Diagnosis
Emily Barton
April 16, 2013
English Honors 4
Diagnosis
The word diagnosis means to identify the nature and cause of anything. People use diagnosis many different ways with different variations in the use of logic and experience to figure out cause and effect relationships. The word diagnosis does not always have to consist of medical terms. In Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, the characters have some sort of knowledge about life and their surrounding environment (Way). All of the main characters face some kind of problem or obstacle that they must overcome, and they all have a cause and effect relationship. The character of Inman reveals a conflict between his moral perspective and the awful realities of his own life. Inman’s task is to overcome all obstacles thrown at him (Breslin). The book tells his story of homecoming (Gardner). At first, Inman has a wounded neck and psychological scars of his memories of the war. All he can think about is Ada and the ghosts of dead and gone soldiers. Putting his wounds and scars aside, Inman remains a respectable hero (Piacentino). Throughout the story, Inman lets his conscience lead his actions. He wills himself to resort to violence when necessary, even though he stays troubled by the deaths he has witnessed and does not want to add to them. He remains ready to fight any battle, whether it be physical or moral. He comes off as aggressive because he wants to protect all of the innocent people, including himself. Not only does he have a geographical journey, but he has a conceptual journey, also. Charles Frazier makes Inman’s journey have a deep meaning. This suggests that his journey reflects a more insightful exertion. As a part of his spiritual awakening, Inman has flashbacks of past events. Two things keep him going: thoughts of Ada and memories of home (Gardner). Throughout his journey, he ends up losing faith in himself. However, his faith in another world remains strong. Frazier suggests that the goat-woman and
April 16, 2013
English Honors 4
Diagnosis
The word diagnosis means to identify the nature and cause of anything. People use diagnosis many different ways with different variations in the use of logic and experience to figure out cause and effect relationships. The word diagnosis does not always have to consist of medical terms. In Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, the characters have some sort of knowledge about life and their surrounding environment (Way). All of the main characters face some kind of problem or obstacle that they must overcome, and they all have a cause and effect relationship. The character of Inman reveals a conflict between his moral perspective and the awful realities of his own life. Inman’s task is to overcome all obstacles thrown at him (Breslin). The book tells his story of homecoming (Gardner). At first, Inman has a wounded neck and psychological scars of his memories of the war. All he can think about is Ada and the ghosts of dead and gone soldiers. Putting his wounds and scars aside, Inman remains a respectable hero (Piacentino). Throughout the story, Inman lets his conscience lead his actions. He wills himself to resort to violence when necessary, even though he stays troubled by the deaths he has witnessed and does not want to add to them. He remains ready to fight any battle, whether it be physical or moral. He comes off as aggressive because he wants to protect all of the innocent people, including himself. Not only does he have a geographical journey, but he has a conceptual journey, also. Charles Frazier makes Inman’s journey have a deep meaning. This suggests that his journey reflects a more insightful exertion. As a part of his spiritual awakening, Inman has flashbacks of past events. Two things keep him going: thoughts of Ada and memories of home (Gardner). Throughout his journey, he ends up losing faith in himself. However, his faith in another world remains strong. Frazier suggests that the goat-woman and