In todays American literature students don’t read the full story or full article. They do a closed read where they read summaries on the article or story they are suppose to read. According to www.edutopia.org students don’t learn what they need to know when they closed read. It should be called closed minds cause the summary they read explains everything for them and it doesn’t challenge their mind to figure things out about the story. To me reading American literature is good for students cause it helps them get a bigger vocabulary and helps them open up when talking to other people. In Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier Ada is one of those people that don’t talk much cause she didn’t get a very good education and Ruby helps her realize …show more content…
In life we are always fighting for something we need or want. Inman the main character is fighting in the civil war for the confederates. I think that sets the theme for the whole story cause it seems he's always fighting for him self or other people. He gets shot in the neck fighting so he gets relieved and when he is in the hospital he remembers this girl he meet back home at Cold Mountain so he's sets travel on foot to cold mountain. He fights it the whole way cause he ends up having problems with people on the way.
Charles Frazier was born on November 4, 1950, in Asheville, North Carolina, to Betty and Charles. He graduated from Franklin High School in 1969 wanting to teach literature. He did his undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After earning a B.A. there in 1973, Frazier completed an M.A. program at Appalachian State University in Boone, North
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She begins to see this quality in herself and wants to change it. When Inman comes to say goodbye, he tells her a story about Cold Mountain that she doesn't believe. She has Ruby show her how to make real connections. Ruby helps Ada learn to live life to the fullest by paying attention to its smallest things. Monroe her father had insisted that she get a good education, but that did not set her up to work on a farm. She gains a sense of independence through her work with Ruby an her teaches in school taught her to be
The archetype of the journey is seen in Charles Frazier’s novel Cold Mountain, most clearly through experience Inman has wandering back to Cold Mountain. The journey archetype sends the hero in search of some truth to restore order and harmony to the land. The journey often includes the series of trials and tribulations the hero faces along the way. Usually the hero descends into a real or psychological hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths. Once the hero is at his lowest level, he must accept personal responsibility to return to the world of the living. Inman’s trip fits this description very well in some ways and not in others. It could be said that Inman’s search for truth is his desire to be back home. He has been disillusioned by the war. He saw horrible scenes daily and fought for his life. By coming home to Ada and his mundane life is a welcome constant for him in a world he has recently determined to be wild. He believed that once he had reached his destination, order in his personal world and soul could begin to return to normal. In accordance with the definitions of the archetype journey, Inman goes through a great deal angst and tribulations. He has practically starved many times, been mugged, and fired upon. This strife is culminated when he his betrayed and shanghaied, marched nearly to death, then shot and left for dead. He is buried with a thin layer of dirt in a mass grave, and spends half a day under ground with the dead.
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
She is fairly new to the work world and has lied on her resume’ to get hired, and realizes that the job is harder than she first thought. All hope is not lost because Violet assures her that she can be trained. She ends up succeeding at the company and telling her husband she will not take him back after he comes back begging for her love again.
When you read, especially fiction, you experience a broad sweep of human life. You gain access to the thoughts of others, look at history through another person’s eyes and learn from their mistakes, something that you otherwise would not be able to experience.
In literature, schools often teach students the morals of a book rather than actual knowledge that they should acquire in the classroom such as literary devices or sentence structure. In Francine Prose’s, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read,” she discusses how teaching students to only focus on the moral of a book instead of the many different literary elements it contains, effects their passion for reading. “A friend’s daughter’s English teacher informed a group of parents that the only reason to study Huckleberry Finn was to decide whether it was a racist text.” (94) This acknowledges that schools do not focus on important aspects of the books. The main point that Prose forms in her essay is that students are no longer required to read a piece of literature in depth, they only have to read to identify and learn the moral, when
Ada's life of high-privilege, status, and wealth have secluded her from the importance of nature and the effect it has on human life. In the past, she found comfort in depending on her father to take care of her and secure her future. Her life was carefree and was suppose to be lived according to planned. When her father unexpectedly passed away, Ada was left stranded and burdened with the responsibilities of normal people. Ada was forced to find something or someone else that would give her stability, guidance, and reassurance through her new life's hardships. Through Ruby's knowledge, experience, and bond with nature, Ada was able to appreciate and become more one with the environment. Ada was also able to have her own interpretations of nature based on her experiences and beliefs. The struggle of living a new life and becoming more aware of nature is Ada's personal journey.
