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alwaysbrittany21 's review for:
Gone with the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell
I had to admire Scarlett. She starts off quite vapid and shallow, but she is indeed a product of her times. To rise up and be the one who takes control after the destruction of Atlanta (and basically everywhere else in GA) was surprising but also amazing. I think it proves that no matter what is on the outside, there are qualities inside each one of us that we will never know of until we're forced into certain trying situations. It's not so much her determination that was surprising (she's entirely too selfish to fail) but more the ease she showed in becoming a business woman and head of the household. Most people would have assumed she was nothing more than an air head, but she understood business and money much more than most men, and had the grit to make more.
She did annoy me with her stupid "love" for Ashley though. He so clearly was never man enough for her. I was very disappointed that he was mistaken in his feelings for her and gave her a semblance of hope for their relationship. He wanted her the way a child wants a toy, which is just pitiful when Melanie stood by him and understood him so well. Honestly I think Melly was a hero more than anyone else in the story. She had a quiet grace that truly does represent the best of the South, and I bawled my eyes out like a baby when she died.
Rhett was also a favorite. He was so himself, at all times, no matter what people thought. While I didn't always agree with the things he said, I have to admire someone who can be so honest and reliable in character. It was a little disappointing at how quickly he changed upon the birth of Bonnie, and I think it's quite ironic that the child he had with Scarlett would be the reason he stops loving her. Their conversation at the end of the book only furthered my bawling.
It was more painful than I had imagined it would be to read the account of the Civil War. On the outside it probably seems like there are no similarities between the Civil War and OIF, but once you have seen your soldier off to war it's impossible to read of anyone else doing the same without feeling tumultuous emotions. It is for me, anyway.
Obviously you can't speak of the Civil War and the South without mentioning race. I think this book does a great job at bringing the complicated racial relations into light. Scarlett and her family truly did love their slaves, even if sounds like an oxymoron. Maybe they did not view them as equals, but they viewed them as allies. There were many slaves/former slaves in the book that truly were a part of the family: Mammy, Dicey, Pork, Peter, Big Sam, even Prissy as annoying as she could be. It was an honor that they stayed with their families even given the choice not too. I'm sure some people criticized them, but at least they would be comfortable. Big Sam's account of his time spent up North made me feel so bad for him. I would honestly rather work in a field and be appreciated for that than to be sat down at a fancy table with people who only invited me so they could feel like they were doing to "proper" thing, yet had contempt in their hearts for me. And the Yankee ladies' awe at Scarlett suggesting a black nanny was so frustrating! It illustrated the ironic racism from the North that (in my experience) is still here today. Everyone below the Mason-Dixon line is accused to being racist by birth (I know I have been) but it's so often those who fought on the other side that can't bring themselves to associate with another color. The class system between the slaves (house slave, field hand, etc) was so amusing...usually when people speak about the South and race they view it as all white people hating all black people. In GWTW, however, the African-Americans (I can't bring myself to say negroes as in they did in the book, I feel like I'll be called racist) had a system that was almost caste like. The judgment Mammy especially passed on "free issue" blacks (not the word she used) or trashy whites was very different from the attitude so traditionally imposed on slaves.
There were many other customs and traditions of the South that, while I love my heritage, I'm very glad we no longer have. Like the morning period, for example. Dressing in all black for years seems awful! And for everyone who dies, no matter the relation? I know both Melanie & Scarlett did it for Charles (brother & husband, respectively) and then for Mr. O'Hara (Scarlett's father). I don't recall them doing it for any females, but I believe the only ones who died were Ellen & Bonnie and there was so much going on at that time I may have missed it. I also don't remember the men having to dress in that fashion...
