THE PORTRAYAL OF THE CIVIL WAR ERA AS SEEN IN THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND SETTING OF CHARLES FRAZIER’S COLD MOUNTAIN

THE PORTRAYAL OF THE CIVIL WAR ERA AS SEEN

  

IN THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND SETTING OF CHARLES

FRAZIER’S COLD MOUNTAIN

  AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

WIDIANINGTYAS YUNIATI

  Student Number: 004214140

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

2008

THE PORTRAYAL OF THE CIVIL WAR ERA AS SEEN

  

IN THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND SETTING OF CHARLES

FRAZIER’S COLD MOUNTAIN

  AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

WIDIANINGTYAS YUNIATI

  Student Number: 004214140

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

2008

  A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

THE PORTRAYAL OF THE CIVIL WAR ERA AS SEEN

  

IN THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND SETTING OF CHARLES

FRAZIER’S COLD MOUNTAIN

  By

WIDIANINGTYAS YUNIATI

  Student Number: 004214140 Approved by

  Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum. July, 22, 2008 Advisor Dra. Th. Enny Anggraini, M. A. July, 22, 2008 Co. Advisor

  A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

THE PORTRAYAL OF THE CIVIL WAR ERA AS SEEN

  

IN THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND SETTING OF CHARLES

FRAZIER’S COLD MOUNTAIN

By

WIDIANINGTYAS YUNIATI

  Student Number: 004214140 Defended before the Board of Examiners

  On 28 July 2008 And Declared Acceptable

  

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

Name Signature Chairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M. Pd., M. A.

  Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum. Member : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum. Member : Dra. Th. Enny Anggraini, M. A. Member : M. Luluk Artika W., S. S.

  Yogyakarta, August, 25 2008 Faculty of Letters

  Sanata Dharma University Dean

  Dr. I. Praptomo Baryadi, M. Hum Men ask the way to Cold Mountain. Cold Mountain: there’s no through trail.

  Han-shan

  I dedicate this thesis to My parents My sisters

  v

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First of all, I would like to say thank to Jesus Christ that finally I finished my thesis. Thank you for Your blessings.

  I would like to thank Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum. for his advices and corrections for my thesis. I am grateful for his patience to guide me in writing and finishing it. I also would like to thank Dra. Th. Enny Anggraini, M. A. and M. Luluk Artika W., S. S. for their advices and corrections for my thesis. A great gratitude I would like to say to all the lecturers of Department of English Letters of Sanata Dharma University for the lessons and valuable experiences during my study. Last but not least, I would like to thank mbak ninik and all the “sekretariat

  

sastra ” members for accommodating and being patient with me. I owe much to

  Sanata Dharma Library and the librarians who were giving me information during my study.

  I also dedicate this thesis to my parents who give me financial and moral support during my study. I am also grateful for my sisters’ cares, Yuan and Yenni.

  I love you.

  Finally, I thank my friends, Sherly and Lia by hearing all my ups and downs, I am very grateful to all of you guys. I also thank everyone in kos Melia and Arimbi for their encouragement. Last but not least, I thank class of 00 especially Iin, Tanti, mbak Wheni, and everyone that I cannot mention it one by one.

  Widianingtyas Yuniati

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................... i APPROVAL PAGE .......................................................................................... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ..................................................................................... iii MOTTO PAGE ................................................................................................. iv DEDICATION PAGE ...................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................. vii ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................... viii

  

ABSTRAK .......................................................................................................... ix

  CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ...................................................................... 1 B. Problem Formulation ............................................................................ 4 C. Objectives of the Study ......................................................................... 4 D. Definition of Terms ............................................................................... 4 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies .................................................................... 6 B. Review of Related Theories .................................................................. 8

  1. Theory of Character and Characterization ..................................... 8

  2. Theory of Setting ............................................................................ 10

  3. Theory of Relation between Literature and Society ....................... 13

  C. Review of the Civil War in the United States ....................................... 14

  D. Theoretical Framework ......................................................................... 17

  CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study ............................................................................... 19 B. Approach of the Study .......................................................................... 20 C. Method of the Study .............................................................................. 20 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. Description on the Main Characters and Setting of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain ...................................................................................... 22 B. Portrayal of the Social Condition in the Main Characters and Setting

  of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain .................................................... 33

  

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...................................................................... 49

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................... 52 APPENDIX Summary of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain ........................................... 54

  

ABSTRACT

  WIDIANINGTYAS YUNIATI (2008): The Portrayal of the Civil War Era as

Seen in the Main Characters and Setting of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain.

Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

  Charles Frazier’s novel Cold Mountain is worth studying because it is a very magnificent novel with its diversity and depth. This novel tells a story about a wounded soldier, Inman, who tries to go home to unite with his sweetheart, Ada Monroe. This story is complicated with the obstacles Inman encounters on his way home to Cold Mountain in the southern Appalachian mountain.

  This research aims to get a comprehensive description of the main characters and setting of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain. In addition, it also aims to investigate how the main characters and setting portray the social condition during the Civil War in the United States.

  The method of this study is library research. This research applies theory of characters and characterization, theory of setting, and the theory of relation between literature and society. Review of the social condition during the Civil War in the United States is also presented to get a better understanding of the background of the story. This research applies sociocultural-historical approach since it covers some aspects that are relevant to answer the problem formulations. By using this approach, the writer is able to reveal some extrinsic elements of the work especially the social condition during the Civil War in the United States.

  The results of the research can be formulated as follows. Firstly, Inman, Ada Monroe, and Ruby Thewes had passed traumatic episodes during the Civil War. According to the main characters, the Civil War had devastated their life physically and mentally. Their lives were changed by the war. Inman decided to go home and resigned as a Confederate soldier. Ada Monroe learned that the land had become the part of her life. Ruby Thewes was willing to know about other people way of life, such as Ada Monroe’s northern way of life. The southern social condition was also represented by the setting of the story. The social condition during the war was depicted through the people whom W. P. Inman, Ada Monroe and Ruby Thewes met. People from different social class experienced the horrible conditions during the war as well. The life of southern people was devastated by the war. The southerners realized that they actually oppose the war. They were questioning whether the war was worth fighting for.

  

ABSTRAK

  WIDIANINGTYAS YUNIATI (2008): The Portrayal of the Civil War Era as

Seen in the Main Characters and Setting of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain.

Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

  Novel karya Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain layak dikaji karena keberagaman dan kedalaman ceritanya. Novel ini menceritakan seorang tentara, Inman, yang terluka ingin pulang untuk bertemu dengan kekasihnya, Ada Monroe. Cerita ini dikombinasikan dengan rintangan-rintangan yang dialami Inman dalam perjalanan pulang ke Cold Mountain di selatan pegunungan Appalachian.

  Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan deskripsi tokoh utama dan latar belakang novel Cold Mountain karya Charles Frazier secara lengkap. Penelitian ini juga bertujuan untuk menganalisa bagaimana tokoh utama dan latar belakang menggambarkan keadaan masyarakat selama Perang Sipil di Amerika Serikat.

  Metode yang diterapkan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian kepustakaan. Penelitian ini menerapkan teori tokoh dan penokohan, teori latar belakang, dan teori hubungan antara sastra dan masyarakat. Penjelasan mengenai kehidupan Amerika selama Perang Sipil juga diberikan agar diperoleh pemahaman yang lebih dalam mengenai latar belakang cerita. Penelitian ini menerapkan pendekatan sosial budaya-sejarah karena pendekatan ini meliputi beberapa aspek yang relevan untuk menjawab rumusan masalah. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan ini, penulis dapat menjelaskan beberapa elemen ekstern cerita khususnya keadaan sosial masyarakat selama Perang Sipil di Amerika.

  Hasil penelitian dapat dirumuskan sebagai berikut. Pertama, Inman, Ada Monroe, dan Ruby Thewes telah melewati peristiwa yang traumatis selama Perang Sipil. Berdasarkan tokoh utama, Perang Sipil telah menghancurkan kehidupan mereka secara fisik dan mental. Kehidupan mereka diubah oleh perang.

