I always thought that if I lived during the time of the Civil War, I would find myself on the side of the Union. I viewed the South as rebels and slave owners who could not bear losing their power. However, “Cold Mountain” doesn’t portray the war as being this way. It truly felt that both sides had people fighting and dying while not even knowing exactly why they were fighting. It was a war where Americans were killing fellow Americans, and there was no good or bad side. The Southerners that owned slaves and grand plantations were not the ones fighting in the Confederate army; it was people like Inman and young John who fought and died for anything but a noble cause. People deserted the war because they were afraid. They deserted because they saw that there was no end to the madness. I was rooting for the deserters, especially Inman, to make it back home to their loved ones and avoid the Home Guard.

I found both of the Home Guard parties that we encountered in the book to be ironic. The task of the Confederate Home Guard as defined by Wikipedia was to defend the Confederate home front and capture deserters. However, the members of the Home Guard that were described in Cold Mountain were murderers! I believe that they had too much power and liberty. When Inman and Veasey were turned in by Junior, the men who captured them simply got tired of lugging them around so they shot them and left them behind. Then, Ada and Ruby hear the prisoner’s story of how his two friends were murdered by Teague and his posse. Teague and his men also kill Pangle and eventually Inman (although Inman put out an amazing fight). They were tasked with capturing them, not killing them. What is ironic of these situations is that the Home Guard was made up of able-bodied men who could’ve been serving in the war. Their purpose was defeated because they killed most of those that they captured, yet they avoided servitude by it.

The book is told in the third person omniscient point of view. I believe that this form was the most effective way of portraying the story because our characters are in two separate locations. It was most powerful when they Inman and Ada reunited towards the end of the book and their thoughts were all in one place. The form reflected the content in that the chapters were separated while they were separate and they were combined when they were together. Throughout the chapters where they were separated, the anecdotes of Inman remembering Ada and vice versa helped us to realize the connection between the two and the purpose of Inman’s journey. On his journey, Frazier depicts just how much Inman desires to be home by using vivid imagery to describe Cold Mountain. It was depicted as a haven, and even I wished to see the majesty of such a place.

I believe that Inman’s hopes of home were what kept him going on his journey. He had survived countless deadly situations, and it was pure magic that he had survived. However, it seemed as if it were no big deal in the book. It was especially incredible how he was the lone survivor amongst Veasey and all the other men. He just walked out of the grave (which admittedly was not very deep, but still).

I realized that throughout the book many of the characters came in two, partners so to speak. Ada and Ruby were both lovable characters, but they were the exact opposite of each other. I believe it was because of how differently they were brought up, but even when Ada began learning the ways of a farm, she was unique to Ruby. Ada was well educated and Rudy was illiterate. Ada never knew where she was in the world while Ruby always did. Ada focused more on art and Ruby focused more on agriculture. Inman and the worst preacher in the world, Veasey, were also very juxtaposed. Inman was hardworking and skillful while Veasey was a lier, an adulterer, greedy, and almost a murderer. They were complete opposites, and I can’t believe Inman put up with him for that long. Stobrod and Monroe were also juxtaposed as fathers and the way they raised their daughters.

“Cold Mountain” revealed a new perspective on the Civil War. It produced the tragedy of a destined couple and the birth of a new one. Inman died when his life was full of everything he’d hoped for, and that is tragic and beautiful at the same time. Ruby’s love story is remarkable and touching, and the birth of Ada’s daughter was pure awesomeness. She will remind Ada of Inman, and although bittersweet, it is also incredibly beautiful.

I’ve learned about World War II many times in school, but I’ve never learned of how life was in the Delta of Mississippi during that time. In fact, I didn’t even know there were deltas in the United States. Apart from it being a setting I was not too familiar with, I was able to picture the story vividly in my head. Hillary Jordan’s use of imagery helped me piece together little pieces of what I already knew of a farm and transform them into the muddy and damp Delta. She didn’t hold back when she provided details of the state of her characters, the troubles they went through, and especially in describing the war stories of the veterans of the second world war.

