James Thurber
James Thurber was an American humorist, cartoonist, and writer associated with *The New Yorker* magazine from the 1920s through the 1950s.
His work combined whimsical prose with deceptively simple line drawings, often depicting anxious men, domineering women, and dreamy dogs. "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" remains his most famous story.
His style influenced generations of American humor writing.
Brief account of incident
- fableMoral tale with animals
- taleSpoken or written narrative
- yarnTwisted strand for crafts
- raconteurSkilled storyteller
narrative · parable · allegory · fantasy · talking animals · moral · imagination · whimsical
Author of short prose
- short storyBrief prose fiction
- New YorkerResident of a major metropolis
- proseUnversified language
- literaryOf written works
fiction · nonfiction · narrative · manuscript · fable · memoir · columnist · humorist
Clever, inventive humor
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- satireMockery exposing vice
- parodySatirical imitation
- absurdityWildly illogical quality
droll · whimsy · deadpan · self-deprecating · comedic · wry · tongue-in-cheek · bemused
Competition between genders
- marriageFormal union between partners
- domesticityLife centered around home
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- escapismHabitual mental retreat
dogs · confusion · anxiety · befuddlement · henpecked husband · suburban · middle class · neurosis
Picture explaining something
- sketchHasty informal drawing
- drawingMarks forming a picture
- New YorkerResident of a major metropolis
- captionText accompanying an image
ink · doodle · line drawing · whimsical · dogs · men and women · wobbly · minimalist
anecdote
Brief account of incident
raconteur · narrative · parable · allegory · fantasy · talking animals · moral · imagination · whimsical · childhood
essayist
Author of short prose
- short storyBrief prose fiction
- New YorkerResident of a major metropolis
- proseUnversified language
literary · fiction · nonfiction · narrative · manuscript · fable · memoir · columnist · humorist · American literature
wit
Clever, inventive humor
absurdity · droll · whimsy · deadpan · self-deprecating · comedic · wry · tongue-in-cheek · bemused · farce
battle of the sexes
Competition between genders
- marriageFormal union between partners
- domesticityLife centered around home
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
escapism · dogs · confusion · anxiety · befuddlement · henpecked husband · suburban · middle class · neurosis · misunderstanding
illustration
Picture explaining something
- sketchHasty informal drawing
- drawingMarks forming a picture
- New YorkerResident of a major metropolis
caption · ink · doodle · line drawing · whimsical · dogs · men and women · wobbly · minimalist · visual humor
James ThurberCormac McCarthy
Franz Kafka · Samuel Beckett · Sylvia Plath · Ernest Hemingway · Fyodor Dostoevsky
James ThurberJonathan Swift
Dublin's savage satirist
Hunter S. Thompson · Lenny Bruce · George Carlin · Mark Twain · Tom Wolfe
James ThurberWilliam Faulkner
Henry James · Vladimir Nabokov · Marcel Proust · Herman Melville · Tom Wolfe