Gone With the Wind

Please use this sub-forum to discuss any classic books or any very old fiction books or series.
Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
Post Reply
User avatar
Dashkova
Posts: 35
Joined: 26 Aug 2016, 21:48
Bookshelf Size: 0

Re: Gone With the Wind

Post by Dashkova »

caliwagon18 wrote:I think it gives a gentler few of the South in that time. You always hear about how you only hear the winners side when it comes to war. I think this book gives us a glimpse into the side of the loser. It's amazing to read about how a true Southerner felt before, during, and after the war. It makes the plantation owners seem human, and not just like a cruel, heartless, monster.
It definitely does give a gentler view of the South and slavery.....I think it probably shows accurate insight into the romanticized view of slavery and the old South that many southerners have, but I don't think those romanticized views are very historically accurate. I don't think GWTW makes a good textbook on the old South.

Throughout the book the slaves are often referred to as basically 'dumb darkies,' they were beloved by the family but ultimately considered to be creatures of lesser intelligence who needed the whites to take care of them, like pets. Because the O'Haras treated some of their slaves(we don't hear about all of the ones working the fields, only the ones whose roles brought them close to the family) like family, because Gerald 'only had a slave whipped once,' and because John Wilkes was planning to free his slaves after he died anyway, we are supposed to believe that these were not cruel slave masters. I do believe that most people back then did 100% believe that blacks were creatures of lesser intelligence and genuinely thought that they were doing them a favor by keeping them as slaves and such attitudes definitely come through in GWTW. I'm sure that some slave owners were 'kinder' than others and that some slave owners did have slaves that were basically honorary family members, but I don't think that negates the overwhelming brutality that slavery was. https://ds088.k12.sd.us/classes/AmHist/ ... mages3.jpg
Acwoolet
Posts: 544
Joined: 07 May 2014, 21:57
Favorite Author: Karen Kingsbury
Favorite Book: Gone With the Wind
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 86
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-acwoolet.html
Latest Review: Touching Time by B. W. Haggart
fav_author_id: 6216

Post by Acwoolet »

Gone With the Wind is definitely an amazing novel. It is one of my all time favorites, one that I can't put down once I've started it.
User avatar
Bhavna Aburani
Posts: 7
Joined: 20 Mar 2017, 09:36
Currently Reading: Dexter By Design
Bookshelf Size: 32
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bhavna-aburani.html

Post by Bhavna Aburani »

Set in Atlanta, Georgia, this novel talk about American Civil War and reconstruction. It’s a story of peace and war, love and loss, hope and despair. It describes the life in Georgia before war took place and how barbecues, dances, etc. was a part of daily life only to be turned completely around during wartime when they had nothing to eat for days. From having dozens of Negro servants running around for you to do various chores to doing everything yourself including taking care of your plantation. Life after war changed drastically. On one hand they didn’t have enough to feed themselves, while on the other hand taxes were levied so heavily that they could barely save anything. Innocence of youth was lost when a girl who always had servants to look after her shot a yankee thief who came to rob her house just to save scrapes to feed her family for yet another day. This novel also describes the oppressed way blacks were perceived that time. They are often described in a demeaning manner “as creatures of small intelligence”. Not just their masters, but they used to look down upon themselves too. Their life was no better after war. Before war they were servants but still considered part of the family. After war, in their supposed freedom, they just ran astray indulging in criminal activities. They lost their families, their masters, and respect of people in general. As a person who never found interest in history, I was spellbound with this book. It’s truly encapsulating. The story revolves around four characters – Scarlett O’Hara, Rhett Butler, Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton.