How does reading a story benefits an individual and improve his or her daily life? Extensive reading does not only serve as an entertainment purpose, but it is also beneficial to many readers because reading fiction can help enhance a person’s understanding of the type of society the reader lives in. For example, the famous novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is regarded as a brilliant work of literature, for it offers a detailed glimpse of the American life in the 1920s and comments on various social problems during that time period. The novel tells the story of a mysterious millionaire named Jay Gatsby who lives in the fictional town of West Egg, located on Long Island, during the summer of 1922. Gatsby wants to pursue his first
The story of Inman's adventures intertwines with Ada's story. Ada is left alone to manage Black Cove Farm following her father's death. She is bereft and has no idea where she belongs or how she should earn a living. When she visits the Swangers, her neighbors, Ada looks into a well to foretell her future. She sees a man walking through the woods on a journey but does not know what this vision means. The next day, Sally Swanger sends a local girl named Ruby to help out on the farm. Ruby and Ada become friends and establish a comfortable domestic routine.
Survival and Love in Charles Frazier’s "Cold Mountain" I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.
She has a very close bond with Sunshine and has raised her as she would her own child. She was offered her dream job in the ghost town that is Ridgemont, Washington and decided on the move that triggered all of the story’s events. Along with Kat, Nolan and Victoria are also very important to the story. Nolan is one of Sunshine’s classmates and her only friend in Ridgemont. They bond trying to solve the mystery that lies in Sunshine’s house. Victoria is Sunshine and Nolan’s visual art’s teacher who ends up being far more important than meets the eye later on in the
Andrew Solomon has some valid arguments in his article, and he tries to persuade the readers through logos, pathos, and ethos. Solomon wants the readers to understand the importance of reading, and how its decline can be harmful to the nation. To reinforce his arguments, Solomon shares a variety of examples, for instance, he mentions that reading helps improve memory and concentration, and the decline of reading is causing mental “atrophy.” He also calls upon the readers to take some sort of action to raise reading rates and help the society. This can grant the readers a form of power and control over the crisis that will lead to an em...
How does American literature shape American culture? America, a baby nation compared to many other countries, has shaped itself into one of the most politically and technically advanced places in the world. The definition of American Literature is any literary work written in, or about The United States. The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, The Narrative of the Life of Fredric Douglass and various other works of literature are all pieces of American literature that have helped shape American society.
Every time a person indulges in reading literature, if fact, the same literature multiple times, he finds himself understanding the work at a depth greater than his previous experience. Authors know that for their work to reach varied audiences as opposed to a niche group there must be elements to intrigue most people; in the stories of early British Literature, the prevalent element was didacticism. The story would leave the reader with a life lesson or a moral standard to outline what virtues were acceptable in the society. This was much needed seeing that with autonomous regencies, multiple wars, and a crippled middle and lower class, the mass needed literature to distract and entertain them so they could have a moment of escape from their
Keeping an open mind when a problem approaches can be difficult at times, especially when we are brought up with beliefs and values throughout our life. These beliefs and values can prevent individuals from accepting new ideas or challenges as they avoid the problem. There are many individuals that can maintain an open mind, just as there are those who find difficulty to do so. Those who consider themselves open minded are receptive to new ideas and are willing to accept new challenges, allowing them to focus on the problem or challenge as they utilize their critical thinking skills. Being open minded allows individuals to find solutions to overcome the issue or challenge.
“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become,” said C.S. Lewis, noted author. This quote, to me, is the most appropriate description of the importance of literature in our lives. Literature reminds us of stories, epics, sacred scriptures and classical works of the ancient and modern times, in which the book To Kill a Mockingbird clearly does. Literature is defined as the body of written works of a language, period or culture, produced by scholars and researchers, specialized in a given field. Why is literature important? Well, let’s see as stated in the quotation by C.S. Lewis, literature not only describes reality but also adds to it. Yes, literature is not merely a depiction of reality; it is rather a value-addition. Literary works are portrayals of the thinking patterns and social norms prevalent in society. They are an illustration of the different facets of common man's life. Literary works serve as a food for thought and a tonic for imagination and creativity. Exposing an individual to good literary works, is equivalent to providing him/her with the finest of educational opportunities. On the other hand, the lack of exposure to literary works is equal to depriving an individual from an opportunity to grow as an individual. To Kill a Mockingbird provides its readers with the ‘finest of educational opportunities’ and that is why it is an important literary work. Harper Lee’s book is a powerful literary work because of the following literary devices employed: Setting, Allegory, and point of view. However before one can dissect the devices used, one must h...