A blog about Charles Frazier's novel Cold Mountain. The image of a crow appears many times in the novel and symbolizes independence, change, and doom. "The Shadow of a Crow" is also the name of the first chapter.
This prose chart does an excellent job of providing specific examples of the literary devices used by Inman and their significance to the work as a whole. Unlike Stowe, who focuses on the descriptions and dialogue of the characters, Inman uses imagery and descriptions to describe the setting and develop the tone of the novel. I find it interesting that although the setting of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is extremely important to the historical context, Stowe does not use a lot of imagery to describe it. Inman, on the other hand, focuses a good portion of the novel on the creation of the setting because of the importance it has to both the characters and the events that are occurring in the novel. Inman’s use of “a third person who describes Inman’s thoughts” parallels the implied authorship used by Stowe throughout her novel (Carr 1). However, as Inman uses this type of narration to add to the reader’s trust of the narrator, Stowe uses different points of views to create discontinuity in her work. It is interesting that although both Author’s use the same literary strategy, they use it for different purposes that accomplish different tasks in relation to the meaning of the work as a whole.
I absolutely love Civil War history. Being a history buff, it was your subject matter that immediately drew me to your blog, considering your novel follows the journey of a Civil War solider. In the linguistic section you do a good job of laying down the framework for your prose passage. You discuss the rustic and folksy diction, which sets the stage for what the tone of the passage will be. Inman contrasts Irving in regards to development of setting. John Irving tends to spend more time developing characters and plot events, and less time of description of the setting. The use of strong characterization and intricate plot events shape Irving's writing and allow for continual attacks of modern society. Inman uses imagery to set the scene of the novel and create the tone. Another big difference between our two pieces is your novel uses 3rd person point of view. In the chart is states, "instead there is a third person who describes Inman's thoughts" (Carr1). Irving on the other hand employs a 1st person point of view that follows the inner thoughts and childhood memories of the narrator. He does this to show the profound effect society has had on John. 3rd person narration usually results in less bias, and doesn’t force the reader to figure out what is truth and what is the stretched truth. When reading A Prayer for Owen Meany, readers can sense that John is not completely sane, and therefore all of his memories and beliefs can’t be taken to heart.
This prose chart does an excellent job of providing specific examples of the literary devices used by Inman and their significance to the work as a whole. Unlike Stowe, who focuses on the descriptions and dialogue of the characters, Inman uses imagery and descriptions to describe the setting and develop the tone of the novel. I find it interesting that although the setting of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is extremely important to the historical context, Stowe does not use a lot of imagery to describe it. Inman, on the other hand, focuses a good portion of the novel on the creation of the setting because of the importance it has to both the characters and the events that are occurring in the novel. Inman’s use of “a third person who describes Inman’s thoughts” parallels the implied authorship used by Stowe throughout her novel (Carr 1). However, as Inman uses this type of narration to add to the reader’s trust of the narrator, Stowe uses different points of views to create discontinuity in her work. It is interesting that although both Author’s use the same literary strategy, they use it for different purposes that accomplish different tasks in relation to the meaning of the work as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Civil War history. Being a history buff, it was your subject matter that immediately drew me to your blog, considering your novel follows the journey of a Civil War solider. In the linguistic section you do a good job of laying down the framework for your prose passage. You discuss the rustic and folksy diction, which sets the stage for what the tone of the passage will be. Inman contrasts Irving in regards to development of setting. John Irving tends to spend more time developing characters and plot events, and less time of description of the setting. The use of strong characterization and intricate plot events shape Irving's writing and allow for continual attacks of modern society. Inman uses imagery to set the scene of the novel and create the tone.
ReplyDeleteAnother big difference between our two pieces is your novel uses 3rd person point of view. In the chart is states, "instead there is a third person who describes Inman's thoughts" (Carr1). Irving on the other hand employs a 1st person point of view that follows the inner thoughts and childhood memories of the narrator. He does this to show the profound effect society has had on John. 3rd person narration usually results in less bias, and doesn’t force the reader to figure out what is truth and what is the stretched truth. When reading A Prayer for Owen Meany, readers can sense that John is not completely sane, and therefore all of his memories and beliefs can’t be taken to heart.