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"WE'RE going through!" The Commander's voice was like thin ice breaking. He wore his full-dress uniform, with the heavily braided white cap pulled down rakishly over one cold gray eye. "We can't make it, sir. It's spoiling for a hurricane, if you ask me." "I'm not asking you, Lieutenant Berg," said the Commander.
Readers first encounter Mitty in one of his daydreams, playing a Navy commander. His first words are an order: “We’re going through!” He wears a full-dress uniform, which officers ordinarily wear only for ceremonial occasions. But in Mitty’s mind, the uniform speaks of authority and masculinity. A lesser officer, Lieutenant Berg, voices his doubts and is perceived to be less manly because of it. Commander Mitty asserts his masculinity by telling Berg, “I’m not asking you.” Mitty’s masculinity pushes him to take on Mother Nature herself, driving through a hurricane rather than retreating, going around, or waiting it out.
"Leave her sit there," said the attendant. "I'll put her away." Mitty got out of the car. "Hey, better leave the key." "Oh," said Mitty, handing the man the ignition key. The attendant vaulted into the car, backed it up with insolent skill, and put it where it belonged.
After attempting to enter the parking lot through the exit-only lane, Mitty cautiously attempts to back up his car. Impatient with Mitty, the attendant takes over. His choice of words, referring to the car as “her,” suggests that the car is female, contributing to the gender dynamics at play; Mitty’s masculinity is challenged by the parking attendant taking control of his car. Rather than fight over “her,” Mitty submits to the parking lot attendant. He passes his manhood to the younger man, in the form of the car key. In a display of masculine virility, the attendant “vaults” into the car and backs it up “with insolent skill.”