  Inman memutuskan pulang dan keluar sebagai tentara Konfederasi. Ada Monroe belajar bahwa kehidupan pertanian telah menjadi bagian hidupnya. Ruby Thewes bersedia menerima kehidupan orang lain seperti cara kehidupan orang-orang Utara Ada Monroe. Keadaan masyarakat juga digambarkan oleh setting cerita. Keadaan ini digambarkan oleh tokoh-tokoh yang ditemui Inman, Ada Monroe, dan Ruby Thewes. Masyarakat dari berbagai golongan juga mengalami keadaan bahaya. Kehidupan orang bagian Selatan dihancurkan oleh perang. Orang Selatan menyadari bahwa sebenarnya mereka tidak setuju adanya perang. Mereka mempertanyakan apakah perang itu pantas diperjuangkan.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Reading literary works may enrich our knowledge of history. Readers of

  literary works may learn what happened in the past and what kind of social condition once existed in the society. Literary works can play their role as historical documents that records social realities artistically portrayed by authors (Wellek, 1956: 103-104). This exists in the fascinating novel Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. The writer chose Cold Mountain as the subject of the study because according to the New York Time the novel was one of the best selling in November 1997 and won National Book Award in the same year (Http://www.barnesandnobles.com/2008). The writer was also curious about the story, which had been adapted for the movie. Since it has become box-office success and received awards in some movie festivals, the writer considers that the original work must be interesting and extraordinary.

  Novelists are novel in short supply. Natural born storytellers come along only rarely. Charles Frazier joins the ranks of elite cadre on the first page of his astonishing debut. Cold Mountain is a close to masterpiece as American writing going to come these days (Http://www.barnesandnobles.com/2008).

  An editorial review in Newsweek said that Charles Frazier was born with an amazing talent. It is rare to find a writer who succeeds in his first book and Charles Frazier proves that he is one of them. Charles Frazier wrote Cold Mountain and the novel becomes a new American masterpiece nowadays.

  2 The story of the novel begins with a journey of a man, named Inman.

  Inman is a soldier wounded in the Civil War who tries to go home to his hometown in Cold Mountain in order to unite with his sweetheart, Ada. To complicate this, on his journey he must conquer the obstacles on his way. Inman is pursued by relentless Home Guard troops. He also struggles with his own feeling whether he rejoins to the battle or walks home to find what he wants to. In the other side, Ada, Inman’s beloved woman must struggle to cultivate the farm that was left by his father who has died. Cold Mountain handles a historic and complex subject so well that the author emphasizes on the love story of Ada and Inman in the time of the Civil War in the United States.

  This novel is magnificent in its diversity and depth. It covers the life condition of the American Civil War especially the South party from 1861 until 1865 when they were suffering because of the war cruelty. In this story, Charles Frazier describes the horrible episode in American history within a series of extraordinary adventures along Inman’s way home and Ada Monroe and Ruby Thewes survival efforts. It is a profound novel since through the story the author shows not only the journey of a soldier who wants to put that war behind him and get home but also the representation of the American Civil War that can be seen through the main characters and setting in those period. This novel tries to reveal that the war was not actually Inman’s fight but Inman and other people like Inman which tried to defend their homeland.

  The Americans, especially the southern people were only the victims of the political system at that time. The South side insisted to defend the slavery

  3 system while the North who had applied the industrial capitalist system did not agree with slavery anymore (http//www.nytimes.com/2008). On an interview, Charles Frazier explained his point of view on the war and politics that he puts across the novel.

  You had this slavery agricultural system and a growing industrial capitalist, and then you had people like Inman who lived in an older economic system, kind of like subsistence farming. You had people like that in the South and North . . . those people got caught up in the crossfire of this war (Http://www.nytimes.com/2008).

  Cold Mountain was chosen in this study because it is an interesting story

  and it can arouse the reader’s curiosity to read the novel until the end in order to experience the situation of the Civil War. Moreover, Charles Frazier invites the readers to know how horrifying the war was. He sees from a different perspective with regards to Inman’s courage. The author spent almost of the time wondering if Inman could go home safely and meet Ada. Inman’s choice to leave the war makes the readers question his responsibility. The book’s conclusion, provokes the curiosity which makes the readers analyze the main characters’ and setting’s changes after the book has been set aside. Besides, the readers can also learn about the portrayal of traumatic condition during the Civil War toward the Americans life and a deeper understanding about the effect of the war toward their life in the future.

