It has been accepted that Walter Mitty should be regarded as an archetypal character. Admittedly, many people tend to try to seem better than they are. More so, most people (at least once in their lives) have fantasized about their success or their exceptional deeds. All this is done to escape from real life. Thus, if a person is not satisfied with his/her life, this individual tries to escape from this unpleasant reality.
Likewise, Mitty is not satisfied with his real life. He cannot develop proper relations with people. He is not the person he would like to be. He finds the way out. He starts creating stories where he is the person he would like to be. In his daydreams, Mitty is a man of action who is adored by others. These daydreams help him to endure his real life with all its difficulties.
Another example of such archetypal characteristics is revealed in the story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce. Notably, Bierce’s protagonist Farquhar also escapes reality. However, his case is an extreme one. The man is daydreaming about his rescue and his family during his execution (while falling through the bridge). Of course, this instance is an extreme case that can be regarded as an inevitable human brain reaction.
Thus, the two stories reveal archetypal characters. The two stories illustrate the way people try to escape reality, which is unbearable. In the former case, Mitty thinks he cannot bear his life. Thus, he makes up different stories. When it comes to the latter story, it illustrates a specific psychological feature, i.e., people’s specific reaction to certain conditions.