Main protagonist of the story, Scarlett O’Hara was a spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who later used every possible means to survive in post war reconstruction era. She showed what a woman could be. She was a perfect example of the fact that this world and people in it are not divided in black and white. We are all just different shades of grey. She was a selfish, yet courageous, charming, yet deceiving woman. But charming though she may be, she was not always willing to conform to the standards of society in her day. She was bold enough to stand up to injustice done to women that time. And when it came to her survival, she did everything she was capable of doing, irrespective of the fact, whether the society she lived in approved of it or not. A line said by Rhett Butler in the book aptly describes her- “You’re so brutal to those who love you Scarlett. You take their love and hold it over their heads like a whip.” She grew from a naïve young girl to a mature woman in book and I loved the way how Mitchell wasn’t in a hurry for her to grow up. She encapsulated her growth in 1200 pages and not once will you feel bored reading those pages. Since teenage, she ran after Ashley Wilkes believing that she loved him. But you can see how much she has grown by the end from this passage “He never really existed at all, except in my imagination. I loved something I made up, something that’s just as dead as Melly is. I made a pretty suit of clothes and fell in love with it. And when Ashley came riding along, so handsome, so different, I put that suit on him and made him wear it whether it fitted him or not. And I wouldn't see what he really was. I kept on loving the pretty clothes and not him at all.”

Melanie Hamilton, on the other hand was an embodiment of an almost perfect woman. She was introduced as a shy and timid character, who later on proved to be a warm, compassionate and strong person. No one could remain untouched from her compassion. She embraced everybody without being judgmental just like the sun shines its rays on everyone equally. She was Ashley’s wife and a kind woman who was unable to turn away anyone who needed help. Despite this sweet nature, she was highly practical and willing to do what must be done to save those she loved.

Ashley Wilkes was a Southern gentleman and Scarlett’s love interest as well as obsession. He was a passive, blond and handsome man. He was well educated but he always remained in his books. He was so caught up in visions of how this world should be that he never really did anything to affect the world as it is. Although admired by both Scarlett and Melanie, he was a weak and coward of a man. He was a representation of the pre war Georgia. He was not willing to change with new era even when he knew that it was the need of hour as is evident from these lines said by him “In the end what will happen will be what has happened whenever a civilization breaks up. The people who have brains and courage come through and the ones who haven’t are winnowed out.” It is also an aspect of human revolution. We live our lives believing we cannot change or that we are fine the way we are and we’ll survive. But human revolution is required to bring out the best in us and to see what we are actually capable of.

Rhett Butler was Scarlett’s third husband and her true soul mate in every sense of the word. He was a black sheep, abandoned by family, rejected by society and a bold rule breaker. When everyone was trying to contribute to war in their own manner, fighting for their country, he was busy making money from the chaos. He believed there were only “two times to make big money, one in the up-building of a country and the other in its destruction.” He always discouraged his fellow countrymen from indulging in war as he knew it was a lost cause. Despite these assertions, he himself went to fight as a soldier for the cause when it was almost lost. He was a loving parent and loved Scarlett’s son from her first marriage even before becoming his stepdad. He was a rebel, just like Scarlett and loved her dearly, though he never allowed her to use this love against him as she was known to do. By the time she finally realized and admitted to him that she loved him, he had lost his only daughter, he was heartbroken and even though he loved her, his response was “My dear, I don’t give a damn.”

What I admired most about Margaret Mitchell’s work was the way she developed her characters. Each of them is so full of life and you find yourself living that book instead of just reading it. She forces you to ask questions whether you are a Scarlett or a Melanie, Ashley or Rhett? You will come to appreciate the characters regardless of whether you would think or act like the same way they do. If there is a theme to this novel, it is survival. What makes two people who undergo similar situation to react differently? It is their spirit to fight. While one person may lose all hope and accept defeat, other one may come out stronger, able, experienced and brave. Only a person who refuses to give up can come out stronger than before after a storm. My take from this book was this same never giving up spirit of Scarlett, unyielding compassion of Melanie and acting wisely at crucial times like Rhett.
User avatar
Elmin87
Posts: 1
Joined: 17 Apr 2017, 09:19
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Elmin87 »

it is very affected
User avatar
godreaujea
Posts: 304
Joined: 20 Oct 2016, 13:37
Currently Reading: Station Eleven
Bookshelf Size: 347
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-godreaujea.html
Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer

Post by godreaujea »

This post is definitely reminding how badly I need to read this! I can't believe I haven't gotten to it yet!!!
User avatar
Jeremie Mondejar
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 2251
Joined: 09 Jun 2017, 19:28
Favorite Author: Still searching
Currently Reading: SandPeople
Bookshelf Size: 1375
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jeremie-mondejar.html
Latest Review: All That I Love by Hina Yu Cao

