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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
There could have been no better time to read Gone with the Wind than now, after already accomplishing units from my public international law class. According to my professor, there were three ways in which a de facto government comes into fruition, and among those three is through secession ("established by the inhabitants of a state who cedes therefrom without overthrowing its government"). To illustrate, my professor cited the Confederate government comprised of the southern states during the American Civil War. Unlike those who live in the US, and maybe perhaps the rest of the western world, my knowledge about the American Civil War prior to my class was superficial, as our schools never extensively discussed the secession of the southern US from the rest of Abraham Lincoln's America in great detail.
Many would classify Gone with the Wind as "transgressive literature" as per today's societal norms and standards. And I guess, it is. It has always attracted dialogue, and sometimes, even hostility from the extremists. I don't think it's quite fair to judge a book written almost a hundred years ago based on the standards of today. For one, in 1936, although already decades after the Civil War, the US was still suffering the remnants of the evils of its own war, taking baby steps to unlearn their abhorrent ways, and sadly she is not so great in unlearning bad habits and breaking free from the vicious cycle (I mean look at us now, it's 2021 and yet there are still many accounts of racial profiling and hate crimes).
But what I would disagree to, and heartily so, are any accusations that Margaret Mitchell was not progressive and ahead of her time by simply diminishing her to a racist white supremacist. Yes, it is a mistake to bat a blind eye to the evident systemic racism in her work. Systemic and organized slavery was depicted as a necessity in the demands of living in the rural and agrarian South which prided herself in her rich lands. While many POCs were depicted in a good light, such as Mammy with her stern indignation (and Rhett even went to say that Mammy was the true head of the house), Dilcey and her wisdom, Pork’s kindness and loyalty to the O’haras especially to Gerlad, Uncle Peter’s fatherly care for Aunt Pitty, and Big Sam’s faithfulness to Tara’s mistress and Scarlett, they were portrayed as so because they were the submissives; they resisted emancipation and refused to participate in their civic and political rights to suffrage. They looked down and condemned their own kind who chose to be free. Even despite Mammy’s strong proclamations that SHE IS FREE, we ultimately know that she did not have a destiny definitive of her own self. And of course this is problematic, as Mitchell chose to represent the black Americans in a detrimental light. They were considered as properties, as chattels instead of capable individuals (Scarlett recalls Ellen’s words to take care of them like children who can’t look after themselves). Those who dared to break free from slavery and their white masters were bad, criminals, at par with trashy whites, crackers, scallawags and carpetbaggers, to be feared when passing Shantytown.
I think it’s also wrong to assess literature ultimately by its flaw without crediting its merits. It’s important to be categorical, and at the same time to be open-minded. It’s true that the depiction of the POCs in GWTW was utterly despicable—the encounter of Scarlett and Uncle Peter with the Yankee women looking for nannies was just disgusting I literally had to pause and breathe. But to ultimately dismiss GWTW is also a mistake. Mitchell was a woman ahead of her time. Because of the controversies of the book, the other themes of GWTW is immediately disregarded. Scarlett O’hara is undeniably a feminist icon; she was unforgiving, evil, and ruthless, and those qualities were what made her not only survive the war, but also thrive. She was willing to forget her spoiled and lavish past in order to move forward, albeit her ways were ethically questionable. I am losing my mind by how Mitchell curated the image of Scarlett O’hara who was destined for a depressing conclusion (it was satisfyingly unsatisfying to see her realize that it was Melanie and Rhett whom she truly loves, only to be left by both of them). Melanie, was also represented the soul of the South. I shiver to think about Melanie for she was frail and weak but never in heart and never unfaltering. However, as a symbol of the Southern woman of the past and before the civil war, she was meant to die.
Mitchell breathed life to characters who seem so real. I can’t think of any other characters as multidimensional as these folks. Their transitions also messed up my mind despite being the most logical course (my fave is Rhett’s 180 when Bonnie was born!). Not only that, MM also did a superb job in making Tara and Atlanta alive in my mind. Before the war, Georgia was lush, abundant, and full of life; filled with hot streaks of rolling red earth and cool splashes of greens, Mitchell dared destroy and debase this pretty picture of the past by the horrible gripping description of the fall of Atlanta as it was devoured by flames. It was so vivid and REAL, I felt the terror and stress when Scarlett scampered throughout the streets.
Despite everything, to me, GWTW emerges as a magnum opus. If you fail to see themes of the book (survival, guts, sustaining the will to live in the abyss of war, ruins, and famine) because of how she depicted slavery and POC, I think that's well warranted. However, I implore you to dig deeper and appreciate how Mitchell masterfully weaved the sorrows of Scarlett O'hara as real as she could. To appreciate GWTW does not mean to strike out the wrongs of the book.
