Solitude And Isolation In Frazier's Cold Mountain

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A central theme in Frazier’s “Cold Mountain” is solitude/isolation, the loneliness that many characters in the novel experience guides them in their search for meaning in a world that is torn by war and hardships. Inman (a soldier/warrior that is battle fatigued and is trying to get home) feels a sense of overwhelming loneliness and growing confusion with the human world because of his war experiences. He is also plagued by a spiritual desolation that is suggested when he listens to many talk about their tales of hardships, but he rarely shares details of his own past. But through his loneliness he cultivates an otherworldly spirituality, similar to the goat-woman, (an old lady Inman meets in his travels that feeds him and gives advice) that …show more content…

But this time it is for good. The main conflict that is simply that Inman is on a journey going through these trials trying to get back to Ada. Inman is both the antagonist and the protagonist. Inman longs for his home, Cold Mountain, and Ada who is experiencing her own internal journey towards self discovery. There are multiple antagonistic situations rather than Inman being the only one. Inman demonstrates bravery, cunning and especially endurance as he overcomes challenges to be reunited with Ada. The climax is finally reached when Inman, who has survived being hunted through his travels, finally reaches Ada and thus the main conflict of the book is resolved. The climax does end in a tragedy though. After planning their married BLISS, Inman gets shot by Teague ( a local militia charged with rounding up the deserters), and dies in Ada’s arms. The tragic event unfolds quickly as the novel come to a close. But it is not considered a tragedy story because Ada ends up with Inman’s child and his love for cold …show more content…

Inman strongly identifies with a crow, looking to it with envy as a creature of independance, freedom from the worldly constraints that are placed upon us. The crow is a shifting and ambiguous symbol, the crow can suggest doom and destruction but it can change to demonstrates the dark instincts troubling man’s soul. Ruby ( a friend and a role model to Ada) points out in the book that crows show resilience and tremendous capacity for survival. All of these characters that we can identify with a crow can also bee seen time and time again in Inman. The war was very traumatic to Inman, the memories of war troubled him. Again the theme of loneliness can be seen. Inman seeing his war friends die, and never seeing them again as he deserts from the army. In the beginning of the book it opens to him sitting alone, in a hospital. He was there for a very long time alone. Both of the soldiers by him were badly injured to the point where they were not continuous. Thus symbolising the doom and destruction that would inevitably lead to Inman getting injured or even

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