Analysis of Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier - Assignment Example

[What is the significance of this allusion How is he using it to develop various themes (the blind man says "Nobody" put out his eyes.allusion to Homer's Polyphemus episode in book IX of the Odyssey)] ==Frazier may have used this allusion to give the reverse connotation of the blind man's misfortune. In the book IX of the Odyssey, Odyssey planned to blind the clyclops so that he and his men could escape, Polyphemus. So it was, that when Polyphemus asked his name, Odyssey deliberately said that his name was Nobody. While in "Cold Mountain", Frazier used this allusion to show the other side of a misfortune. In the blind man's case, he was born with that disability and "Nobody" had placed him in that situation but fate. Frazier uses this style of referencing to develop various themes in the book by referring to a connotation from another literature or by using his characters to explain the different sides of the situation or topics from his story. Frazier uses other forms of parallelism to Odyssey's story in the other parts of the story. [What are Inman's thoughts of war Why does Frazier have Inman's anti-war sentiments oppose to Mrs. McKennet's view] ==Inman is a man full of questions at the world that both amazes and shocks him. He wants nothing more than absolution because the war has dealt him with countless terrible experiences that he wishes to forget and to not add to them no more. Inman believes that no man loves war and that the war has turned men into hideous creatures, who have become void of their innate knowledge of what used to be right and just. Frazier illustrates Inman's and Mrs. McKennet's opposing views on war in the story because in truth this is what happens in the world. To those who are left in their homes like Mrs. McKennet and only hears of news from hearsay, war seems like an intimate story of heroism and glorious deeds. In contrast, front-liners of war like Inman, have the understandable opposing views on war. [Why does Frazier have Inman read Bartram's Travels How might Bartram's romanticist leaning offer an alternative to the "metal face of the age"] ==Frazier uses Bartram's Travels as a spiritual guide on his way home to Ada. The book serves an inspiration and source of sustenance to keep him going on the long way back to his refuge. Bartram's Travels is full of an ideal world's description of the world's natural beauty. This diverts Inman's attention from the horrors of war that is recurrent in his dreams and thoughts. [What are Inman's thoughts about the soul, divination, pattern in nature, and randomness The invisible world What do these opinions tell you about him Has the war turned him nihilistic] ==Inman does not believe that the soul is weak and can cease to exist. For Inman, divination takes place in a world invisible to the human eye and stays as a strong belief that people hold unto because of their faith. The patterns of nature have become Inman's source of momentary solace. While recuperating in the hospital from his neck injury, Inman's actions were limited and all he could do all day was staring at the picture of the outside world that the window from his hospital bed presented. He would stare at the randomness that changed that picture and often wondered meaning it offered. Deep in his gut, he knows there is some meaning to it but doubts he may never get to know it. Staring into randomness stimulated Inman unto his recovery from being immobile. This only tells the readers that Inman is a man deeply scarred by what war has done to him and to people around him. Despite of being confused and weary, he still has hope for a better and much peaceful future. The war has not made Inman nihilistic, nevertheless his experiences made him aware of the war's extremities. Inman never wishes to add more to his experiences and wants release from his past. [Why does Frazier puts Ada in a boxwood bush Why has her education been impractical What might Frazier be saying about different types of education Hoe does she compare Charleston and the mountain landscape] Boxwood bush is a wide spreading shrub that grows up to 5 to 10 feet. In a way, it also serves as canopy from strong wind or the sun to anyone who shelters beneath it. Frazier puts Ada in a boxwood bush because Ada at that time was grief stricken woman looking for solace and protection. Frazier puts Ada in a boxwood bush because there she finds a sense of security in her solitude in Black Cove. Ada's education in Charleston has proven to be impractical because her fate is to take care of Black Cove, a farmhouse which her father has left her. She is highly literate but her education has failed to help her manage the farm on her own. Farmhouses needed constant chores and manual labor of which she is not adept to accomplish. Following the death of her father, she is left alone and unprepared of imminent responsibilities to keep the farmhouse in shape. Frazier suggests that the world and the society can offer different types of education. Society can school people on the vast knowledge that the human race has established and discovered. On the other hand, the ways of nature can teach people how to feed their body and soul by the resources that it offers and by the soothing beauty that it projects. Ada sees Charleston as a place where she would have to live a dead-end life where she would be forced to marry for convenience and live in a city of full of indifferent people. In comparison, she feels much more alive in the cold mountains, and thinks that these mountains can offer her much more security than what the progressed city can. [In what type of God does Monroe believe in Inman Compare Esco Swanger's opinion of signs/patterns/nature to Inman's] ==Monroe believes in a God that has reasons why humans suffer on earth. Inman on the other hand believes that what makes men stronger is their belief in God and the lack thereof makes men evil and weak. There is no reason for one's existence if there is no goodness in a man. Like Inman, Esco Swanger believes that nature gives off "bad signs" or omens that indicate changes or distressing incidents that are about to happen. For example, when he hears of a talking owl and a sheep without a heart, he believes those are signs that the war is approaching Cold Mountain. For Inman, crows not only signify