“…He achieved some success in matching his thoughts to the weather, dark or bright, so as to attune with what freak of God's mind sent cloud or shine.” (pg. 224) Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I believe it would be an injustice to close my book believing you have just read a simple romance or war story. I have deliberately implemented a myriad of devices and techniques to shape the environment of Cold Mountain. My manipulation of setting sanctions the simultaneous transmission of multiple concepts and ideas. In this sense the mountain acts as an allegorical core supporting and influencing the characters’, and hopefully the readers’, interpretation of the face of violence, the search for fulfilment and the passage of time. The final chapters of the novel use the environment of Cold Mountain to foreground the acts of violence which Ada and Inman are influenced by and reflect on. To parallel Inman’s own struggle, I conspicuously personify the duck in the black pool that “did not care enough even to turn its head to look at Inman” (pg. 386). The hypothetical description of the du...
In the novel, In Cold Blood, Truman Capote sculpts a plot that leaves the reader with a dark, tingling sensation of suspense despite the reader’s foreknowledge of events. He electrifies the passage using precise imagery, selective perspective/point of view, and cold-blooded foreshadowing.
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
Having been educated at Harvard and University of Iowa, and having served as a lieutenant in Vietnam (Twenty12fttrees, 2010), he brings research and experience together creating a soul-searching composition in Mountains Beyond Mountains. He is well versed and extremely credible having dedicated so much time immersing himself in the midst of Farmer’s journey. Not only does he take time to review and research Farmer’s published work, he travels across time and space, embracing details that make readers feel as if they are actually there.... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Kidder, T. (2004).
“The Cold Embrace” by Mary E. Braddon is a wonderfully tragic short story of a young man’s denial and guilt till the end of his life. Braddon accomplishes this by using Omniscient narration to not only showing us his guilt, denial, and struggle; but also able to present his spiral into a depression filled with delusions and guilt that eventually lead him to lose his mind and perish from outside a first person perspective.
As characters in the poem are literally snow bound, they find that the natural occurrence actually serves a relaxing and warming purpose, one that brings together family. This effect is further achieved through the use of meter throughout the work as a whole. In its simplistic yet conversational tone, the author uses meter to depict the result that nature has forced upon these humans, who are but a small sample size that actually is representative of society that that time. Due to nature, the characters can talk, represented by the conversational meter, and thus, they can bond within the family. A larger representation of this more specific example can be applied to a more general perspective of human’s relationship with the natural world. Although “Snowbound” captures what humans do as a result of nature, it can also represent a larger picture, where nature appears at the most opportune times to enhance relationships from human to human. In “snowbound,” this is symbolized by the fire, “Our warm hearth seemed blazing free” (Whittier 135). This image relays a spirited, warm, mood full of security, which is expertly used by the author to show how fire, a natural phenomena, can provide such beneficial effects on humans. This very occurrence exemplifies how such a miniscule aspect of nature can have such a profound effect on a family, leaving the reader wondering what nature and its entirety could accomplish if used as a
In the opening of In Cold Blood, Capote introduces the village of Holcomb as a simple and unexciting place. “a lonesome area...The land is flat...the streets, unnamed, unshaded, unpaved.” Capote uses vivid imagery to create a tone of fascination to give the reader an impression that many secrets are hidden behind this charmingly primitive location and it also allows the reader to be open minded and to imagine things. At one end, the town is described as old and isolated. “one end of the town stands a stark old stucco-structure...but the dancing has ceased and the advertisement has been dark for several years.” Capote emphasises that the town is separated from the rest of the world and causes the reader to be suspicious for what might be hidden in this mysterious town.
In conclusion, Cold Mountain’s depiction of rebirth in the war is a romanticization of the brutal nature of wars. By showing us how the male protagonist Inman frees himself from the imposed warlike ideology and finally retrieve his real human nature, Frazier reveals that wars, although undesired and unjustifiable, are a potential field for people to reshape their perspective to life and take a journey to reflect into their true self. This journey is consisted of the courage to pursue freedom and the support of love in one’s heart—the essence of rebirth in the war.