  By reading this novel, the writer attempts to prove Wellek and Warren’s theory that literary works can play their role as historical documents since this novel is a picture of American life during the Civil War in 1861 until 1865 and the significant to the contemporary life (1956:103-104). The writer thinks that Cold

  4 Mountain is significant to American life because the story portrays the social condition of the American during the Civil War. The American may learn what happen in the past and get better understanding about the Civil War in the future.

  B. Problem Formulation

  1. How are the main characters and setting described in Charles Frazier’ Cold

  Mountain ?

  2. How is the social condition during the Civil War in the United States portrayed by the main characters and setting of Charles Frazier’s Cold

  Mountain ?

  C. Objectives of the Study

  The objective of the study is to answer the questions stated in the problem formulation. This study analyzes the main characters and setting of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain. Then, the study investigates how the main characters and setting of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain portray the social condition of the American during the Civil War.

  D. Definition of Terms

  For the purpose of the study, it is necessary to define the terms used in this thesis. Here are the definitions of the following terms:

  5

  1. Civil War According to Encyclopedia of Americana Civil War in America history is “the conflict between the North states (The Union) and the eleven states that seceded from the Union and were organized as the Confederate States of America. It was not a civil war in the usual sense of opposing sides contending for control of one government, but rather a conflict precipitated by one side’s creation of a separate nation” (1983: 782).

  2. Social condition According to Dictionary of Sociology and Related Science social condition is “the environmental circumstances of a unit containing one or more other units with which social relationship may exists or social behavior may occur” (Fairchild, 1975: 292).

  3. Main Character According to Henkle in Reading the Novel: An Introduction to the

  Technique of Interpreting Fiction main characters are the most important

  and complex characters that can be categorized as characters through the complexity of their characterization (1977:88).

  4. Setting According to Abrams, the setting of a narrative or dramatic is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of an episode or scene within a work is the particular physical location in which it takes place” (1985: 175).

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain has received some responses and

  analyses since its first publication. Most of the responses are positive and the others are negative. Clay Reynolds argues, “the beauty of the prose of this novel, however, defies too much criticism. In both dialogue and narration, Frazier evokes

  th

  authentic 19 century vernacular and speech rhythm with such casual case that it is hard to believe this book was written in the 1990s” (Http://www.chron.com/2008). Publisher Weekly in the introduction of the book states, “rich in evocative physical and detail and timeless human insight, this debut set in the Civil War era rural South considers themes both grand and intimate” (Frazier, 2003: ii). John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of

  

Good and Evil says, “utterly convincing down to the last detail, Frazier has

  written a stirring story of bloody simplicity and epic power” (Http://www.abc.net.au/2008).

  Moreover, Kaye Gibbon, an author edited Charles Frazier’s Cold

  

Mountain considers that, “Cold Mountain is the best Civil War novel since

  Michael Sharaan’s The Killer Angel. The novel offers an interesting spin on the Civil War, depicted the journey of a war deserter and his struggle to get back home through the Appalachian Mountains. The book offers an interesting view on the era and the people of particular region in American history. The Civil War

  7 remains a period of intrigue for all Americans, an essential and ending part of history. Frazier, who is a relative of Civil War buff, chooses to add love story and a long adventure to the story, to illustrate more than just the horror of war” (Http//www.nytimes.com/2008).

  Another perspective on Cold Mountain is stated by Sarah Hines, “the point of Cold Mountain is not celebrating the victory of the North in the Civil War.

  Rather, it is to illustrate the humanity and resilience of the other victims of the southern system – poor southern whites who were caught in the crossfire of two incompatible economies” (Http://www.socialistworker.org/2008).

  In the other side, William R. Trotter argues that, “Cold Mountain is pretentious, a literary novel written for big city folks who has never read about a Civil War battle nor trod of battlefield” (Http://www.subsim.com/2008).

