PD 2 AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE
On Wednesday, we will be traveling to Martinsburg High School to hear the 2016 Appalachian Heritage Writer in Residence, Charles Frazier. To prepare for our visit, I'd like you to familiarize yourself with Mr. Frazier and his writing style.
Read this excerpt from Frazier's 1997 Civil War Novel (and later movie) Cold Mountain. Then, either read this interview about Cold Mountain or read this article from The Guardian about Frazier's views on writing. In the comments below, please answer both of the following questions. Please put a space between your paragraphs so that it is easier to read. Your answer to each of the questions should be at least 4 sentences.
Post your response by Tuesday @ Midnight. You DO NOT need to reply to peer comments for this post.
20 Comments
Czar Parrish
9/27/2016 07:23:07 am
In Fraziers excerpt he does well of describing the fear and personalities of main characters but not their physical traits. His diction is based on small describing words and character interaction. The main characters thoughts are also provided in an easy to understand manner. The tone of the author in the excerpt of the first book seems somewhat dismal as the main character seems ready to kill a man, while in the second one it is more hopeful as it has to do with the crops. The author says, "Inman was about ready to make his move when the man stood and worked the base of the torch around in the dirt until it held upright." This is a good passage because it shows how the authors tone and diction plays a role in the main characters development. I found it interesting that he never had any real interest in any childhood books he ever read or seemed nostalgic about them. His inspiration seemed to have come from his ancestors and older people. His writinng style seemed similar to other writers but also unique in a sense. I do not have any questions for him but would love to learn more.
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Hannah
9/27/2016 12:29:55 pm
Frazier does a great job voicing the the tone of his character. Through strong and decisive language the reader gets a informative picture into the character's mindset and struggles. More importantly than his struggles, though he captures the mood the character has toward the issues. Frazier's ability to incorporate quotes is incredibe as seen, "He’s going to fall asleep with that torch blazing, Inman thought. In a minute he’ll have his feet on fire." This quote shows a smooth thought introduction and sets the character's mood.
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Brady Michael
9/27/2016 02:53:21 pm
Fraizer's writing goes from simple descriptions to more complex ones regarding characters and actions that are made. Quick actions seem to be more fastly and complexly described. His tone is gloomy and melancholy, in the exert with Inman. His diction includes words like "burden... moan... stagger... relented... and inattention." Fraizer characterizes Inman and the man in the quote "Inman could see that his cheeks were shiny with tears...and only struck the man with a misforce blow." He shows the man is sorry for what he had done through how he describes him in tears, and Inman is showed to have a sense of mercy, but recognizes when someone has done something wrong.
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Calvin Covington
9/27/2016 04:34:14 pm
Fraziers book cold mountain seemed really interesting from the passage I read. The gloomy diction he refers to the way the man acted. His tone was very dark like it was a tough time to even live back then. They are in war time so it's an understandable dark tone. This quote the man heard from this sketchy man really hit me it was, "Lord, O Lord we once lived in a land in paradise. This stuck out because it it showed how despaired the man was. In his interview I really liked the direction that drove him to wrote the book. His story about the way his dad told him a story about him walking home to his North Carolina home and how he didn't know what he would walk back to was really interesting. What I would take from his style of writing in a personal level was inspiring. I would probably ask him why did he choose to focus on the gloomy side of civil war such as battles an not on their journey home to families.
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Broc glover
9/27/2016 04:37:03 pm
Frazier writes about events that could happen in this world but makes them take place in another. The words he uses are words we know but spelled like they are in a different accent. I would say it is gloomy throughout the passage. In the passage, the quote "The man sprawled in the road on his back, a shallow cut below his eye" shows that there is violence between characters which ends up causing injuries to others. I think that this isn't the only act of violence that will occur throughout the book.
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Dominique W.
9/27/2016 06:04:30 pm
I'm not sure if this is how the website formatted the excerpt, but I found it odd that quotations weren't used during dialogue between characters. His tone in the first passage is tense and suspicious, seeming like anything could happen in a sudden motion. The second passage is slower and more about the passage of time and the lives of the two women. A quote I liked was "...to catch its profile in the light, thinking how very much he liked the air of urgency and focus it lent to a simple request." This passage seems like it might foreshadow other events in the book, maybe Inman becoming an antagonist/antihero of the book. Fraizer uses words such as "air of urgency" and "profile" to lend to the air of darkness in the passage, and it also creates a nice ending to the passage in the way it leaves off.
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9/27/2016 07:05:39 pm
In Frazier's except I notice that he explains the actions of the characters more than he explains the physical appearance. When reading this passage I thought more of the man as a shadow because I had no description to go off of. The diction of the excerpt was the use of simple words to describe the situation that the man and horse were in. The author said "–Lord, Oh Lord, he cried. We once lived in a land of paradise." This quote represents the feeling of the main character as he begins to think more about life and what it is worth.
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Jaelin Cochran
9/27/2016 07:48:10 pm
Frazier had a writing style in which he changes the mood of a story with just one sentence. The diction in this particular reading is one that really revolves around a very vivid imagery. This quote shows the change in tone drastically,"You’re a message from God saying no, the man said," it changed from a murderous tone to one of redemption in a single sentence. He made this man be ready to kill someone in the first sentence and then state that it was a message from God to not kill her by Inmans' interruption.
