Mitty has had a relatively easy life. His family is rich and sends him to a private high school in Manhattan. They live in a plush apartment, beautifully furnished, with stunning views of the city. The hardest part of Mitty’s life involves keeping up with the minimum requirements for his schoolwork. He is not snobby about his privilege, however. He loves talking with people, no matter what their status. People are drawn to his humor and charm, and he makes friends wherever he goes. Like everyone else in the novel, Mitty is clearly marked by the experience of living in post-9/11 New York. He has strong views on what a hero is. But he never expects to be one, preferring to watch sports on TV and listen to music on his iPod.

But the more Mitty learns about his biology topic, smallpox, the more engrossed he becomes, which changes his attitude toward doing schoolwork and, as a result, toward making an effort and taking action in general. When Mitty must confront the idea that he might have smallpox, he understands how devastating this could be, not just for himself, but for the whole world, and he actively reaches out to those who might be able to help.