Essay on Charles Fraziers Cold Mountain - 1425 Words

Charles Fraziers Cold Mountain In Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier describes the epic journey home of wounded Confederate soldier Inman from Petersburg to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Inman’s physical voyage home is paralleled by the mental journey made by his sweetheart, Ada, in her transformation from ‘city girl’ into ‘mountain woman’. The story is woven around the experiences of Inman and Ada trying to rebuild their lives from the desperation and disaster of the war, all the while trying to find a way to see each other again--whilst they are so far apart. It also blends the horrors of war into their current lives, and the corruption that has scarred them forever. Inman and Ada’s respective ordeals help develop the themes of war,†¦show more content†¦There is a deep irony that Frazier chooses to kill his hero at the conclusion of his journey, after surviving so many great dangers, and yet he must die for he â€Å"had seen so many men shot in recent years that it seeme d as normal to be shot as not.† Inman’s death leaves the impression that the war left him irreconcilable with his homeland, if not with himself. Inman has an enormously strong sense of pining for his home place: â€Å"After a time, though, Inman found that he had left the book and was simply performing topography of his home in his head. Cold Mountain, all its ridges and coves and watercourses, Pigeon River, Little East Falls, Sorrell Coves, Deep Gap, Five Scald Ridge. He knew their names and said them to himself like the words of like the words and spells of incantations to ward off the things one fears about most.† Inman’s idealization of his homeland is clear in this passage. However, given his experiences, while that home place may retain its physical beauty, it cannot ever remain in its idealized form. What one fears about most is his removal from the world either from death or by becoming an outsider which Inman became a victim of: â€Å"She thought that Inman had been alone too long, an outlier.† In the traditional masculine role of household management, Frazier has categorically illustrated that I nman is not required. The women, Ada and Ruby, are entirely self-sufficient, and his role has been relegated to that of merely a begetter ofShow MoreRelated Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain Essay1070 Words   |  5 PagesCharles Frazier’s Cold Mountain Overcast by the gloom of the Civil War, Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain details the growth of his characters as they cope with uncertain times. The two protagonists, Ada and Inman, traverse parallel paths toward redemption. While Ada adapts to an unfamiliar mountainous existence, Inman braves the risk of desertion to return to her. Both characters, however, seek love, spirituality, and an understanding of their disrupted world, and through their kindred coursesRead More Charles Fraziers Use of Music in Cold Mountain Essay3597 Words   |  15 PagesCharles Fraziers Use of Music in Cold Mountain The American Civil War was a bitter, grief-filled conflict with oddly musical overtones. A Southern soldier, Alexander Hunter, recalled that â€Å"There was music in plenty,† (Lawrence 169) just as Charles Frazier’s character Stobrod in Cold Mountain remarks that â€Å"there was so much music back then† (407). 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Cold Mountain opens with a quotation from a journal entry by Charles Darwin: â€Å"It is difficult to believe in the dreadful but quiet war of organic beings, going on in the peaceful woods and smiling fields.† And indeed, Frazier’s acclaimed novel describes a war of beings built of fleshRead More Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier Essay example2620 Words   |  11 PagesCold Mountain In Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, the theme of music is one of the novel’s most powerful themes. From symbolizing character growth to the healing of physical wounds, music plays an integral part in this novel. While many critics will point out that music has little effect on the human psyche, Charles Frazier shows his belief that music does indeed have a profound effect on the human mind throughout Cold Mountain. Throughout the novel, Inman, Ada, Ruby, Stobrod, and many otherRead More The American Civil War Essay2428 Words   |  10 Pageswar deprived them of body and soul. In Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier develops this excitement and progression to hardship in both Ada and Inman’s journeys. The progression, corroborated by historical evidence, shows that while the antebellum South held a Romantic ideal of war, war itself negated the romantic opinion and became destructive, monstrous, and deadly. At the onset of civil war, a state of trepidation would be assumed; however, Cold Mountain shows that Southern society did not fearRead MoreEssay Blue Heron577 Words   |  3 Pages In Cold Mountain and A Poem for the Blue Heron, tone is established in a multitude of ways. These two pieces of literature describe the characteristics and actions of a blue heron, both aiming for the same goal. However, Charles Frazier and Mary Oliver approach their slightly differing tones employing organization, metaphoric language, and diction. Organization is a key element in Fraziers and Olivers work, as it works directly to set the tone, as well as acting as a symbol of nature. CharlesRead MoreCharles Frazier’s Novel has Differences in Contrast to Homer’s Epic937 Words   |  4 Pagessupports the hero in their time of need, and motivates the hero to survive. Charles Frazier’s novel Cold Mountain has differences in contrast to Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. The works differ because the main characters have different family situations to go home to. Odysseus has a loving wife and son, while Inman does not know if the girl he loves will marry him. Even though the works can be proven different, Cold Mountain and The Odyssey can be compared. The works show how the main characters useRead MoreThe Cold Mountain, By Charles Frazier1192 Words   |  5 PagesWithin Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, religion is an ever present component to the novel. This is prevalent within Inman, Ada and Monroe, S wimmer, and the mountain town itself. At times, characters will present aspects of religion that do not coincide with the common Christian beliefs within Cold Mountain, such as Monroe’s teachings or Swimmer’s own religion as opposed to Christianity. Each religious person or reference within the story creates a sense of differentiating views as well as an introduction