The two characters of Ruby and Ada are brought to the reader of Cold
Mountain by Charles Frazier as an example of the strange and illogical
way
Examine how Frazier portrays Ruby and Ada in the chapters you have
read so far.
Focus on the way he presents the contrast between these two women.
The two characters of Ruby and Ada are brought to the reader of Cold
Mountain by Charles Frazier as an example of the strange and illogical
way in which people were thrown together in times of desperation and
uncertainty such as the American Civil War.
The reader is enthralled as these two women find in each other the
qualities to soothe their needs and for Ada, gain the appropriate
education which is crucial in order for her even to survive. Frazier
uses the relationship built between these two characters to impel the
reader into feeling and understanding the desperation and hardships
faced by the characters at the time of the novel and the utter
importance of knowing nature and the workings of the natural world.
The contrast between the two women is evident from the beginning of
the novel from their individual appearances through to their
motivations, priorities, life experiences and status economically and
socially. It is however, the common drive, the need to survive, that
brings Ruby and Ada together and Frazier uses this strange union to
explore many intriguing themes and ideas.
We are first introduced to Ada in chapter two of the novel as she ‘sat
on the porch of the house’ writing a letter to her beloved Inman. An
image of the woman is immediately conjured in the reader’s mind as
being a lady of leisure and intelligence with time for worldly
contemplation and art on her hands. Frazier allows the reader to view
a passage from the letter she is writing to add a personal feel to the
novel and to allow the reader to be not just a bystander, but included
in this journey. This also gives Frazier an opportunity to reinforce
the idea that Ada is a woman in control, using poetic language to
express her innermost feelings. This sense of control and leisure
initially created by Frazier is snatched away only a few paragraphs
later in a technique which is used throughout the novel to lull the
reader into believing the characters or the situation is a certain way
when the reality is very different.
The reality of this particular situation is that Ada is not a woman in
control. She is, in fact a woman of desperation and need as outlined
clearly by Frazier, ‘cookery had become a pressing issue for Ada… she
There is one letter in particular. which shows how important this correspondence is to her. I hate you. you do not write back nor be my Pen Friend I think you are the Ice Queen instead of a king.
As she sat at her work table she, “was drawn away,” by the screeching sirens outside her window. In this example, the author uses the word “was” as an indicator of her recollection of the events of that evening. The way they quickly grasped her attention reveals how focused she was on these specific occurrences surrounding her. We also notice how she is reflecting on the bad things that happen in society, yet we find ways to overcome them in order to continue to live our lives. In the following paragraphs, we see the judgment she has towards people who fail to consume themselves within the events happening around them. More specifically, we see her judgment towards the young man across the street who is so dedicatedly working on his table and in fact she wonders why he takes, “all those pains to make it beautiful?” She fails to understand his outlook on life by presenting us with a rhetorical question that she herself could not answer in the very moment. She fails to understand why and how a person can cherish life so deeply when his surroundings consist of nothing but chaos. As we continue to read through her essay we come across a moment that changes her perspective on the idea that people can quite possibly live a life that is consumed in something they love rather than the fear of
She later wrote to her pen pal, including this experience in her letter. Her pen pal did not appreciate the fact that Koren had been drinking. She wrote back,
In line 5, she says “A letter in the mailbox.” What about the letter in the mailbox? Landau wants us to focus on that letter, because people do not write letters anymore. In line 19 are her shortest sentences throughout the poem stating, “I had the idea. Put down the phone.”
She tried to do many things to be “better” than she had been. Showering everyday to be the cleanest version herself made her feel that it enhanced her quality of life. She was doing this day in day out and even sometimes twice a day as part of her “cleanliness”. While she did not have much money, she spent her extra cash on what she felt was its place to be spent in. Herself. Her appearance. Edith had bought the nicest and most soothing scent of perfume along with a flashy wristwatch and admirable dresses in an attempt to boost her self-esteem and self-image. Amidst the scent of roses and nice clothes Edith tried to change her attitude. She refused to gossip anytime Mrs.Henderson would endeavour at gossip. Edith read beauty magazines and books about proper etiquette one of many customs she had adopted. She did this daily and accustomed to it believing that she needed to it to be the more proper version of herself as the way she wanted to execute her plan of a changed woman. Edith altered herself and the way she did many things. Although she still knew who she really was and where she came from, she refused to accept it. Along with many things were done Edith’s decisions were overthrown by her self-image on her role of a daughter
It is through letter writing that the power of communication is emphasized. Celie's absence of bitterness for the way she has been treated allows the reader to empathize and perhaps feel the outrage she does not. We feel very acutely her positio...
comparing the realm to a large loss in her life. Finally, the statement in the
The daughter alludes to an idea that her mother was also judged harshly and made to feel ashamed. By the daughters ability to see through her mothers flaws and recognize that she was as wounded as the child was, there is sense of freedom for both when the daughter find her true self. Line such as “your nightmare of weakness,” and I learned from you to define myself through your denials,” present the idea that the mother was never able to defeat those that held her captive or she denied her chance to break free. The daughter moments of personal epiphany is a victory with the mother because it breaks a chain of self-loathing or hatred. There is pride and love for the women they truly were and is to be celebrated for mother and daughter.
... of her boyfriends states to her when she was not in an upbeat mood, “Why the hell don’t you stay home and not go spoiling everybody’s evening?” (Parker 199) Parker is reiterating her the idea that women were not meant to be anything but positive and upbeat in this society. It even states that “even her slightest acquaintance seemed irritated if she were not conspicuously light hearted.” (Parker 199) Thus the idea that women were made to be positive and upbeat continues in her world.
...ey have surrounded her with. She longs for a deeper connection with her past, but she realizes this is not to be, at least not as far as her family is concerned. She must adhere to the role of the loyal daughter as it has been established through many generations, and strive not to shame the family as her aunt did many years ago.
Previously, the narrator has intimated, “She had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves. They had never taken the form of struggles. They belonged to her and were her own.” Her thoughts and emotions engulf her, but she does not “struggle” with them. They “belonged to her and were her own.” She does not have to share them with anyone; conversely, she must share her life and her money with her husband and children and with the many social organizations and functions her role demands.
Mrs. Woolf begins her memoir in an easygoing, conversational manner by deliberately reaching out to her audience. She states in her first paragraph that she knows many different ways to write a memoir but for lack of time cannot begin to sift through them all and so she simply begins by relating her first memory. Stating that she is not deciding upon a set method and formalizing that she will be informal demonstrates a frame of mind directed outward; it is her attempt to involve the reader in her work. The sympathetic reader feels as if he and Woolf are chatting about her life over a cup of tea. After narrating her first memory she returns to the structure of her memoir, explaining that she could never really succeed in conveying the feelings represented by her first memory without first describing herself. She notes: "Here I come to one of the memoir writer's difficulties – one of the reason...
The author shares a personal observation in the beginning of her article, that has to do with
As the poem goes on, the speaker and reader alike grow more empathetic toward the woman because the idea that she is unappreciated by her husband becomes more apparent. First, it is unusual that she is still clad in sleepwear, possibly lingerie, so late in the...
She wrote this novel to inform readers that there are differences and similarities between the genders of male and female and how each of their minds work. She says, In other words, when we are not thinking of ourselves as “male” or “female” our judgements are the same. This quote directly shows us that she is trying to tell us what life is like with each gender.