  In an interview Charles Frazier explained about his novel: I remained largely uninterested in the great movement troops, the famous personality traits of the noble generals and tragic presidents. What I am interested in are those two double graves and what they seem to represent (Http://www.nytimes.com/2008).

  Charles Frazier admits that he does not write about a Civil war story. He does not want to glorify the hero of the war, but rather on the victims and the loss of materials. He tries to portray the life condition of the South people as the consequences of the Civil War.

  Most of the responses point that the work gives an excellent portrayal of life in the Civil War era. Even though there is an argument said by Clay Reynolds that “it is a love story, with two protagonists, Inman, a reluctant soldier who escape from the battle, to walk home to his love, Ada in Cold Mountain, North

  8 Carolina.” This study will not focus on the love story of the characters. This study will focus on the portrayal of Civil War in the United States reflected on the main characters and setting of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

  One important element of a literary work is a character. In a literary work, an author creates these imagery persons so that they exist for the reader as lifelike.

  According to Rohberger and Woods, there are two ways that an author can use characterization. The first is through direct means that is by describing the physical appearances of the characters. The second way is by using dramatic means. The author places the character in a certain situation to see how he or she reacts to it; by the way he or she speaks or behaves (1971: 20-21). There are fundamental methods of characterization proposed in A Handbook to Literature: a. The explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct explanation and description, either in introductory paragraph or more often gradually throughout the work, illustrated by action.

  b. The presentation of the character in action, with little or explicit comment by author, therefore the reader will be able to deduce the characteristic of the actor from the action.

  c. The representation of actions and emotions on the character’s inner self without comment on the character by the author so that the reader will understand the characteristics of the character (Holman, 1986: 81).

  9 Henkle states that characters can be divided into major characters and minor characters. Major characters are the most important and complex characters in a novel. They can be categorized as characters through the complexity of their characterization. The attention is given to the major characters by the author or other characters and the personal intensity that seems to be transmitted. Major characters deserve the fullest attention because they perform a key structural function. Meanwhile the secondary characters or minor characters are the characters that perform a more limited function. They are limited in the ways that the major characters are not (1977: 88).

  According to Abrams, character can be defined as: The person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue, and by what they do – the action (1985: 20).

  Kenney in his book, How to Read and Write about Fiction, mentions three traits that necessary to be considered on how the characters are described by the author. The first trait is social traits. Here, the character’s relationship to groups or institution is recognized by the society. Therefore, it discusses about the character’s social life in certain environment that the readers can define the character. The second trait is physical traits. These traits describe the characters by their physical appearance, such as the color of the skin, the height, and so on. The third trait is psychological traits. Here, the characters are described by their personality. In these traits the author gives the description on the characters’ personality, whether the character is emotional or intellectual, optimistic or pessimistic, secure or insecure, and so on. By giving attention to these traits, the

  10 reader will eventually be lead to the fully understanding of a character in a novel (1966: 32-33).

  M.J. Murphy in Understanding Unseen classifies nine ways on how the author of a literary work reveals the character personality and traits to the readers.

  These nine ways are personal description, character as seen by the other, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, thoughts, and mannerism (1972: 162-173).

  Little in Approach to Literature explains three methods to study a character. The first one is paying attention to the basic appearance. It includes the physical appearance such as age and physical oddities, social relationship such as personal relationship with other characters in the story, social class and occupation, and mental qualities such as typical way of thinking, feeling, and acting. The second one is noticing appearance from various points of view. It includes how the character sees him, how the other characters see him, and how he develops or fails to develop during the story. The last one is by placing the character in the story, whether he is depicted descriptively or dramatically, and his relation to the theme, that is whether he embodies something important that the author has to say (1981: 93).

2. Theory of Setting

  The definition of setting proposed by Abrams is: The setting of a narrative or dramatic is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of an episode or scene within a work is the particular physical location in which it takes place (1985: 175).

  11 The basic knowledge in the discussion of setting is finding the place and time of the story. Sometimes it refers to actual location such as England, name of building, hotel, etc. It also refers to the time by stating medieval, nineteenth century, dates, and so on. However, there are also literary works that give certain time and place (1985: 175-176). The story is likely to have historical background. It seems that a real event happens in this particular setting.

