Cold Mountain Blog Post #2

Cold Mountain Blog Post #2

Title: Cold Mountain
Author: Charles Frazier
 Genres: Historical Fiction/ Adventure
 Percent read: 30/100

 Summary:

 The second section of my reading begins with Inman writing a letter to a woman named Ada, the woman he loves, telling her that he is going to desert the war and is coming back to Cold Mountain in North Carolina (the place where Inman is from). He then leaves the hospital he is being kept in and begins his journey back to Cold Mountain.  Throughout this passage Inman’s story and Ada’s story are intertwined and the other keeps switching from Inman’s point of view to Ada’s to tell about each of their encounters. As Inman’s journey continues Ada’s father dies and Ada is left to manage their farm, named “Black Cove”. Ada who has no clue about how to manage a farm decides to seek help, so she visits the Swagners, her neighbors. At the Swagners house 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 Swagner sends Ada some help, a girl named Ruby who becomes friends with Ada.

 Throughout this section I noticed that this story is not only told through Inman’s point of view but also through Ada’s. Also as this section continued I actually started to wonder who the protagonist actually is.

 Response:

 To me the section I read was very interesting. Not only where 4 new characters revealed but it was also interesting to learn more about Inman’s life and Ada’s life.  Also I got to learn a little more about Cold Mountain and how it functions when nearly half the population goes off to war.

 I predict in future reading that both Inman and Ada will face much more trouble and conflict. In fact the other has also brought up the “Confederate Home Guard” who in the first section where described to be people that caught deserters and then killed them or brought them back to fight.

Passage:

“One figure, whose wounds were so dreadful that he more resembled meat than man, tried to rise but could not. He flopped and then lay still but for the turning of his head. From the ground he craned his neck and looked at Inman with dead eyes and spoke Inman's name in a low voice. Every morning after that dream, Inman awoke in a mood as dark as the blackest crow that ever flew.” 23%

 This quote seen just before Inman deserts really gives a reason about why Inman wants to desert. As a reader I feel this quote is meant to show reason behind Inman’s choice or to give Inman a motive to desert.