08/trailer-analysis-secret-life-of-walter.html

http://screenrant.com/secret-life-walter-mitty-movie-2013-trailer-images/

http://imgur.com/a/XrapY

Most famous song :

Dirty paws  (performed by Of monsters and Men)

Analysing movie posters :

http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/bbustermovies/movies.php?pageID=posters

https://sites.google.com/site/movieposteranalysis/home

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/secrets-hollywood-s-greatest-movie-188670

http://www.ehow.com: discover the expert in you

 document pdf ici :

REVIEWS

THE NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW:(video)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/movies/the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty-stars-ben-stiller.html?_r=0

Another video review :

Other reviews:

http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty-is-brilliant/20140103.htm

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_secret_life_of_walter_mitty_2013/

The Hollywood Reporter

The Australian.com

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/reviews/review-the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty-29868976.html

MANY PICURES ON PINTEREST:

http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=walter%20mitty

This scene from THE TRUMAN SHOW may have inspired Ben Stiller

Possible Final tasks :

write another episode , Walter Mitty as...........

( à la manière de...)

Write a film review: before asking students to do such a difficult exercise, I think the best thing to do is to have them read reviews of several  films they already know regularly ( start in September) !

compare short story and film : give your opinion.

Debate : Walter Mitty, crazy or not?

perform in front of the class

choose one "episode" in the short story and one in the movie, then comment on their differences, etc.. .

Diviser la classe en groupes : Un groupe = 1 épisode : repérage des éléments communs/ les élèves conçoivent une activité pour leurs camarades....

In French :

http://www.commeaucinema.com/notes-de-prod/la-vie-revee-de-walter-mitty-aventure-comedie-dramatique-fantastique,269697

v

The lighter side !

Une série des années 70 dont le héros est un chat : The secret Lives of Waldo Kitty

parodie de Walter Mitty