it possible that the dream of execution did not signify the death of Mitty, but in his real world the death of slavery to his wife? Perhaps he realised that he had to fight not only in his fantasies but also in his real world. Or, could it be that Mitty wanted to give up, and because he was a coward in the real world, he committed suicide in his dream instead real life? In both stories, all the events that led to final moment would enable one to believe it was a suicide wish. Tragically, Meursault's death was the real punishment and Mitty's, even though it was in his daydream, was real to him. Therefore, Meursault and Mitty, by desperately trying to separate themselves from the society and reality of this world, which was impossible to do, were condemned to lose. They were convinced that other people's lives or beliefs would not effect them if they kept to themselves. That kind of behavior went totally against rules and ethics of society and for that reason they were not accepted and were judged by their own beliefs. Both writers showed that a person could not go against society, and that society, or the nagging wife, in Mitty's case, will almost always win. All the previous events in Meursault's life have passed him by: his girlfriend, the death of his mother, the killing of a man. He lived for one moment; he cared for one moment. Remarkably, it was only during the last few hours of his life that he started to live; that was the moment when Meursault felt something. "I realised that I'd been happy, and that I was happy" (pg. 117). Mitty too did do something; he took a drastic action in the daydream and in the real world. It seemed that he was slowly preparing for the time when he will get back into all that he might have felt a reason to hide from. Meursault and Mitty are both confronted with a change, a change that will end their lives, as they know it, and it appeared that they finally found the freedom to be happy....