In Cold Blood is a work of art, and gave a true meaning to life itself. Capote referred to In Cold Blood as “New Journalism”. He said that he wanted to bring the art of the novelist together with the techniques of journalism. There is much truth in it, whether or not it is “true” is at least debatable (Garrett,80). This provoking book generates the kind of deep interest and deep discussion. Truman invented the genre of true crime. In Cold Blood is not a tragic drama but an intervention on reality (Dakes, 69). Its dramatic interest lies in the dramatic class of murders and the pursuit of the criminals. The material of In Cold Blood is to some extent a return to Capote’s childhood and a real-life confirmation of his earliest imaginative creations and techniques (Nance, Page 626). In Cold Blood consumed more than six years of his life, but it won him enthusiastic praise, mountains of publicity, and millions of dollars (Krebs,320). The novel tells the story of the murder of the Clutter family, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Clutter and their two teenage children, and the events that lead the killers to murder. The family was living in Holcom...
Tobias Wolff is framing his story Hunters in the Snow, in the countryside near Spokane, Washington, where three friends with three different personalities, decide to take a trip to the woods for hunting in cold, snowy weather. The whole story follows the hunting trip of these three friends. The reader can easily observe that the cold, hostile environment is an outward expression of how the men behave towards one another. Kenny, with a heart made of ice, is rather hostile to Tub, while Frank is cold and indifferent to Tub and his pleas for help. The environment is matching the characters themselves, being cold and uncaring as the author described the two from the truck when they laughed at the look of Tub: “You ought to see yourself,” the driver said.
Winter in the Blood, a Native American novel written by James Welch, takes place on a cattle ranch in Montana, around 1970. On the surface, this is a story of a Blackfoot Indian sleepwalking through his life, tormented by visions, in search of a connection to his heritage. Welch's language is, at once, blunt and poetic, and the pictures it conjures are dreamlike and disquieting. Furthermore, the narrator of the novel is disheartened by the loss of his brother, Mose, and his father, First Raise ? the two most cherished people in his life. After struggling with guilt, sorrow, and alcoholism, the narrator overcomes these down falls through re-identifying with himself and his culture? specifically through the help of his grandfather, Yellow Calf.
Into the Wild by John Krakauer is a rare book in which its author freely admits his bias within the first few pages. “I won't claim to be an impartial biographer,” states Krakauer in the author’s note, and indeed he is not. Although it is not revealed in the author's note whether Krakauer's bias will be positive or negative, it can be easily inferred. Krakauer's explanation of his obsession with McCandless's story makes it evident that Into the Wild was written to persuade the reader to view him as the author does; as remarkably intelligent, driven, and spirited. This differs greatly from the opinion many people hold that McCandless was a simply a foolhardy kid in way over his head. Some even go as far as saying that his recklessness was due to an apparent death-wish. Krakauer uses a combination of ethos, logos and pathos throughout his rendition of McCandless’s story to dispute these negative outlooks while also giving readers new to this enigmatic adventure a proper introduction.
Many people were puzzled on why the young man decided to go on such an expedition without being properly prepared. His death has led to a controversy between whether he should be idolized for having the courage to follow his dream or repulsed for his grand stupidity. Although Krakauer never met McCandless, he provides his readers with personal examples that explain why the young man went on this journey. Expecting his readers to comprehend McCandless, Krakauer’s primary purpose is to help his readers understand the importance of embracing one's personal dreams. In order to achieve his purpose, he uses a variation of literary and rhetorical techniques. Some of these techniques include epigrams and ethos. These devices are essential to Krakauer’s purpose because they illustrate and explain the reasons why McCandless went into the inhospitable landscape of Alaska.
Through Janet and Geoff Benge’s unique style of writing in their biography of Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime, one can easily visualise, feel, and travel with Gladys to and through China’s harsh mountain terrain and mainland. The use of words and feelings described throughout this biography help readers envision the environment and share Gladys’s feelings in physical form. The first good example of this is when Gladys is making her way through the miserable cold up the railroad tracks to get to the train station. “An icy wind whipped at Gladys’s exposed face…its bitter cold seep through her woolen stockings…”(Benge & Benge, 1998, p. 15). Through this, the reader can feel and imagine the same cold Gladys felt and experienced. The
In The Way To Rainy Mountain, the author N. Scott Momaday makes a clear use of figurative language throughout the story and descriptive language to describe the nature around them, explains their myths about how their tribe came to be a part of nature, as well as the importance in nature that are a part of the Sundance festival and the tai-me.
Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples” is far from the modern day fairy tale. It is a dark and twisted version of the classic tale, Snow White. His retelling is intriguing and unexpected, coming from the point of view of the stepmother rather than Snow White. By doing this, Gaiman changes the entire meaning of the story by switching perspectives and motivations of the characters. This sinister tale has more purpose than to frighten its readers, but to convey a deeper, hidden message. His message in “Snow, Glass, Apples” is that villains may not always be villains, but rather victims.