The Southern ladies were so remarkable to me. They bring to mind a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water. These women were the best well-bred in the state, and yet they rolled up their sleeves and treated hundreds, probably thousands of dying men. They opened their houses when they had to for the Cause, even if it was a lost one. They buried their men and gave up their jewels, along with time and energy, not to mention what little money was left. Their dedication may not make sense to some, but they were fighting for their way of life at home just as much as their men were on the battlefield. It's often been said that Southerners are stubborn, but I think it's more a loyalty to what we know...or maybe I'm just waxing philosophical and making generalizations I have no right to make.
She did annoy me with her stupid "love" for Ashley though. He so clearly was never man enough for her. I was very disappointed that he was mistaken in his feelings for her and gave her a semblance of hope for their relationship. He wanted her the way a child wants a toy, which is just pitiful when Melanie stood by him and understood him so well. Honestly I think Melly was a hero more than anyone else in the story. She had a quiet grace that truly does represent the best of the South, and I bawled my eyes out like a baby when she died.
Rhett was also a favorite. He was so himself, at all times, no matter what people thought. While I didn't always agree with the things he said, I have to admire someone who can be so honest and reliable in character. It was a little disappointing at how quickly he changed upon the birth of Bonnie, and I think it's quite ironic that the child he had with Scarlett would be the reason he stops loving her. Their conversation at the end of the book only furthered my bawling.
It was more painful than I had imagined it would be to read the account of the Civil War. On the outside it probably seems like there are no similarities between the Civil War and OIF, but once you have seen your soldier off to war it's impossible to read of anyone else doing the same without feeling tumultuous emotions. It is for me, anyway.
Obviously you can't speak of the Civil War and the South without mentioning race. I think this book does a great job at bringing the complicated racial relations into light. Scarlett and her family truly did love their slaves, even if sounds like an oxymoron. Maybe they did not view them as equals, but they viewed them as allies. There were many slaves/former slaves in the book that truly were a part of the family: Mammy, Dicey, Pork, Peter, Big Sam, even Prissy as annoying as she could be. It was an honor that they stayed with their families even given the choice not too. I'm sure some people criticized them, but at least they would be comfortable. Big Sam's account of his time spent up North made me feel so bad for him. I would honestly rather work in a field and be appreciated for that than to be sat down at a fancy table with people who only invited me so they could feel like they were doing to "proper" thing, yet had contempt in their hearts for me. And the Yankee ladies' awe at Scarlett suggesting a black nanny was so frustrating! It illustrated the ironic racism from the North that (in my experience) is still here today. Everyone below the Mason-Dixon line is accused to being racist by birth (I know I have been) but it's so often those who fought on the other side that can't bring themselves to associate with another color. The class system between the slaves (house slave, field hand, etc) was so amusing...usually when people speak about the South and race they view it as all white people hating all black people. In GWTW, however, the African-Americans (I can't bring myself to say negroes as in they did in the book, I feel like I'll be called racist) had a system that was almost caste like. The judgment Mammy especially passed on "free issue" blacks (not the word she used) or trashy whites was very different from the attitude so traditionally imposed on slaves.
There were many other customs and traditions of the South that, while I love my heritage, I'm very glad we no longer have. Like the morning period, for example. Dressing in all black for years seems awful! And for everyone who dies, no matter the relation? I know both Melanie & Scarlett did it for Charles (brother & husband, respectively) and then for Mr. O'Hara (Scarlett's father). I don't recall them doing it for any females, but I believe the only ones who died were Ellen & Bonnie and there was so much going on at that time I may have missed it. I also don't remember the men having to dress in that fashion...
The Southern ladies were so remarkable to me. They bring to mind a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water. These women were the best well-bred in the state, and yet they rolled up their sleeves and treated hundreds, probably thousands of dying men. They opened their houses when they had to for the Cause, even if it was a lost one. They buried their men and gave up their jewels, along with time and energy, not to mention what little money was left. Their dedication may not make sense to some, but they were fighting for their way of life at home just as much as their men were on the battlefield. It's often been said that Southerners are stubborn, but I think it's more a loyalty to what we know...or maybe I'm just waxing philosophical and making generalizations I have no right to make.