Term Paper on "Gone With the Wind"

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[EXCERPT] . . . .

Gone With the Wind

Margaret Mitchell's novel, Gone with the Wind, has sold an average of 500,000 copies a year since its publication in 1936 (Faust pp). According to Drew Faust, more Americans have learned about the Civil War from Mitchell's book than from any other single author (Faust pp). Mitchell's historical romance, which is set in the South during the Civil War and Reconstruction era, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937, and for more than twenty years was the most widely read of all American novels (Faust pp). She explores the interrelationships between racial discrimination, social expectations, and the Southern feminist culture (Faust pp).

Mitchell's novel begins in April 1861 on the day that news that war has broken out reaches a gathering of Southern aristocrats. The novel's protagonist, Scarlett O'Hara, is the epitome of what is known as the Southern Bell. She is coy, flirtatious, selfish, and headstrong, all of which are rather negative qualities however it is by virtue of these very qualities that allows her to survive through the turbulent war years. These qualities are also responsible for her successful rise from the ashes during the post-war years.

Faust writes that Mitchell's portrait of this era is at "odds with both the prevailing national and the southern mythologies of the war" (Faust pp). The war became in her rendering and "inferno of pain" and Scarlett never understood its aims, "never gave a damn about the... Confederacy," and despite their differences, her heroes, Rhett and Ashley, both "knew the war was all wrong" (Faust pp). In fact, Mitchell sums up Scarlett's character in the first chapter of the novel when she exclaims her bo

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redom and frustration with all the talk of war. As the boys around her talk of Fort Sumter, Scarlett says, "I'm tired of hearing about it...Pa talks war morning, noon and night...till I get so bored I could scream" (Mitchell pp). She then goes on to complain that because of all the war talk the spring parties had not been any fun, and then says that she is so glad that Georgia waited until after Christmas to secede or else the Christmas parties would have been ruined too. To strengthen her distaste of the war talk, she says, "If you say 'war' again, I'll go in the house" (Mitchell pp). Mitchell writes that the boys "thought none the less of her for her lack of interest. Indeed, they though more. War was men's business, not ladies' and they took her attitude as evidence of her femininity" (Mitchell pp). And when Scarlett hears of Ashley's engagement to Melanie, Mitchell writes, "How,' Scarlett wonders, 'could Pa talk on and on about Fort Sumter and the Yankees when he knew her heart was breaking'" (Mitchell pp). Clearly in Scarlett's mind, the world revolves around her and her needs and desires, and that is all that really matters.

However, Scarlett's femininity is actually superficial, for she is anything but a feminine simpleton. Rather she is a calculating predator, who if she were living in today's society would be regarded as not only a social climber but also someone who would step on anyone and anything to get to the top of the corporate ladder. As Mitchell writes, "Most of her natural impulses were unladylike...She looked sweet, charming and giddy, but she was in reality self-willed, vain and obstinate," who… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Gone With the Wind" Assignment:

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What specifically has this book taught me about past political, economic, or social conditions? Are there specific ways in which these conditions constrain the characters to behave? How is this different from the way an American in the 21st century would behave under similar circumstances? Do not avoid summarizing briefly the plot, or general range of the book. Such a summary is invariably necessary; however, it should be regarded not as an end it itself, but rather as a base for accomplishing other purposes explained above. Be sure to incorporate specific mention of characters and incidents and give reasons and details to illuminate your answers. The book report should also provide the following information in a clear and orderly format:

1. The title of the book

2. The name of the author

3. The kind of book it is (novel, biography, etc)

4. The date when it was written

5. Brief background information about the book, the author, the circumstances under which the book was written, the popularity it has enjoyed, the place of the book in American English, or world literature.

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“Gone With the Wind.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2005, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/gone-wind-margaret/4728739. Accessed 29 Sep 2024.

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1. Gone With the Wind. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/gone-wind-margaret/4728739. Published 2005. Accessed September 29, 2024.

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