Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Cold Mountain Question
Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain is modeled on the story of Odysseus, another warrior journeying home. If you have read The Odyssey (as I know Phoebe, Anne, Jeremy, Gabe, and Lizzie have), please think back to it and describe some of the similarities you see between Inman's story and that of Odysseus...the more specific your comparison the better. If you would prefer, or if you have not read The Odyssey, think about Inman's character and deny or defend labeling him "arrogant."
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Personally, I’m wondering where this information came from. Would it be possible to see a source that quotes the author saying that it is, in fact, modeled on the Odyssey? I only ask this because it seems to me that aside from the aspect of a journey, there are very few similarities.
ReplyDeleteLet’s begin by looking at the conditions that the two men went away on. They both left for war, it’s true, but the situations they came from were very different. Odysseus left a large city-state as a beloved king, leaving behind vast amounts of property and his beautiful wife, Penelope. Inman, however, has left behind a small town in which his only property is a small, shack-like house. As for the woman (because there always is one, isn’t there?) he leaves Ada, a city girl who he has had some romantic feelings for, but both of them are unsure of how things stand between them. This means that while Odysseus is away, he knows that there are no doubt hordes of men fighting over his possessions and wife, while Inman doesn’t have such a sense of urgency to return, driven only by his own hunger and desire.
Moving forwards, they both have a series of encounters on their way home, but it is difficult to draw parallels between the people they each meet. When they start, they are both somewhat being held ‘captive’ I suppose, but Odysseus by Calypso, who sees him as a lover, which is probably a tad more pleasant than Inmans stay in the hospital. They both manage to escape, Inman on his own and Odysseus with a little help from Zeus, and are cast out into the world. From here they have many encounters, but none of them are terribly similar beyond the fact that they offer shelter for the two characters. However, I could see a fairness in comparing their tormenters. They are both being chased by Poseidon and the Army, respectively, and this element makes an already difficult journey even harder. Besides this, though, the meat of their journeys don’t have much in common. (Although one ability they seem to share is inexplicably charming the skirt off every woman they meet.)
However, I do see some similarities between their eventual returns. While Odysseus takes on the form of a beggar so that none shall recognize him, Inman is placed into a similar situation, although perhaps less willingly. The war and his travels have changed him to the point where Ada no longer recognizes him. However, this is where the similarities end. After revealing his true identity, Odysseus reasserts himself, slaying the rouge suitors and taking back his throne and his wife. Inman, however, makes no such great show. Weakened, he is cared for by Ada and Ruby for quite some time, and therefore eases gently back into the life he had left with no great commotion.
I’m not trying to be argumentative here; it’s just that I see very few similarities. I think it can be said that almost any book involving a journey can be compared to the Odyssey, simply because it is such a classic that encompasses almost every aspect used in modern writing. What about The Hobbit? That definitely shares similarities with The Odyssey. In fact, the entire Lord of the Rings series can be compared successfully. So can many other books. One could argue that the various tasks Harry has to go through in the Harry Potter series are also reflective of the encounters of Odysseus. I simply think that there are not enough connections between the two books to say that it was specifically written with the Odyssey in mind.
Frazier’s character Inman can’t be generally called arrogant because he often does not view himself above others (often times these others are women). One way he does not feel above others is that he always will give people money or aid after they do him a service. He didn’t feel above the ferry woman so he was willing to pay extra for the ferry. Another time he showed that he was not arrogant was when he helped a woman that gave aid to him get her pig back from some soldiers. However, he will sometimes show that he can be haughty when interacting with other men. He often feels that Veasey is worth less then he is, and Inman will work against Veasey. Inman also felt no need to help the man who was trying to get the dead cow out the river. Ada will also make him feel arrogant occasionally. An example of this is at the Christmas party where she ends up on his lap. This episode made him feel highly of himself and allowed him to go on and begin courting her. Inman is like most of the characters in the book since he is not always arrogant but at times he can be.
ReplyDeleteMerriam Webster’s dictionary defines arrogance as; an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions. In the world Cold Mountain people live their lives at a different pace. They live for each day, thinking only how they will live through the day and make it through each season. Inman is no different than this. Arrogance is not a word that I would use to describe him. Though he is a man who knows what he wants and will do almost anything to achieve it, he is not arrogant. An arrogant man would not fight for the rights of others, nor would he put the needs of others before his own. Though he is seen as a deserter, he is not a selfish man. A selfish and arrogant person would not pay for each service and help that he is given. Inman always pays for his meals and the constant help that he is given from others throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Goat Woman takes Inman into her care and takes care of her, he lets her. This is not the sign of arrogance. Arrogance would cause a man to turn down this help and turn her away, but Inman is not so proud that he cannot admit that he needs assistance and help from a woman. During this time, though women were the ones who were keeping the home front strong and working to keep their livelihoods, they still were considered less than men. Inman is not so proud that he cannot accept the kindness of the Goat woman when she offers to heal him and make him better. He also accepts the warmth and kindness that the widow Sarah offers him. Someone puffed up with arrogance would turn away any aid from a simple young woman unless they wanted something more out of them. Inman keeps his honor intact while still accepting the food and shelter that she offers him. He fights for her when she is taken advantage of by the soldiers, but does not think any less of her when she asks him just to lay with him. Though Inman is a man who just wants to live and find his home once more, he is not a man too puffed up with arrogance to ask for help when he needs it.
Nick, do Inman’s feelings when Ada show him attention really count as arrogance or as the natural feelings of a man with a deep infatuation for one of the most coveted women that he knows? From the moment that Ada arrives in Cold Mountain, she is seen as this unattainable object from the distant city of Charleston. When Ada, who has seemed uninterested in all men up until this point, begins to favor and pay special attention to Inman, does that really count as arrogance? Though I do not disagree with you, having that attention directed on him does puff up Inman’s ego, it is not necessarily arrogance that creates that feeling. It is also the fact that he is deeply infatuated with her, but always from afar. Ada is that beautiful “thing” that is admired from all of the men, but always from a distance and when she chooses Inman, it is bound to create a certain air about him. From the time that Inman first meets Ada to their last moments together upon Cold Mountain, he shows her nothing but love and adoration. Though it is not always in the grandest most outward gestures, in his own way, Inman showers Ada with as much affection as he can. Personally to me, those are not signs of a man inflated with arrogance.
ReplyDeleteAnne, you are right and Inman does not feel that he is above Ada. What I meant to say was that he did not feel above Ada, but Ada made him feel arrogant. Since Ada showed him a little affection he felt above the other men in the village because he felt worthy of her affection. As I also mentioned, or tried to, Inman doesn’t feel above women only men. He is perhaps the only man in the book that doesn’t view women as objects because he doesn’t view them as things to be won as the other men do. It is clear that he doesn’t view Ada as an object because he loves her more when he returns and she is more independent. So I agree with you that he doesn’t feel above Ada.
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