Violence In Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain

What is violence? Violence can be described and shown in a very wide variety of ways, and can be used for many different reasons. Most of the time violence has something of a negative connotation, but, despite what some people think, violence can be used in a good way, too. In the novel Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier narrates a story from two different perspectives: Inman, the protagonist, and Ada, another protagonist. He describes the journey that Inman goes on through Cold Mountain in hopes of meeting his old girlfriend, Ada. Inman and Ada both face some hardships, but they both handle these hardships close to the best way possible. Throughout the novel, Frazier details several scenes filled with violence to show how it is used for survival,

One night, Inman was walking when suddenly he came across a preacher attempting to kill a girl he had an affair with. Inman, knowing this is clearly wrong, “leveled the pistol at the man’s head and put pressure on the trigger until he could feel all the metal parts of its firing mechanism tighten up against each other” (Frazier 113). Inman walks upon a man attempting a murder, and uses a pistol to ensure this woman lives another day. This is a brave act considering the circumstances, and details a way in which violence was used for good. Inman was a good man at heart, and this was revealed again when he met a young woman named Sara. Sara had just a hog and some chickens to last her the winter, and when the Federals came and took these, Inman knew he had to step in, so he “shot them with the LeMat’s” (Frazier 316). Inman decides that to thank this woman for her kindness, he would hunt down the men who stole her possessions, and steal them back. In order to do this, though, Inman had to use force to kill the men so they would not do the same to him. The phrase a vow to bear meant a lot to Inman, and it can best be described as Inman’s vow to never kill a bear again. The problem with his vow is that in order for him to continue his journey, he had to “pick up the LeMat’s and shoot the cub in the head”(Frazier 354). Although Inman does have a warm

As Inman is about to leave the preacher tied to a tree following the discovery of his attempted murder, he decides to punish the preacher in a worse way than death. Inman writes a note about what the man did, and as he does, the preacher cries desperately “Then shoot me. Just shoot me here and leave me hanging. -- Don’t think there’s no charm in that offer” (Frazier 122). Inman decides that instead of killing the man, he is going to let the town know what the man did so they would beat him. This shows a crude side of Inman as he seeks revenge for the girl that the preacher tried to kill. As Ada’s father, Stobrod, and the Georgia boy are walking down a trail, they come along the feared Home Guard. The Home Guard, once again, shows its relentlessness when they “tripped the triggers and wood chips flew from the great poplar trunk where balls struck after passing through the meat of the two men” (Frazier 369). By deciding to kill the two men, it shows a sign of revenge for them leaving the war. The Home Guard somewhat creates their own laws, and if they discover that you turn your back on “their” country, it is already decided how you will end up: dead. Earlier in the novel, Inman got turned into the Home Guard by a man with the name of Junior. Inman miraculously survived the gunshots of the Home Guard, and decided he wanted to pay Junior a quick visit. During