Post by Jeremie Mondejar »

It sounds an exciting book to read.
Jeremie
Official Reviewer Representative


"Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world."
EDDY OKOTH
Posts: 68
Joined: 20 Jul 2017, 01:15
Currently Reading: My trip to Adele
Bookshelf Size: 13

Post by EDDY OKOTH »

i believe i like the book
User avatar
Mallory Whitaker
Posts: 560
Joined: 14 Jul 2015, 15:16
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 98
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mallory-whitaker.html
Latest Review: Color Me American by Silvia Sama-Lambiv

Post by Mallory Whitaker »

I LOVE this book. Scarlett is one of my favorite heroines. She is so genuinely flawed. As she grows, these flaws don't just disappear either. I hate when characters are supposed to show growth and then basically just become Mary Sues. That can never be said about Scarlett. Nothing the characters do seem forced or out of character. The characters have such rich personalities, strengthened by the setting of the Old South. As a Southerner, I was frequently shamed for not having read the book. I finally did in college and fell in love immediately.
smart24
Posts: 42
Joined: 07 Jul 2017, 06:08
Currently Reading: ROXY
Bookshelf Size: 29
Reading Device: B00I15SB16

Post by smart24 »

'Gone with the Wind', a must read for every one, I love this book, I read is first when I was 15, during high school days. its amazing.
User avatar
MsTri
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1948
Joined: 02 Jul 2017, 12:56
Favorite Author: Miranda Ann Markley
Favorite Book: The Spirit Seeds Book 1
Currently Reading: the Secret of Safe Passage
Bookshelf Size: 1030
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mstri.html
Latest Review: Suddenly Free, Vol. 1 by Yvette Carmon Davis
Reading Device: B07HZHJGY7
fav_author_id: 225682

Post by MsTri »

Dashkova wrote:
caliwagon18 wrote:I think it gives a gentler few of the South in that time. You always hear about how you only hear the winners side when it comes to war. I think this book gives us a glimpse into the side of the loser. It's amazing to read about how a true Southerner felt before, during, and after the war. It makes the plantation owners seem human, and not just like a cruel, heartless, monster.
It definitely does give a gentler view of the South and slavery.....I think it probably shows accurate insight into the romanticized view of slavery and the old South that many southerners have, but I don't think those romanticized views are very historically accurate. I don't think GWTW makes a good textbook on the old South.

Throughout the book the slaves are often referred to as basically 'dumb darkies,' they were beloved by the family but ultimately considered to be creatures of lesser intelligence who needed the whites to take care of them, like pets. Because the O'Haras treated some of their slaves(we don't hear about all of the ones working the fields, only the ones whose roles brought them close to the family) like family, because Gerald 'only had a slave whipped once,' and because John Wilkes was planning to free his slaves after he died anyway, we are supposed to believe that these were not cruel slave masters. I do believe that most people back then did 100% believe that blacks were creatures of lesser intelligence and genuinely thought that they were doing them a favor by keeping them as slaves and such attitudes definitely come through in GWTW. I'm sure that some slave owners were 'kinder' than others and that some slave owners did have slaves that were basically honorary family members, but I don't think that negates the overwhelming brutality that slavery was. https://ds088.k12.sd.us/classes/AmHist/ ... mages3.jpg
While I totally agree with all the points Dashkova makes and wish the whole idea of slavery wasn't romanticized so, I also have to say that this' by far my favorite book and movie EVER, bar none.

In fact, I don't think I'd be the woman I am today, if it were not for Scarlett. I saw the movie first, when I was about 10; I wanted to see it to know what the big deal about the story was, and since I was just starting my own love affair with romance novels, I thought it'd be the thing to see. I sure was not wrong! From the first glimpse of a beautiful sunset backdrop, to Scarlett lying on her stairs in tears, my breath was taken away and I was in love. I cried pitifully when the movie was over, traumatized that Rhett wouldn't give my beloved new heroine another chance. Even after that first viewing, I was convinced that Scarlett did eventually win him back.