Many would classify Gone with the Wind as "transgressive literature" as per today's societal norms and standards. And I guess, it is. It has always attracted dialogue, and sometimes, even hostility from the extremists. I don't think it's quite fair to judge a book written almost a hundred years ago based on the standards of today. For one, in 1936, although already decades after the Civil War, the US was still suffering the remnants of the evils of its own war, taking baby steps to unlearn their abhorrent ways, and sadly she is not so great in unlearning bad habits and breaking free from the vicious cycle (I mean look at us now, it's 2021 and yet there are still many accounts of racial profiling and hate crimes).
But what I would disagree to, and heartily so, are any accusations that Margaret Mitchell was not progressive and ahead of her time by simply diminishing her to a racist white supremacist. Yes, it is a mistake to bat a blind eye to the evident systemic racism in her work. Systemic and organized slavery was depicted as a necessity in the demands of living in the rural and agrarian South which prided herself in her rich lands. While many POCs were depicted in a good light, such as Mammy with her stern indignation (and Rhett even went to say that Mammy was the true head of the house), Dilcey and her wisdom, Pork’s kindness and loyalty to the O’haras especially to Gerlad, Uncle Peter’s fatherly care for Aunt Pitty, and Big Sam’s faithfulness to Tara’s mistress and Scarlett, they were portrayed as so because they were the submissives; they resisted emancipation and refused to participate in their civic and political rights to suffrage. They looked down and condemned their own kind who chose to be free. Even despite Mammy’s strong proclamations that SHE IS FREE, we ultimately know that she did not have a destiny definitive of her own self. And of course this is problematic, as Mitchell chose to represent the black Americans in a detrimental light. They were considered as properties, as chattels instead of capable individuals (Scarlett recalls Ellen’s words to take care of them like children who can’t look after themselves). Those who dared to break free from slavery and their white masters were bad, criminals, at par with trashy whites, crackers, scallawags and carpetbaggers, to be feared when passing Shantytown.
I think it’s also wrong to assess literature ultimately by its flaw without crediting its merits. It’s important to be categorical, and at the same time to be open-minded. It’s true that the depiction of the POCs in GWTW was utterly despicable—the encounter of Scarlett and Uncle Peter with the Yankee women looking for nannies was just disgusting I literally had to pause and breathe. But to ultimately dismiss GWTW is also a mistake. Mitchell was a woman ahead of her time. Because of the controversies of the book, the other themes of GWTW is immediately disregarded. Scarlett O’hara is undeniably a feminist icon; she was unforgiving, evil, and ruthless, and those qualities were what made her not only survive the war, but also thrive. She was willing to forget her spoiled and lavish past in order to move forward, albeit her ways were ethically questionable. I am losing my mind by how Mitchell curated the image of Scarlett O’hara who was destined for a depressing conclusion (it was satisfyingly unsatisfying to see her realize that it was Melanie and Rhett whom she truly loves, only to be left by both of them). Melanie, was also represented the soul of the South. I shiver to think about Melanie for she was frail and weak but never in heart and never unfaltering. However, as a symbol of the Southern woman of the past and before the civil war, she was meant to die.
Mitchell breathed life to characters who seem so real. I can’t think of any other characters as multidimensional as these folks. Their transitions also messed up my mind despite being the most logical course (my fave is Rhett’s 180 when Bonnie was born!). Not only that, MM also did a superb job in making Tara and Atlanta alive in my mind. Before the war, Georgia was lush, abundant, and full of life; filled with hot streaks of rolling red earth and cool splashes of greens, Mitchell dared destroy and debase this pretty picture of the past by the horrible gripping description of the fall of Atlanta as it was devoured by flames. It was so vivid and REAL, I felt the terror and stress when Scarlett scampered throughout the streets.
Despite everything, to me, GWTW emerges as a magnum opus. If you fail to see themes of the book (survival, guts, sustaining the will to live in the abyss of war, ruins, and famine) because of how she depicted slavery and POC, I think that's well warranted. However, I implore you to dig deeper and appreciate how Mitchell masterfully weaved the sorrows of Scarlett O'hara as real as she could. To appreciate GWTW does not mean to strike out the wrongs of the book.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve never seen it or read it but remember it being culturally popular when I was a kid. I expected it to contain a lot of race issues as it’s set in the era of the American Civil War, but I was still surprised by all the implied racism and whitewashed history. I followed this with Lies My Teacher Told Me because he has a chapter in it specifically addressing the issues with the historical take in this book and reconstruction era in general. It’s probably good to do that because this author has a really white and privileged impression of the time.
A vivid, sweeping historical drama that paints an epic image of the South pre and post Civil War. And caught in the midst of both times, we follow the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a plantation owner's daughter. Scarlet is vapid, vain, selfish, immature, overly-dramatic and a flat out narcissist-but despite that, Mitchell wrote her in such a way that you'll still root for her. Because, despite her horrible nature a) everyone agrees she's a real piece of work. And b) Scarlett for all her horribleness has one thing really going for her-she's a survivor.
