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Pineconebrownie
, May 03, 2010
The book, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, contains a beautifully written plot, but the investment does not pay off in the end. The plot builds, yet the climax does not match the perceived ending. If looked at solely as a piece of literature with no entertainment ties, it is fabulously written. Frazier does a wonderful job of depicting the impact of a war, both the impact on the individual and society. Although extremely well written, the book’s conclusion is brief and sudden for how much has accumulated to get there. This leaves a feeling of disappointment, and makes the book as a whole an unworthy investment of reading.
Cold Mountain takes place in the gorgeous Virginia countryside during the Civil War. It is about two lovers who have parted because of the war. Inman, along with thousands of other men, is required to go and fight for the South. Ada, Inman’s lover, takes up the family farm after her father passes. The story dives into their daily adventures that take place while they are apart separated. They are both trying to survive the difficult time they are living in. The story is set up in episodes that go back and forth from Ada’s and Inman’s perspective. Inman is on a great journey back to Ada that contains numerous obstacles and acquaintances. Ada maintains her father’s farm to survive with the help of a young girl named Ruby. Their stories give vision of what life was like in America during the nineteenth-century, specifically during the Civil War. The Civil War aspect of the book depicts the detrimental effects of war on individuals and a society.
At the time, the Civil War impacted everyone in the United States. Frazier reveals what life was like during that time through Inman’s and Ada’s eyes. Inman actually fought and was wounded during the war. The book begins with his neck injury in the hospital, and continues as he makes his way back to Ada. His physical wound symbolizes his emotional wound from the ward. The wound on his neck stays with him throughout the book, as does his mental distraught from the war. “He had grown so used to seeing death, walking among the dead, sleeping among them, numbering himself calmly as among the near-dead, that it seemed no longer dark and mysterious”(180). After seeing all the carnage and violence, he will never be the same. As for Ada she had to fend for herself in order to survive. The war affected Ada financially, leaving her with nothing but the farm. “It discussed as if at arm’s length the war, the embargo, the various other expressions of hard times, ant their effect on Ada’s income, which would be reduced, in fact, to approximately nothing, at least until the war’s successful conclusion”(46). Not only did she have no money, but she had no idea how to maintain a farm. She needed help, which was a problem because all of the men fit for the job were off fighting. Luckily she got Ruby, who knew what she was doing. Along with individuals, war affects societies as a whole.
War has a huge impact on the countries involved, and often times it impacts the rest of the world in some form. The Civil War divided the United States of America into two separate regions, the North and the South. Both sides had their opinions of the other side, and were fighting for their way of life. “Inman put the paper down and thought about Cherokee boys scalping Federals. It was humorous in a way, those pale mill workers coming down so confident to steal land and yet losing the tops of their heads out in the woods”(13). Along with dividing a country, war also costs lots of money and lives. Often times countries and its citizens experience hardship during a time of war. Cold Mountain displays this very well. Ada portrays the side of being without a man and without money due to war. Inman portrays war itself, and the violence that is a part of it. All throughout the book, he recollects all the death he witnessed, which he himself almost fell victim to. “The Federals were thick on the ground, lying all about in bloody heaps, bodies disassembled in every style the mind could imagine”(9). Details about the Civil War continue throughout the novel, and these details highlight what war can do to individuals and societies.
As beautiful as Cold Mountain was, I think the plot ruins the book. The plot is built up through the novel and when it reaches its climax, the novel disappoints. The whole book is each character’s experiences which do not have anything to do with their reuniting love. The book is about Ada and Inman getting back together, and the fashion in which it happens makes the first three hundred pages of the book worthless. Overall, the book is not worth the time invested to read it. However, it was very beautifully written. The imagery that Frazier creates of the south is astounding. He also depicts the devastating effects of war very well. I like how the book was structured in episodes which rotated back and forth from Inman to Ada. I would recommend this book to Charles Frazier fans and teachers. I say teachers because of all the literary devices within the book. Other than those two groups of people I would not recommend the 356 pages that make up Cold Mountain.
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