Cold Mountain Essay
Cold Mountain Essay"I am coming home one way or another, and I do not know how things might stand between us. I first thought to tell in this letter what I have done and seen so that you might judge me before I return. But I decided it would need a page as broad as the blue sky to write that tale, and I have not the will or the energy.1" This passage somes up the whole story in three sentences, yet only hints at the complexity of Inman's experiences and situation. Throughout the story we see the compromises Inman must make to survive. And as each day progresses the manner by which the various characters interact changes. This poses the question, how does the Civil War affect the social relationships between Southerners? In order to answer this question thoroughly, three main components must be looked at; the economic effects of the Civil War for the South, how the Civil War brakes down families, and how the traditional social system changes.
In a true deferential society (such as antebellum America) there only can be two social and economic classes, the rich, and the poor. But once we enter the Civil War this system of wealth and authority brakes down. The ease by which the rich make profits collapses, whether by trade embargoes inhibiting the exportation of goods or investments falling through. With the deterioration of the elite's wealth, confusion and anarchy rules, usually ending in inflation and devaluation. This is evident in Cold Mountain, Ada's family wealth, once very generous, is stripped down to one farm consisting of a few acres and a moderate house. Basically due to the lack of return in investments from Charleston, Ada is financially confined to a farm she does not even know how to run. Beyond the brake down of income the instability of the Northern and Southern Governments results in paper money losses the bulk of its value, very similar to Russia's Ruble today. With this devaluation, the third dimension means of bartering (use of paper money instead of goods) is lost. Along with this change any luxury item also losses the bulk of its' value. For example, to acquire essential items, Ruby must trade Ada's piano. During the Antebellum period this piano would have approximately been worth six to eight months worth of food and two significant farming tools, rather once Ruby trades the piano she only gains two to three months of food and one significant farming tool. Though the economic changes put the highest burden upon the rich, America's lower class had virtually nothing to loss but their pride and family. And that is precisely what it did, generally having the most devastating effects upon immigrants. These people relied on a system of survival that has nurtured their people for centuries, farming a small plot of...
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