When you hear about the Civil War, you mostly hear about the fighting between the North and the South and the men involved in the war.   Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, gives you a different perspective of the war, one from the people in the South at home during the fighting.  This, in my opinion, is the reason why the book is so successful and why I loved it so much.  I love how Frazier was able to show the everyday struggles that women faced when they were home during the fighting, while at the same time show the struggle of the men to make it home alive from the war.

Throughout the entire novel, I kept seeing the themes of isolation and determination show up again and again.  I first noticed the theme of isolation in the title of the book where the word “cold” makes you think of being alone and cut off from everyone around you.  The fact that the majority of the novel takes place in the “Cold Mountain,” you can begin to assume that the events that takes place will involve the theme of isolation.  Ada and Inman face this theme both in their own ways.  Ada is isolated from virtually everybody due to the fact that she lives in a house deep in the Cold Mountain.  This affected Ada both mentally and physically during the novel.  She had a hard time dealing with all of the responsibilities that arose with the death of her father, which became more difficult because she had no one around her to help until Ruby arrived.  While Ada was struggling to keep her home and farm running in the isolated Cold Mountain, Inman was having difficulty returning to the Mountain from the war by himself.  Though he meet many people on his journey home, he spend the majority of the trip alone with only his thoughts to talk too.  I also noticed that Ada and Inman are almost isolated from each other, and that forced them to each go on a separate journeys to find themselves individually.  This in the end made the relationship between them stronger.

The theme of determination also showed up continuously throughout the novel.  Ada would not have been able to keep her house and farm running without her determination to do so.  There were many times that she wanted to quit and give up on getting the farm up and running, but with the help of Ruby she was determined to make things work.  Inman was without a doubt one of the most determined characters in the novel.  If he was not determined to get back home and see Ada,  he would have died when he was in the hospital, when we was shot and thought to be dead, or when we was tired and hungry with little effort left.  His determination is what saved his life and allowed him to make it to Ada.  I think Frazier wanted people to see that with determination, you can accomplish anything you set your mind too.

By having the two themes of isolation and determination, Frazier was able to create a story that people can relate to.  It made the story stronger and kept you wondering if either Ada or Inman would reach their goals.  I really enjoyed the way Frazier weaved these themes between the two different stories that took place throughout the novel.  By seeing both characters struggle with these themes in their own way, I was able to relate the themes to my own life.  This made me feel connected with the characters and allowed me to really understand what they went through.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book.  It allowed me to see a whole new side to the Civil War and specifically the side of the  South.  Previously, when I was taught the Civil War we mainly focused on the fighting and the politics involved with the North and the South.  We never really focused on the women who were home from the war, nor did we discuss the men who tired to leave the war before it ended.  I feel like I am more educated on this time period now and can have a better opinion on the topic of the Civil War.  This novel not only educated me, but also allowed me to relate to the different themes of the book which I really enjoyed.

One of the most interesting things that I noticed when reading Mudbound was the whole idea of “family secrets.”  Throughout the whole novel, there seemed to be more and more secrets that were kept throughout the McAllan and Jackson family. It was these secrets that seemed to be the cracks in the families and was ultimately the source to many of the problems.  This seemed to be a consistent theme through out the entire novel and relates to most families of this current time period. I believe that Jordan was attempting to show how devastating these secrets can be in kept hidden from those who you love.

The main person who seemed to have the most secrets was Laura.  Laura’s main goal in life was to be the perfect house wife.  Yet, being this stereotypical person that she wasn’t caused her to keep many secrets from her family.  Laura’s character was probably the most interesting because she seemed to be a type of rebel for her time period. She always wanted to do what was proper, but at the same time craved attention and longed for a simple life. When she didn’t receive these things, she began to do things to get them.  Thus, creating multiple secrets throughout the family. These secrets then led to many issues, specifically with Henry’s brother Jamie in which she had an affair.  The secrets that went along with this little affair was a main source for many other secrets.

Jamie was another member of the McAllen family that kept many secrets.  Most of them involving his whereabouts at night and his association with Ronsel.  However, the biggest secret in my opinion would have to be the killing of his father.  This secret, unlike the others, is never really found out or suspected.  This secret that he fails to tell the family is one that will probably haunt Jamie more then anything else and weigh heavily on the family. It is perhaps the biggest family secret of them all and is what all of the little secrets were leading up to.

Along with the McAllen family, the Jackson family had secrets among them. The majority of the secrets dealt with Ronsel and his secret relationship with a women in Germany. Also, Ronsel’s association with Jamie and there regular hangout places at night.  These secrets created tension between Florence, Hap, and Ronsel which led to Ronsel’s unfortunate run in with the head “White Folks” of the county.

Hillary Jordan strategically created all of these secrets between the two families to represent the danger behind having too many secrets.  Other than racism, I believe that this theme of “family secrets,” is perhaps one of the main things Jordan wants her audience to take away from her novel.  Obviously racism is something that is still an issue today, but not as big as it was in this time period.  The concept of “family secrets” however, is something that is probably more relatable in our current time period.  By having both of these themes together throughout the novel, you not only learn about the race issues during that time, but also relate to the families. This in turn keeps the audience intrigued and at the same time teach them about something they perhaps were not taught before.

I think that the whole concept of “family secrets” really made the novel more interesting.  I felt that I was constantly wanting to see how the next secret would be created and if anyone in the family would figure it out.  I loved how Jordan had the different chapters in the book be  different perspectives from different characters. This allowed the audience to find out what the secrets were and what each character knew about the secrets being kept. It definitely kept the book interesting and more eventful.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and especially love the style of writing that Jordan writes in. I was able to enjoy a beautifully written story but at the same time look deeper into the story.  I was captivated by the different stories woven into one and how each perspective led to a bigger story and meaning. It was a brilliantly written novel and it is definitely a book I would recommend to others.

Hi! My name is Sydney Shaw and I was born in Fredrick, Maryland. I moved to West Virginia when I was four and have been growing up in this Wild and Wonderful state ever since.  I’m a huge basketball fan and have been playing since I was five.  Basketball is my stress reliever and is way for me to escape the stress of real life.  When I’m not playing or watching basketball, I most likely reading.  My favorite book is, ” To Kill A Mocking Bird.” I love reading because I feel like it allows me to escape to a place where the possibilities are limitless.  I specifically love books that reflect different time periods in our history because I enjoy learning about how people used to live before my time. I’m super excited to be heading in to my senior year and have no idea where the time has gone.  I hoping to make the most out of this year and I’m looking forward to all the memories I will make. I’m hoping to improve and grow this year and become a well-rounded person as well as a student. However, no matter what happens in the next year I will strive to live by one of my favorite quotes from Abraham Lincoln, ” Whatever you are, try to be a good one.”

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