Chapter 5: Like Any Other Thing, A Gift

1a. The title of this chapter, Like any other thing, a gift, referred to what Inman saw fighting as. Fighting had come easy to him; it was like a gift, but it was also like any other common thing.
       Inman follows the side of the river during night. He sees something white in the distance and thinks it’s the guards. He then realizes it’s a man that is about to throw something wrapped in a white blanket, to the river. When the man sees Inman he thinks it's a message from God. Inman points a gun at the man, as the man tells him he's a preacher who has drugged his lover, who's pregnant, and was about to murder her by throwing her into the river. Inman ties the man and tells him to take him to where he lives. On their way to the town, the preacher tells Inman about his affair, and he even tells him tha hes actually engaged to someone, and that he would be expelled from his town if someone where to find out what hes doing. Inman then sees that Orion is rising and remember a time he saw it during the battle at Petersburg. Inman doesnt know what to do with the guy so he just ties him to a tree. Then taked the drugged woman back to her house, and there when the girl wakes up, its revealed that her name is Laura. Inman just tells her to go back to sleep and warns her about the preacher. Inman then writes a letter stating all of the preacher's crimes and pins it above his head on the tree. He leaves the town and spends the night under the shadow of a pine. Next morning he wakes up and continues his journey. An hour later he meets 2 slaves and follows the smell of meat to a camp full of people. He eats food as he watches a dark-haired woman that is riding a horse across the river.The woman reminds him of Ada. Then he decided to go into the woods to read his book Bartram's Travels as he drinks champagne. He then starts thinking about Laura and he remembers Ada once again. He falls asleep and has a pleasant dream about Ada. Then he wakes up and realizes everyone left, but he just continues his journey with a big smile and a happy spirit.

1b. Author's Style: In this chapter the author uses imagery, and allusions.
      Imagery: "The sheen of light on the water was so slight that he could see it only by looking to the side, like detecting faint stars by not peering right at them". The author uses a simile and compare the water to faint starts, to show that the water was very clear.

      Imagery: "Eventually, traversing a rocky bluff, the road became a narrow notch between the river below a drop-off and a steep bank of broken rock and dirt grown partly over with brush". This imagery enables the reader to visualize the road. The author uses descriptive words to facilitate the visualization.
      Allusion: "Something in the darkness of her hair or the way she moved or the thinness of her fingers reminded him momentarily of Ada". This is an allusion because the author is indirectly alluding to Ada by saying some features of the other girl reminded Inman of her.

1c. Historical Context: “One of the things Inman marked as a comfort was that he could put a name to the brightest star in Orion. He had shared that fact with a Tennessee boy on the night after Fredericksburg.” This statement matches the time period of the book, 1864, because two years before the battle at Fredericksburg had been fought, during day and nighttime.

2a. Inman is forced to witness the preacher’s guilty confession and becomes involved in the man’s personal life. This chapter reveals Inman is a very just and fair person because instead of deciding by himself what to do with the preacher, since that doesn’t correspond to him, he decided to leave it to the preacher’s community. This chapter also reveals that even though Inman is injured he is still very strong and in a stable condition. He is still strong enough to fight against someone, and he's even able to tie them.

2b. This chapter reveals the preacher is a very hypocrite person and he uses religion to justify his actions. The preacher has the gift of “talking seamlessly” though his effect on Inman is anything but soothing. The fact that the preacher talks a lot and says stuff that sometimes don’t even make sense makes me believe the preacher will be a burden to Inman. By contrast, Inman is not the type to relieve himself of his past, but the preacher is the kind of person who always finds a way to excuse his actions.

3b.