Symbolism in Into the Wild and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (Essay Example)

What has already been written does not matter, it is how the blank pages are filled that counts. This means that the past must be left there to live a better future, and there are two works of art that emphasize this point. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is a film by Ben Stiller where the protagonist, Walter Mitty, must go on an odyssey to find the perfect picture while trying to save his job at Life magazine. Jon Krakauer wrote the book Into the Wild based on a true story of a boy, Chris McCandless, who spontaneously leaves his home and changes his name to live in the wild, but months later he is found dead in an abandoned bus. Into the Wild and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” both provide symbolism of leaving the past behind in physical objects. 

First, there are many objects of symbolism in leaving the past behind in Into the Wild. For example, when Chris McCandless starts his journey, he would “abandon the Datsun and resume the odyssey on foot,” and though upset, he “saw the flash flood as an opportunity to shed unnecessary baggage” (Krakauer 28-29). The Datsun turns out to be a symbol of his past and the only way to continue his dream and improve the future was to leave it behind. Another symbol in the book is a letter he sent along with his final grades; the quote says, “Toward the end of June, Chris, still in Atlanta, mailed his parents a copy of his final grade report […] It was the last anyone in Chris’s family would ever hear from him” (Krakauer 21-22). His letter represents how he had a toxic relationship with parts of his family. So, to truly live his life, Chris needed to be free of their grasp, so he sent one last letter and never spoke to them again. Chris McCandless displays fitting examples of leaving the past behind to make for a better future. 

Similarly, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” includes lots of hidden ideas through symbolism depicting that with lots of hard work, the future will be bright. In the movie, Walter is talking to Todd, a side character, when he says, “Just, I was pretty close with my dad, and he died when I was 17 on a Tuesday, and we didn’t have any savings, so I got a haircut that Thursday, and, a job, the same Thursday” (Stiller et al.). In this scene, Walter Mitty discusses why Papa John's reminds him of his dad’s depressing and untimely death. This resulted in him growing up too fast, causing him to lack a fulfilling adult life. Cheryl, Walter’s love interest, brings up how her son, Rich, likes to skateboard, and Walter says: 

“[Walter]: I used to... I was kind of into the scene. 

[Cheryl]: The skateboard scene? 

[Walter]: Yeah” (Stiller et al.). 

This short, yet important conversation explains how Walter used to be young and alive, but he now lives in this dull, boring life which he wants to escape from. This movie depicts great ideas of symbolism in focusing on making the future better than the past. 

In conclusion, both the book and the movie build on symbolism to create the idea of leaving things behind to live up to life’s full potential. This message is important for everyone because many people get caught up with what already happened, not what will happen. This emphasizes the notion that the past is a place of reference, not a place of residence.