  The other element of setting is the social condition of the story. This element presents the background of the characters and the society where the characters live. Hudson in An Introduction to the Study of Literature states that setting is the whole environment in the story. It includes the customs, traditions, habits, and characters’ view of life (1960: 158).

  Holman explains the elements of setting as follows:

  a. The actual geographical location, including topography, scenery and even the detail of a room’s interior; b. The occupations and daily activity of the characters;

  c. The time or period in which the action takes place, for example, historical period or season of the year; d. The general environment of the characters, for example, religion, mental, moral, social and emotional condition of the characters (1986: 465).

  Here, setting can be the place or the nature including detail object where the story takes place, the interior between the characters in the story, the time when the story happens, and the social condition of the story.

  12 According to Harvey in Character and the Novel the social environment basically refers to the society that is taken mostly in the novel. The social environment shows a social condition of people who live there (1965: 56).

  Murphy states that the setting of a novel is the background against which characters live out their lives. The setting can be concerned with the place and time in which the characters live. These have a great effect upon the personalities, actions, and the ways of thinking of the characters. It was usually the custom to give the readers straight away the details of the time and place of the story (1972: 141-147).

  Rohberger and Woods define setting as “the particular time and place in which a work of literature occurs” (1971: 22). They say that the setting of a successful piece of fiction is as functional as any of the other elements, and like the other elements, it never exists by itself. Setting aids in establishing credibility; it can help to explain both characters and situation, it can contribute to the atmosphere, or predominate mood, it can be active in foreshadowing, and it can be symbolic.

  The analysis on setting is important in analyzing the social condition during the Civil War. By doing this analysis, the particular setting effects used by the author can be observed in order to reveal the social condition during the Civil War (Yenuar, 2004: 10). Koesnosoebroto in The Anatomy of Prose Fiction quotes Lostracco and Wilkerson’s statement that setting is used to enrich the meaning of the story. If the author wants to show a particular effect of the setting on the story, he usually sets setting in specific and detailed way (1988: 81).

  13

3. The Relation between Literature and Society

  Langland states in Society in the Novel that society is “an animation of an outside world which has tended to obscure the formal variety of social presentation in the novels” (1984:4). Therefore society in a real life and in a literary work is almost the same because the author usually describes the society of his work based on the society in a real life.

  Moreover, Langland says that if society is a concept and construct in art, society is also a concept and construct in life. Society in the novels or literary works does not depend on points of absolute fidelity or accuracy to an outside world in details such as costume, setting and locality because a society in the novel does not aim at faithful mirror of any concrete (1984: 5).

  Society is understood not only peoples, and their classes, but also their customs, conventions, beliefs, values, their institutions, and their physical environment. Moreover, society may also be revealed through human relationships, characters, patterned interactions, and their common expectations of one another (1984: 6).

  Genetee in Narrative Discourse mentions that society or social setting refers to everything related to the society’s life in a certain place being described in the story. It includes the custom, tradition, belief, ideology, the way of thinking, behavior and perhaps the social status of the character (1980: 33, 35). A novel is supposed to be a representation of social problems. By doing so, literature can also be analyzed as the essence, the abridgment, and summary of all history (1956: 95). Thus, a literary work can be stated as historical record to certain time.

  14 C. Review of the Civil War in the United States According to Encyclopedia Americana, Civil War was the conflict between the northern states (the Union) and the eleven southern states that seceded from the Union and were organized as the Confederate States of America. It included South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. The Civil War was not a civil war in the usual sense opposing sides contending for control of one government, but rather a conflict precipitated by one’s side creation of separate nation (1995: 782).

  The cause of the Civil War in the United States is still the subject to argue. Politically, when Lincoln was elected president in 1860 the southern states refused to stay in the Union. The Confederate states of America planned to prevent the Federal government interfere the slavery issue and upset the routine of plantation life. They attempted to expand slavery in which businessmen operated vast plantation on assembly-line principles and hold absolute power over people whose ancestors had once (http//www.nationalreview.com/2008). The leader of the secession strived to keep things unchanged. Instead, their revolution led to a war that turned southern life upside down imperiled the very existence of slavery.

