In the story,Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, the story is taking place during the civil war. Inman, the main male character in the story seems to have been traumatized by the images of the war. The question I used was, how does the setting affect the main character? What has a good influence and what has a bad influence on the character? The character is affected because the death and brutal killings of the civil war seem to haunt him in his dreams.
“In the dream, the aurora blazed and the scattered bloody pieces-arms, heads, legs, trunks- slowly drew together and reformed themselves into monstrous bodies of mismatched parts. They limped and reeled and lunged about the dark battlefield like blinde sots on their faulty legs.” pg. 10
This quote is a great visual of how Inman is dealing with the war. He obviously is having a hard time with it, and the death that he has seen is affecting his life.After I read this part of the story, the story takes a turn and gives the reader some comfort and also comfort to the Inman character. Inman starts reading this story that he has found and in the story is a quote that comforts him.
” Continued yet ascending until I gained the top of an elevated rocky ridge, when appeared before me a gap or opening between other yet more lofty ascents, through which continued as the rough rocky road let me close by the winding banks of a large rapid brook, which at length turning to the left, pouring down rocky precipices, glided off through dark groves and high forests, conveying streams of fertility and pleasure to the fields below.” Pg 11
The bad influences that affect the character is that he very much haunted by the bloody scenes of the civil war, but he is also affected in a good way because he finds this story that comforts him and makes him dream about everything that is good in his life. The reader knows after reading this passage, that even though Inman has been influenced by the war greatly, he still has the side of him that is caring and loving.
Frazier, Charles. Cold Moutain. Canada: The Atlantic Monthly Press,1997.