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Ryan Winkler
9/27/2016 08:59:50 pm
The diction used by Frazier is very descriptive of the interactions between characters and what is happening. Characters in the passage are not physically described in great detail. "He’s going to fall asleep with that torch blazing, Inman thought. In a minute he’ll have his feet on fire." The description goes into detail of the events happening, but leaves out the descriptions of the appearance of the characters.
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Puja Chudasama
9/28/2016 01:45:46 pm
Frazier does not give details if they are not needed. For instance, the man is described as blond, curly haired preacher but doesn't give a name. Inman is portrayed as a soldier with a sense of care or hesitance to kill when it is said that, "Inman could see that his cheeks were shiny with tears. So Inman relented... only struck the man a midforce blow." Inman's original plan was to kill the man, however when he saw how upset the preacher was, he settled with a less permanent solution. After getting over the excitement of war, killing might have been something Inman was trying to avoid. When the author says "only", it makes you wonder how familiar the main character is with punishments.
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Sarah Fonner
9/28/2016 05:37:49 pm
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Sage Burdette
9/28/2016 05:55:24 pm
Charles Frazier has a way of not giving details unless it is absolutely needed. For example, in the first paragraph it mentions a horse that accompanies the man with the torch. He doesn't delve into the body language or its color. He makes sure to keep the main focus on one thing. He also can change a mood very quickly with just one sentence. A part of the excerpt says, "The man sprawled in the road on his back, a shallow cut below his eye." it shows that there is obvious violence outside of the war and others are being effected too. It makes the tone be a bit more unappealing and mysterious.
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Haylie Shank
9/28/2016 06:13:36 pm
The style of Fraziers writing goes from describing very simple details to complex details within just one sentence. He brings the tone of his character out through his strong diction. I'd say that his tone is very somber throughout the entire interview. Frazier says, "I was more interested in the devastation visited on ordinary lives," which is basically saying that he wasn't interested in the normal lives of people, but the devastating problems being faced by these people at the time.
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Nikki johnson
9/28/2016 07:13:50 pm
In this excerpt I really noticed the amount of diction that was used in it. The specific words and phrases that Frazier used was incredible. I could really follow along with the story very well because it was so unique. The quote that really stuck out to me was," Inman tipped the big pistol up momentarily to catch its profile in the light, thinking how very much he liked the air of urgency and focus it lent to a simple request." The words that really stuck out to me were urgency and simple. It shows the audience that he has handled stuff like this before. Also, he seems pretty happy that he is able to do it again.
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Ben M
9/28/2016 07:15:12 pm
1. Like he said in the interview, he is extremely descriptive; I am not for sure if this is beneficial or harmful, yet he is. Not using complex, formal words, Frazier communicates the scenery in his mind through a multitude of simpler descriptors equating to the tactility provided from formal diction. Frazier blew out the gate with an entire paragraph dedicated to formulating a setting, preventing any deviation by the reader; such as “The man wore a suit of black clothes, a white shirt . . . held a horse led by a rope . . . in the road . . . [with] his knees up . . .” A short excerpt, the black clothes and white shirt prepared the reader for a man of substance and the position of the man’s body foreshadowed his exhaustion, despair, or perplexity.
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Kara Herber
9/28/2016 07:41:50 pm
Frazier's writing style is very captivating. He uses descriptive diction to grasp his audience's attention and keep them on their toes throughout the book. It is easy to tell he is a very skilled writer because this little excerpt has a strong diction and tone. From this passage the quote, "But then the man turned his face up, and it caught the light from the torch where it still burned on the ground, and Inman could see that his cheeks were shiny with tears." really caught my attention. Immediately it is obvious to see that grace is given to the man. This particular event gives off a really strong tone full of compassion for the man even if Inman didn't want to give grace.
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Connor Hall
9/28/2016 08:35:42 pm
1. I felt that his writing flowed well and that his unique writing style helped me understand his book better. His diction involves vivid imagery, which helps the reader to better understand and enjoy his writings. In part of Frazier's excerpt about basing the Inman on the Odyssey "A warrior, weary of war, trying to get home and facing all kinds of impediments along the way, a woman at home beset by all kinds of problems of her own that are as compelling as his." This shows how a warrior just wants to get home and that was the same thing that Frazier was telling in Inman's story.
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Caleigh Pumphrey
9/29/2016 05:38:05 am
1. Frazier has a very unique style of writing. He is so specific that it made me feel like I was apart of the story. In this quote, "Still, Inman could tell that there might be a beauty to her," he uses expressive diction through a hopeful tone. Words like "might" show hope and "beauty" has a stronger connotation than "pretty."
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Caleigh Pumphrey
9/29/2016 06:09:59 am
2. I think the interview with Frazier really showed how important family is to him. He must have a very good relationship with his Father because most of his writing is based off of the stories he has shared with him. I find it interesting that he doesn't have a research assistant. I love that his writing is through personal experiences and research he has found himself.
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Emily Case
10/17/2016 12:13:32 pm
Frazier's writing style allows the reader to fully comprehend the characters environment and the personality. For instance, his usage of his vivid imagery is shown, "Her face was slack from being senseless, and the shadows cast from the torch were ugly things..." This quote gives the reader information about the character, and shows that he is comfortable with her. I found that Frazier's interview to be interesting, because you would expect that he would have a previous writing class. Then his writing was inspired by another authors which was interesting how he took away some knowledge from that author, and establish in his own writing.
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