  The North act to force a certain ideology toward other states was violation. The South states already had had their ideology. The North with its industrial- capitalists system developed their life aspects rapidly. Meanwhile the South with its traditional ways of life survived and even competed with the North development. Every state had rights to pertain their ideology.

  15 Unfinished Nation mentions that economic and social effects affected the people who lived in the Civil War era. The war had a devastating effect on the South economy. The South was almost entirely agricultural states. It depended on cotton and slave labor. Southern leaders underwent that they needed to have more land for cotton planting. Meanwhile, the North was developing manufacturing and commerce and wanted to keep the territories open for free workers and small farmers. This situation put the Confederate and Federal in conflict. The Confederate resented the North’s wealth and growing population while the Federal strived to eliminate traditional economic system. The Civil War was immensely costly in both lives and dollars. It left the South devastated. It cut off southern planters and producers from markets in the North and made the sale of cotton overseas much more difficult (because the North blockade); it robbed farms and industries with large slave populations of a male force. In the South, the war declined production of all goods more than a third. Above all, the fighting itself – almost all of which occurred inside the Confederacy – wreaked havoc on the southern landscape, destroying farmland, towns, cities, and railroads (Brinkley, 1997: 394-395).

  In The America Story, it is stated that as the war continued, the shortages, the inflation, and the suffering created increasing instability in the southern society. There were major foot riots (some led my women) in cities in Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama in 1863. Resistance to conscription, food implementations, and taxation increased throughout the Confederacy, as did hoarding and black market commerce (Gavian and Hamm, 1954:339). Moreover,

  16 Donald A. Ritchie in Heritage of Freedom History of the United States explains that the society in America was disintegrated by the war. Civil War forced drastic changes in every phase of southern society (1985: 375).

  The war strained society because of the suffering of ordinary citizens; poverty in every state, the gap among class that caused the lower class opposed the war that threatened the Confederacy. For the southern elite, sacrifice was symbolic since they paid men to replace their duty to volunteer in the war. For the southern lower class, this was about a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight (1995: 813).

  In the Civil War, the South lost. These situation led the economic condition suffer financial loss. Banks were closed. Factories were idle. Land values had toppled to nearly nothing. Business in general was shattered. Property in slaves that before the war was accounted for the South wealth was completely wiped out (1995: 816).

  For the South, there were life-changing events within their social condition. Families were struggling to survive without men. Women faced additional responsibility in the home and moved into new jobs. Business tried to cope with the loss of workers. The normal life circumstances were obliterated.

  The Civil War devastated peaceful countryside. It swept millions of men into training camp and battle unit. There would be a new social arrangement in the South and a new value on marriage system. Previously, southerners were patriarchal. Now, women could be the head of the household. Women also undertook what had previously considered man’s work (1997: 301-306).

  17 At the end of the Civil War, the Confederate army maintained a great loss.

  Thousands of soldiers died during the war. The people of southern area suffered during the war and so did after the war set aside. The South lacked of factories and had trouble raising food. In addition, the North navy kept the South territory blockade so it could not get supplies from Europe (1956: 229).

  th

  In the 19 century, there were two ideas shaped the American. First of all, America was the land of freedom. And the second one, America was the land of slavery. America had a very large territory of wilderness and primitive. While in the other place, America had modern cities with its trade and industrial sector developed rapidly (1954: 165-166). Here, America created a perception of hope and passion that was not along with casual and complex reality. The region of America was very wide with its diversity. Thus situation caused contradiction among American itself. Therefore it led to a situation in which both group insisted to be the better one. And that quarrel led to the Civil War broke out in America (p. 227).

D. Theoretical Framework

  This study is a library research. The writer applies theory of character, characterization, setting, and relation between literature and society to analyze the novel.

  The theory of character and characterization are applied in order to reveal the main characters in the story that can portray the social condition in the Civil War era. The theory of setting is applied in order to reveal the setting of the story

  18 that can portray the social condition in the Civil War era. The theory of relation between literature and society is applied in order to reveal the portrayal of the Civil War era as seen in the main characters and setting in the story. The review of the Civil War in the United States is applied to the source in order to describe the life condition of Civil War in the United States in 1861 until 1865.