signs of coming events, but also of his envy on the crow's freedom, to escape into a world where he is as free and cunning as a crow. [What do you make of Ada's vision and dream] == Ada's vision in the well encourages her gut feeling that somewhere somehow Inman is coming home, and that the figure she saw was Inman, who was on his way home to be with her. On the other hand, her dreams of her father calling out to her represents her unconscious doubts what lies in the future for her. [Do you think Ruby is black Does it make a difference Why would it matter to Ada that Ruby was a motherless child] ==No, I do not think that Ruby is black. Lower class belonging to the working mass was not necessarily made of black people at that time. It mattered if Ruby was a motherless child because Ada grew up motherless too. Ada finds a common ground with Ruby because they are opposites in all other aspects. [Compare the different landscapes in these chapters. What do you make of Inman's response to Monroe's claim that it is man's duty to love all creation] ==Inman's love of Cold Mountain's pure surroundings becomes apparent on how he describes the landscapes he comes across in his journey. He doesn't like the flat lands, the pine brakes, the foul river region, the black stumps and most of all, the battlegrounds. He describes these landscapes as sumps of the continent. [What are Ruby's thoughts about land and duty About nature and signs About money and working the land What does the cabriolet represent What is Frazier suggesting about Ada's notebook Is literary, academic knowledge worthwhile] ==Ruby thinks that if one knows how to work the land, all people's need can be found in the land. She believes that everything grows with accordance to signs that are set by the rules of heaven. Ruby does not trust money and would rather resort to bartering goods and working the land can offer so much trade if one knew what to do with one has in her surroundings. The cabriolet represents Ada's first step in learning from Ruby's practicality in the short time that they have known each other. Frazier suggests that Ada's notebook has not been much use until Ruby arrived. Before, it served as her journal poetry, thoughts on her literature and of her despairing thoughts on being responsible for Black Cove. Her writings in her journal were of uncertainties to come but when Ruby came; her journal becomes a list of certain important and urgent things to do around the farm. Ada's notebook is a sign of hope that she would then become able to take care of the farm with the help of Ruby. Frazier suggests that the importance of the kind of education one receives coincides with the environment that he lives in. It is important for people in the city to be educated and literate to survive the competition in the workforce since having work is what makes people survive in the city. On the other hand, people in the countryside need to have the "natural" education that Ruby had as a child. An understanding of the ways of nature and of its possibilities is needed so that people can get the most produce out of their farms and surroundings. [Compare Monroe's use of transcendental metaphor to Ruby's intuitive metaphor. How does Ada respond to Monroe's views Does she have value nature and specific landscapes more than he does] ==Compared to Monroe's transcendental metaphor, Ruby's intuitive metaphor proves to be more practical. Ruby believes that people should deal with what nature has dealt them with. While Monroe believes that surroundings of Cold Mountain is a reflection of another world, Ada disagrees and says that "all the life there is" can be found in the landscape and she is part of it. Her thoughts may differ from that of her father but it doesn't mean that she values nature more; it only means that she feels gratitude to be part of such wonder. [Note Veasey's definition of contentment. How might Frazier be using it to comment on Odell's love, or in Inman's] ==Veasey's contentment lies on satisfying his pure lust regardless of what woman comes his way. Frazier use this to show how pure Odell's love to Lucinda and Inman's longing for Ada is compared to Veasey's lustful longing for women. How might Frazier be using crows in the story Of whom does her description of them remind you of == Frazier uses the imagery of crows to show how different people see elements of nature. For example, Ruby sees crows as creatures that should be admired because of its natural abilities. Crows should not be feared because it has a tricky reputation and connotations of being a bad omen. When reading Ruby's opinion of crows, her description reminds me exactly of her. [How does the Home Guard story told by the captive to critique Mrs. McKennet's view on war Would you say that Ada and Ruby's response to the story is in line with existentialism How does Monroe's story lead Ada to redefine herself] ==The home guard story illustrates the exact opposite of Mrs. McKennet's view on war. While Mrs. McKennet thinks that people who fight for their country are doing an honorable job, the home guard's story signifies how men can abuse the power that is under their control and turn into brutes in times of war. Ada and Ruby's response to the story is indeed in line with existentialism because in reaction to the story resulted to them arguing if it would be better to view the world in a pessimistic or in positive way. Imparting her father and mother's story to Ruby made her go back to a time where her parents barely made it together and this made her realize that her conception was an important result to her parent's fate through time. [What does Inman's rebirth signify How are his thoughts on patterns, randomness, and the invisible world changing] ==Inman's rebirth signifies that once again he has arrived at the state where he thought he was done with. After killing Junior, Inman finds himself once again in a spiritually troubled state like before, when he arrived in the hospital after being in the crossfire in Petersburg. Thinking that he has found a sense of resolution, he becomes more confused than he ever was before. For Inman, people have become low-lives that he does not seem to find comfort in the pattern of heavens. They don't seem to make sense anymore. [What does it suggest about Ada's changing life that she pays attention to "the doings of particular birds"] == Read More