The Search for Home

     Click your heels three times and say, " There's no place like home. There's no place like home....". If only it were that easy.

    In Cold Mountain, Inman's journey is to his home, Cold Mountain. Throughout the book, he faces many trials to get there, including his internal struggle of misidentification with the world because of the war, and external struggles such as the home guard keeping him prisoner . Inman meets many different people in the book, who allow him into their deepest struggles. It is through their stories that Inman recognizes his  longing is not for the physical home, but the solace of Ada's company. 

    

     There comes a point in one's life where they are forced to find home. To some, home may be the place where they were raised, a place where they will start a future, or even in a person they love. I believe that the author shows that the best place to find a home is in the heart of those you love. Throughout the book, physical objects are destroyed from the war: landscapes, homes, property, ect. But the things that are not destroyed are not concrete. Emotions, for example, play such a large role in the book because they guide the characters and determine their actions. The emotion love, is what finally leads Inman back to Ada.

 As a young adult getting ready to go off on my own in the world, I relate with this theme of the search for home. My home will shift from the place I grew up, to college dorms, apartments, and then who knows where. Physical homes will fade, change, and even destroyed, but my home can be in my family and friends.

 " Home is where love resides, memories are created, friends and family always belong, and laughter never ends."