Carpe Diem

For much of recorded history, humans have fixated on the concept of mortality and of making proper use of their brief time spent on earth. These notions are evident across centuries of literature, the urgency of “carpe diem,” or of seizing the day, originating from Horace even before the time of anno Domini. The use of these ideas persists in American literature, too, particularly in the post-Civil War era, its use underscoring the sense of loss and destruction felt by an entire generation. Especially prevalent in the works of Ambrose Bierce, the overwhelming need to use one’s time living wisely appears as an underlying theme, an exigency that is only compounded with the added complication of war and the veritable maelstrom of death that accompanies
Bierce implements this theme by presenting Peyton as the sort of man who should have, by all means, survived the dispute; Bierce describes him as a wealthy civilian, someone whose eyes “were large and dark grey and had a kindly expression which one would hardly have expected in someone whose neck was in hemp” (399-400). Following the themes of the tragic genre, Peyton owes his fate largely to his own glorification of the battle against the Union, as well as his hubris in attempting to contribute to the war effort; in one paragraph, Bierce describes Peyton as feeling “chafed under the inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies, the larger life of a soldier, the opportunity for distraction” (401). Through Bierce’s portrayal of Peyton as a relatively average man, the restlessness and patriotism that leads Peyton to his demise seem not like a unique characteristic, but rather the sentiments of non-enlisted men on the whole. With this description, Bierce portrays a harsh reality of war: death was not reserved solely for the deserving and the dastardly, but something that reached across all social stations and every brand of demeanor. Furthering this message is the ultimate failure of Peyton’s escape - though the story walks the reader through an elaborate and daring attempt at survival, in actuality the journey is merely a delusion crafted in Peyton’s last seconds of life. With his failure, Peyton’s tale cements the theme of war’s devastation, and of the overwhelming futility in attempting to avoid the desolation inherent