Reflection Essay on Cold Mountain

Shakespeare English | Spoken Task Cold Mountain The Feel Of The Air ‘Everything had a name. To live fully in a place all your life, you kept aiming smaller and smaller in attention to detail. ’ “…as Swimmer explained it, the characters of those animals too would transfer to Inman- wheeling grace, soar and stoop, grim single- mindedness. ” Page 18 This passage admits of the intrinsic power of nature to reflect and influence a person, the function of pathetic fallacy and presumably part of ideology of he Cherokee people.

Good morning Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, I am the writer of Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier. Firstly I would like to acknowledge you all for being here today and being able to explore Cold Mountain including shaping devices and techniques. I would like to examine the literary constructions in Cold Mountain, in terms of the novel’s journey and landscape structures and to attempt to determine how well these fictionally built environments reflect the internal processes of the two main characters Ada and Inman.

In other words, we can connect the external environment with the internal geography to create depth. Cold Mountain is a place of intense elements, it is a place of which all emotions and actions are played out, a place where life and death is held. The novel follows Inman’s journey home from the slaughter he has witnessed in the Civil War. Inman is intelligent, literate and sensitive, although he often appears emotionally reserved. Troubled by the carnage he has witnessed, Inman seeks spiritual solace in the natural world and his memories of Ada. The feel of the air, through, suggested that they were on a ridge and that there was much open air and gravity around them” (Page 372). Inman attempts to retain his hope and his faith in a better world in the face of incomprehensible violence and cruelty. There are some characters in which are more significant in this respect than others and they have more of an actual influence on Inman’s journey. One of these characters is Veasey, the preacher. Veasey is a general negative influence on Inman’s odyssey.

Despite Veaseys annoying habits, he saves Inman’s life in the end, therefor even the negative influences that Inman’s experiences on his odyssey, result in a positive outcome. I have used seasonal variation as an allegorical device to reflect the development of the characters, Ada, Inman and Ruby. These characters seem to evolve in connection with nature’s changes and cycles “The axle of my life” Each character belongs to both the present and the past; each effectively becomes a timeless traveler. Both the men and the women find Cold Mountain covered with traces of an older civilization.

Arrowheads, ‘Indian’ trails and stone slabs covered with ancient writing, symbolizing a lost world that time has placed out of reach. As the writer, I use archeological objects to reintroduce the idea of man as a being who leaves only traces of his presence in the world. This chapter in the novel questions whether man evolves or regresses over time, or whether things simply change. ‘It would have been possible to frame the arrow as some relic, a piece of another world, and Ada did something like that. She saw it as an object already numbered among the things that were. (page 412). Even the landscape suggests this duality as pristine snow falls around black trees. Like life itself, the world is filled with stark contrasts. Inman exhibits cunning, bravery and especially endurance as he overcomes all challenges to reach Ada. The climax occurs when Inman, who has survived, being hunted through his travels, finally reaches Ada and finds himself at gunpoint rather than in an embrace. The climax lingers as Inman and Ada, both considerably changed by their recent circumstances, and become reacquainted and complete their love for each other.

This is shown in the small cottage located on Cold Mountain, where Ada and Inman made love. The novel cannot be described as a tragedy though, because Ada ends up with Inman’s child and his love of the idyllic lifestyle on Cold Mountain. After examining the literary constructions in Cold Mountain, in terms of the novel’s journey and landscape structures and attempting to determine how well these fictionally built environments reflect the internal processes of the two main characters Ada and Inman, have reflected and impacted not only on Ada and Inman also the novel, and the view on the readers.

The novel not only connects to the external environment but also the internal geography of ourselves. Bibliography | | Internet| Williams, James B. “Customer Reviews Cold Mountain. ” Amazon. com: Customer Reviews: Cold Mountain. 2 June 2008. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. http://www. amazon. com/Cold-Mountain-Charles-Frazier/product-reviews/0802142842