Wait, I take that back, there is one notable exception to everyone hating Scarlet and that's Mellie. Her sister-in-law and pretty much the only truly decent and good human being in this book.
This tome is certainly long, which is why, at first I debated to knock off a star as there is a great deal of exposition before things start to pick up. In the words of Scarlet herself:
Things do finally pick up once they reach Atlanta and later, the city starts to burn as the war finally reaches the city and from there the story is almost impossible to put down so it does eventually become very engrossing. However, I finally decided that the exposition was necessary, to really give us an idea of the world Scarlett was raised in and expected to spend the rest of her life in, only to have it be "gone with the wind" it really makes for a shocking contrast in the South before and after and it is quiet interesting to see.
I personally feel this is a novel that everyone should read at least once because it's quiet easy to see why this became a classic. A feisty anti-hero you'll both hate and be captivated by at the same time, vivid historical details of the American South and the best ending to a love story ever.
Wait, I take that back, there is one notable exception to everyone hating Scarlet and that's Mellie. Her sister-in-law and pretty much the only truly decent and good human being in this book.
This tome is certainly long, which is why, at first I debated to knock off a star as there is a great deal of exposition before things start to pick up. In the words of Scarlet herself:
Things do finally pick up once they reach Atlanta and later, the city starts to burn as the war finally reaches the city and from there the story is almost impossible to put down so it does eventually become very engrossing. However, I finally decided that the exposition was necessary, to really give us an idea of the world Scarlett was raised in and expected to spend the rest of her life in, only to have it be "gone with the wind" it really makes for a shocking contrast in the South before and after and it is quiet interesting to see.
I personally feel this is a novel that everyone should read at least once because it's quiet easy to see why this became a classic. A feisty anti-hero you'll both hate and be captivated by at the same time, vivid historical details of the American South and the best ending to a love story ever.
What can I say, it’s epic, it’s historical, it’s romantic. Got it all. Bravo
Ah bliss. For years and years I've said GWTW is one of my all time favorite books, yet it has been...maybe 25 years since I last read it!! The page length kept scaring me away (this edition is 1,400 pages, ahem). Time to pick it up again. So glad I did. There are so many extra nuances I forgot about remembering only the movie. Additional characters (the children!!), what really happened in the south during Reconstruction (boy did they really think nothing of freed slaves, the Klan!), deeper relationships (Rhett and Belle). Scarlett, one of my fave characters ever, is even more clueless and heartless than I recalled. Mitchell was a genius.
Es complicado resumir en pocas palabras la impresión que deja un gran libro como este. La prosa de Mitchell es ágil, divertida en ocasiones e intensa en otras, pero siempre fluida. Es difícil encontrar un clásico tan fácil de leer como este.
Los personajes están divinamente retratados. El lector llega a conocerlos a la perfección a través de sus acciones, que se mueven en una gama de grises amplia, lejos del dualismo entre buenos y malos.
Si bien es cierto que contiene una intensa trama romántica con dos triángulos amorosos (Scarlett-Rhett-Ashley y Scarlett- Ashley-Melanie), considero que esta novela encaja mejor como novela histórica por el fiel, aunque subjetivo y en ocasiones propagandista, retrato del contexto histórico de la Guerra de Secesión que realiza la autora.
Sin duda, es un libro que da para mucho debate: esclavismo, feminismo, amistad, maternidad, amor, guerra, ambición, religión, economía, familia... son solo algunos de los temas que toca la novela.
Mi único "pero" es que la última parte, antes de llegar al final, se me hizo algo lenta, pero tal vez era por mi propias ganas de acabar la novela.
Los personajes están divinamente retratados. El lector llega a conocerlos a la perfección a través de sus acciones, que se mueven en una gama de grises amplia, lejos del dualismo entre buenos y malos.
Si bien es cierto que contiene una intensa trama romántica con dos triángulos amorosos (Scarlett-Rhett-Ashley y Scarlett- Ashley-Melanie), considero que esta novela encaja mejor como novela histórica por el fiel, aunque subjetivo y en ocasiones propagandista, retrato del contexto histórico de la Guerra de Secesión que realiza la autora.
Sin duda, es un libro que da para mucho debate: esclavismo, feminismo, amistad, maternidad, amor, guerra, ambición, religión, economía, familia... son solo algunos de los temas que toca la novela.
Mi único "pero" es que la última parte, antes de llegar al final, se me hizo algo lenta, pero tal vez era por mi propias ganas de acabar la novela.
I'm honestly speechless. You would think after 1000 pages I wouldn't be wanting more, but I do. I can't believe it's taken me this long. My mind is just so baffled...I feel hurt and confused and so angry! But I guess I need to get to the point. Yes, my goodness I would recommend this book to everyone!!!
This book is a masterpiece! Strong characters through a volatile time in America’s history led to a winning book! Can’t wait to watch the movie now!