Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier is one of my all-time favorite books. Whether as literature or history, this book is a wealth of writing inspiration for all levels of creative writing courses . Writing students can learn from Frazier’s varying degrees of deprivation, attention to detail, and characterizations. I would love to talk to Mr. Frazier about some of the passages in Cold Mountain. If you know him, please direct him to this blog. (Mr. Frazier, if you read this, please comment.)
It may be unfair to point out symbolism in Cold Mountain. Some authors, Hemingway for one, preferred his audience read for enjoyment rather than pick and digest his work like a roasted chicken (my words not Hemingway's).
Still, I’m compelled to share my thoughts about this vivid story. I’ll start with the some chapter titles.
Chapter 1 – the shadow of a crow. Things are not as they appear. Look at these examples.
Inman sails his hat out the schoolroom window, and it settles near the edge of a field "black as the shadow of a crow squatted on the ground."
Pages further, Inman's friends say their goodbyes, when the army sends Inman to a hospital in his home state to die from a neck wound. The neck does not bring death.
From Inman’s perspective, the war is not as it appears, neither is Balis (another wounded soldier), or freedom from the army hospital.
Chapter 2 – the ground beneath her hands. Life is at its lowest for Ada. She's not prepared to cope with mountain life. The daughter of a preacher, she has no domestic skills, no money to get to back to Charleston, SC, and no social life. She even believes the flogging rooster wants to kill her. Ada touches the dry ground, full of chicken feathers and chicken poop.
Chapter 3 – the color of despair. This phrase is from a curse, “To Destroy Life,” taught to Inman by his Cherokee friend, Swimmer. Inman repeats the curse "aiming it out at the world at large, his enemies." He speaks it out for several miles until he thought "the words were just flying back to strike him alone." In the despair of this chapter, Inman finds a glimmer of hope (when do you see it) but can't bring it to fruition in his mind. He sinks low again.
We'll look at other chapters in the future. In the meantime, I'm curious what inspires you as you read a book, any book?
If you haven't read Cold Mountain, consider reading it this year. Mark the passages that teach you creative writing. Learn to read like a writer. Any questions?
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