Not too long after I saw the movie, I read the book and I have a time or two since then, but unlike the majority of readers, I still prefer the movie; I don't know if it's because I've seen the film so many times or if I'm just not too keen on some things in the book, like Scarlett's other two children, Wade and Ella, who I do not at all miss in the movie.

Regardless, it is from Scarlett that I learned to flirt, and I can still bat my eyes and talk in a teasing voice with the best of them. I also don't think I would have survived my 15+ year marriage to a drug addict, had I not learned about strength and fortitude from Scarlett. Even now, I often find myself saying, "If I have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill, I'll never 'fill in the blank' again, whether it's having my gas turned off or working for a total ass-hat or being domestically abused. It's also from Scarlett that I learned the value of friendship and seeing what's in front of you, as I never want to learn some of the hard lessons that she did.

Add to that her beautiful dresses (even the curtains one) - my GRIEF, I'd love to be able to dress like that for just even a year - and I just can't get enough.

I also read Scarlett and am in the camp of 'It's a good story on its own, but it pales in comparison to GWTW'. I agree that it doesn't have the same "voice" and just doesn't...feel...the same, for lack of a better word. Still, the book is far better than the movie, which I think was totally miscast. While no one could ever replace Vivien and Clark, there certainly could have been better actors than Joanne and Timothy; I personally thought Pierce Brosnan and the former Miniseries queen, Jayne Seymour, would have been divine, though Jayne was too old by the time it was made. I also hope they never remake the movie, as I just don't think anyone could do it justice. The David Selznick movie is the definitive movie, as far as I'm concerned, and it doesn't need to join a long list of failed remakes.

Do I think Scarlett changed? I agree that she stopped wearing her mask and let her true self be known and damn to everybody who didn't like it. I also think that she did realize some important things at the end and while her essence didn't change, her viewpoint on some things did.
User avatar
Brandi Noelle
Posts: 253
Joined: 07 Apr 2017, 00:46
Currently Reading: The Invention of Murder
Bookshelf Size: 71
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-brandi-noelle.html
Latest Review: Marrying a Playboy Billionaire by H M Irwing

Post by Brandi Noelle »

It is such a tragedy that "Gone With the Wind" gets viewed so negatively, as it has recently with the removal of the movie from theaters due to the racial connotation. Yes, it depicts a clear and present racism and hierarchy of the South, however, that is historically accurate and must be illustrated properly to give the novel a basis in realism. History isn't always pretty, but it is still truth and I find that the relationship between Mammy & Scarlett, in particular, is one based on love.
Sebasrodalba
Posts: 17
Joined: 07 Oct 2017, 19:39
Currently Reading: The Expansion
Bookshelf Size: 18

Post by Sebasrodalba »

Agreed!....the way scarlett makes effort so that she and her near ones are not affected by the situation, is amazing
User avatar
dhwanis
Posts: 242
Joined: 08 Jul 2014, 23:53
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 48
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dhwanis.html
Latest Review: Of Zots and Xoodles by Zarqnon the Embarrassed
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by dhwanis »

I particularly liked Gone with the wind. I loved the way the author developed characters and built tensions between them. At various stages, the way the characters interacted with each other, and how it changed as they matured was a delight to read.
User avatar
Olaoluwa Duke
Posts: 1
Joined: 30 Sep 2017, 19:50
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Olaoluwa Duke »

I love the author, he is so articulate in his usage of words
User avatar
Lincolnshirelass
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1509
Joined: 30 Oct 2017, 04:36
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Lincolnshirelass »

My favourite moment is when Scarlett makes a ball-gown out of the curtains, and it's still a compelling read. Admittedly it's hard not to be troubled by some of the language and attitudes, but the fact remains they did exist and to portray everyone as a liberal abolitionist would be equally unacceptable, not to mention totally historically inaccurate. Even a much later and undeniable 'good egg' writer like Laura Ingalls Wilder (who was not a southerner) portrays people dressing as 'darkies'. I don't like it, but to try to edit it out would, I think, in both cases, be wrong.
An Eye for an Eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

Mahatma Gandhi
Post Reply

Return to “Classic Books”