  By analyzing the characters and setting of the story, the writer will be able to describe the portrayal of the Civil War era in the United States in 1861 until 1865 in Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain.

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain was first published in 1997 by Atlantic Monthly Press, New York. In the same year, the novel had become bestselling and

  won National Book Award. In 1998, more than 1.6 million copies were sold (Http://www.nytimes.com/2008). Several translations are available in Chinese, German, Hungarian, Spanish, French, Croatian, Hebrew, and Polish. In 2003, the novel is adapted into a movie with the same title, Cold Mountain by Miramax Films, New York. It is also available in the form of audio books.

  For this study, the writer uses second vintage contemporaries edition published in 2003 by Hodder and Stoughton. In the novel, the author presents the story into twenty chapters and one epilogue. Cold Mountain consists of 438 pages.

  Set on a beautiful North Carolina’s mountain during the Civil War period, the story of the novel begins with a journey of a man, named Inman. Inman is a soldier wounded in the Civil War. He tries to go home to his hometown in Cold Mountain in order to unite with his sweetheart, Ada. To complicate this, on his journey he must conquer the obstacles on his way. Inman is pursued by relentless Home Guard troops. He also struggles with his own feeling whether he rejoins to the battle or walks home to find what he wants to. In the other side, Ada, Inman’s beloved woman must struggle to cultivate the farm that was left by his father who had died.

  20 B. Approach of the Study This study does not only require a full understanding on the main characters and setting but also a thorough analysis on the condition during the

  Civil War in the United States. Since the major concern of this study is society, therefore, the most suitable approach is sociocultural-historical approach.

  Reading and Writing about Literature states that the critics of

  sociocultural-historical approach insist that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that produces it. The civilization is the attitudes and actions of specific groups of people and points that literature takes these attitudes and actions as its subject matter. It is necessary to investigate the social milieu in which a work was created and which it necessarily reflected. Literature is not created in a vacuum and that literature embodies ideas significant to the culture that produce it. Thus, literature is the product of civilization (1971: 9).

  The writer applied sociocultural-historical approach since it covers some aspects that are relevant to answer the problem formulations in chapter one. This study concerns about the Civil War in the United States, so that it is necessary to have a full understanding about the extrinsic element to explain the social condition at that time.

C. Method of the Study

  This undergraduate thesis applied library research as the method of the study. The primary source of the study was novel Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. The secondary sources were some books, articles, and journals, which

  21 described the social condition of the American especially the southern states during Civil War in 1861 until 1865. The theories of character, characterization, setting and relation between literature and society were applied as well in order to support the analysis. Some criticisms were also quoted in this thesis.

  In conducting the analysis, the writer applied some necessary research procedures, which were divided into several steps. The first step was reading the primary resource, which is the novel itself. The second step was doing analysis that was stated in the problem formulations. To answer the first problem formulation, the writer analyzed the main characters and setting of the story. To answer the second problem formulation, the writer analyzed the social condition of the story that was portrayed by the main characters and setting. Finally, the writer drew a conclusion of the analysis.

CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS A. Description on the Main Characters and Setting of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain

1. Main Characters

a. Inman

  Inman was a southern Appalachian man who enlisted in the Confederate army. He was raised in a region in Cold Mountain, western North Carolina. He lived in a farmland area and worked to cultivate it. For Inman, Cold Mountain was his home. He felt very close with the nature and these encouraged him to join the Confederate to fight the Federal army (p. 13).

  During the Civil War Inman was fighting in Virginia. At the beginning, Inman was enthusiastic about winning the battle with the Federal (p. 242).

  Nevertheless, the enthusiasm gradually disappeared. Inman and the other soldiers started to realize that the war was worthless. In a battle of Fredericksburg Inman accidentally witnessed a man who was striking badly wounded Federal with a hammer (p. 11).

  In the battle of Fredericksburg, Inman’s General Lee announced that he considered war as an instrument for clarifying God’s obscure will. He said that the battle was correct if it is done by prayer and Bible reading. On the contrary, Inman said that following General Lee’s idea would encourage everyone to