Mud bound is told in many different points of view: Laura, Jamie, Henry, Ronsel, Florence, and Hap. However, one main character that did not have a voice in this novel was the ever so hateful Pappy. There was just no way to love him. I’m glad that he didn’t have a voice, because his chapter is already so predictable. His chapter would be one full of raw racism and hate. The book begins with the ending. This narrative hook made me want to know why Pappy was so hated by his daughter-in-law Laura and why his eldest son seemed to like him more than his youngest. In the very first chapter she says “It’s time to lay your Pappy to rest,” with satisfaction, and I needed to know why.

The story takes place in the southern United States prior to the civil rights movement. There is no questioning two things in that time period: Christianity and racism. There are allusions and references to the Bible and most our characters go to church. Hap is a preacher and he and his wife often quote the bible. Towards the end of the book, we also see members of the KKK also quoting the bible to justify their actions. The Jackson family is not only segregated, but constantly degraded. Ronsel accepted that before he enlisted in the army and served, but when he went overseas in the war, he had a taste of freedom, and he couldn’t let it go. I sympathized with Ronsel. I wanted more than anything for him to not be treated the way he was and for him to be able to just be a man.

I was mesmerized by Laura’s love triangle. It was obvious that her husband was not putting her first after they moved to the farm, but I understood why she would like a man like Jamie. It was very unfortunate that he was her brother in law. However, Jamie was everything that Henry was not and he payed Laura the attention that she craved. It was clear that Henry and Jamie were juxtaposed, yet Laura could love them both.

Jamie and Ronsel were both suffering from their time overseas. I believe that is why Jamie allowed himself to become so close with him; they shared a common thread. They both had things bottled up in them about what they saw that only someone that was there could understand. Jamie drank to forget, but Ronsel could only drink when he was with Jamie. Jamie had to overcome the remarks of his father who constantly downgraded him. Ronsel had to overcome racism and the fact that no one appreciated the fact that he fought for his country. Jamie had to deal with his fear of water and not knowing who he was killing and how many. Ronsel was down on the ground and saw the horrors of the concentration camps up close. I don’t think that either one suffered more that the other, but I do think that they had to handle and cope in different ways because of the difference in race, position they served in, and circumstances.

I believe that what made the book so interesting was all of the layers of conflict. The struggles and the dilemmas that our characters encountered were genuinely difficult. A black family living in the South was destined to have it’s trials. A woman who wasn’t used to living on a farm would be miserable there. Men who went to war and saw the unseeable would have a hard time adjusting when they got back.

Hello! My name is Amy. Please enjoy the following excerpt of my life! Something that many people find interesting and unique about me(or not) is that I am Romanian. Many of you might already know that, but I threw it in there for those of you who didn’t. I come from a large family too! I have 4 brothers and 3 sisters. You might think that to be a lot, but my mother comes from a family of 13. I absolutely can not have enough Chipotle, Five Guys, or Ritas(not in that specific order). I could write novels on the excellence and depth of deliciousness of these places and many other foods, but we’ll save for another day. I love to read because it is more personal than watching a movie… and it lasts longer. I definitely have a favorite word. The word is “nonchalant”, and its my favorite because it was the first fancy vocab word that I knew how to use( I was in the 3rd grade). I also thought “without a care in the world” was a really funny definition. Six word memoir: Alarm, school, homework, eat, sleep, repeat. An embarrassing moment that is not too embarrassing to make you feel bad for me, yet funny enough to share would be the time I was exiting the locker room at the gym and was walking out. I looked around and checked to see if there was anyone there so that I could take a cute snap selfie. I do my selfie face and snap the picture right as the hottest guy ever steps out of the door behind me and makes the cut into my selfie. I wish I still had the picture, but I was so embarrassed that I immediately tapped the little “x” in the left hand corner. Once I got outside I dialed my best friend’s number to tell her what I’d done, and just when I was about to start ranting, I saw him still walking behind me. We were parked right next to each other. Anyway, a pivotal moment in my education was Junior year when I began taking AP classes. I love listening to music, especially to my desired volume in my car. However, I don’t really pay attention to the lyrics as much as the beat. One thing that always surprises people when I tell them(even my best friend) is that I play the violin. I’m  not sure why; maybe I just don’t seem like the classical type. That’s everything for now, brownie points for those who got to the end of this. 🙂