Gone With the Wind | Margaret Mitchell | A timeless, sweeping, epic masterpiece

Gone With the Wind | Margaret Mitchell | 40th Anniversary Edition of a Classic Novel

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Gone With the Wind

	Gone With the Wind Margaret Mitchell Scribner, 1936 - 1048 pages average customer review:based on 649 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Sometimes only remembered for the epic motion picture and "Frankly ... I don't give a damn," Gone with the Wind was initially a compelling and entertaining novel. It was the sweeping story of tangled passions and the rare courage of a group of people in Atlanta during the time of Civil War that brought those cinematic scenes to life. The reason the movie became so popular was the strength of its characters--Scarlett O'Hara, Rhett Butler, and Ashley Wilkes--all created here by the deft hand of Margaret Mitchell, in this, her first novel.

A timeless, sweeping, epic masterpiece

Gone with the Wind is a timeless, sweeping, epic masterpiece of American literature. It is the story of the South right before the Civil War, during the war, and the aftermath when Reconstruction began in the South. It is filled with drama, romance, tragedy, real characters with flaws, and I can see why this book won a Pulitzer Prize and why it continues to be a very popular book decades after it was first published in 1936.

I don't need to go into a synopsis of the book, if anyone hasn't heard of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, I'd be very surprised. If you have only seen the wonderful movie adaptation of the book, but have never read the book, I highly recommend you read the book. The movie doesn't capture the essence of the characters, the entirety of their personalities and motives behind certain actions and behaviors.

I was captivated from the very first page. I can't describe exactly how or why, but Mitchell wrote in such a way that pulls you into the story. Her writing is simple and straightforward, and it touches you in a way that helps you relate to the characters and the world she wrote about. Her writing resonates with you, and keeps you reading. Her writing of the scenery and backdrop of the South, her depictions of the various characters, their motives, their thoughts, their innermost secrets that make them who they are. Mitchell brought this time period to life and causes you, the reader, to empathize with the characters and the struggles and upheaval they go through.

Even though I know this story, how it unfolds and how it concludes, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough until I reached the very end. Scarlett O'Hara isn't the most sympathetic character you'll encounter, but as I gradually read her story, I found myself liking this character and rooting for her happily ever after, although you know she doesn't get that HEA in the end. I actually found the ending appropriate, it fits in with Scarlett's personality of a person who won't quit no matter what. She has seen the worst in life, and she remains stubborn in defeat that she can win back Rhett's love.

Scarlett was a very selfish, manipulative, and cruel young woman, the only person she cared about was herself (with the exception of her mother, Ellen O'Hara, who she revered and respected and was the only woman she trusted). She was a simple person, not easily able to understand more serious and complex issues, which she usually shrugged off in a careless fashion as insignificant and unworthy of her time. She presented a facade of a lady of gentility to the world, all the while seething secretly inside at what she perceived as injustices against her or the unfairness of life if she didn't get her way. She was also willfully stubborn in her unrequited love for childhood friend, Ashley Wilkes, and it was quite sad to see her pine for a man who rejected her even though he did love her but was too cowardly to do anything about it.

Despite her numerous character flaws, Scarlett had some admirable traits, such as her perseverance and flinty determination to survive. There were so many times where she was numb with weariness and feeling desolate at the heavy burden on her shoulders, but she would always put off her morose thoughts and say, "I will think about it later", and mentally force herself to take it one step at a time in order to stay sane and calm in a chaotic world. This was in contrast to her weak sisters who couldn't seem to comprehend that their old lifestyle had vanished forever and that a change was needed within themselves in order to survive. Scarlett, with her unladylike blunt honesty and very practical nature realizes this almost immediately. She was so unlike her tender and kind mother, Ellen, in almost every way except in one. Like her mother before her, she became the mistress of Tara, and in her newfound role she fills her mother's shoes in becoming what her family needed. Someone to look up to and lean upon for aid when needed.

I found Scarlett a contradiction of sorts. She would look upon in contempt or disgust at those who depended on her, yet she would cast such thoughts aside in order to fulfill her duty to them as she couldn't abandon them. For her family because they *were* family and an O'Hara always helped family, and for Melanie, Ashley's wife, because of a promise. On the one hand she was a strong woman, strong in that she was able to survive the devastation of the South and show a courage of spirit in facing adversity and impossibility, but on the other hand, she was weak too. Weak in continuing in her girlhood, idealistic, puppy love for Ashley that blinded her to real, true lasting love with Rhett Butler who was her true soul mate. In some ways she was finally a woman, having the burden of responsibility of her family forcing her to mature, but in other ways, in her relationship with men, she was still a child. Of course, in the latter category she realizes too late what she knew instinctively all along, that Rhett Butler was the man for her and she had just been too immature, stubborn, and childish to see it clearly.

Rhett Butler was the perfect match for fiery Scarlett. He was exactly like her, unscrupulous and looking to number one first (although, he did have his gentlemanly and kind moments beneath the veneer of mockery and sardonic amusement). Unlike Scarlett, he didn't pretend to be what he was not. He was no refined Southern gentleman and he took perverse pleasure in flaunting this in subtle ways. He is basically Scarlett in masculine form, only more intelligent.

Some of my favorite moments of the book were the scenes with Rhett and Scarlett sparring with the other. It was amusing to see Rhett get the upper-hand over Scarlett every time. His witty quips most times went completely over her head, as she wasn't as clever as he, but that made it all the more amusing to see Scarlett finally meet her match in Rhett. I laughed aloud several times as I read Scarlett getting frustrated and upset stating he was no gentleman, only to see him laugh at her and agree with her he wasn't. Other scenes I enjoyed reading was the scenes back at Tara after she fled Atlanta, where you are witness to the transformation of Scarlett the Southern belle to Scarlett the survivor as she toiled in the cotton fields in Tara and tried to put food on the table for her family.

I thought it was quite saddening to read about the delusions people in the South had regarding the war. The characters in Atlanta, such as Mrs. Merriweather or Dr. Meade, with their desperate, futile hope, and optimism that the South would prevail was sad to read about. Defiant to the end, in their naive and stubborn pride they thought the South and "the Cause" they fought for would triumph no matter the cost. It was this hope they clung to even as Atlanta was under siege by the Union army. None would know (or wanted to admit to knowing), except those perceptive enough to see the truth, such as Rhett Butler or Ashley Wilkes, that the way of life the South enjoyed up to the war was dead and gone. An old world that wouldn't come back, even if they had won, as it was forever changed, and like the title of the book gone with the wind. This book was poignantly sorrowful in that regard, you get a brief glimpse into the South portrayed pre-war and then post-war, and you realize it was never to be the same again.

Although this story is told from the perspective of a Southern woman and her story of surviving the war, I think one could say her personal story reflects on a larger scale the entire South's struggles to survive in a new and changed world. The scenes of the ruined and abandoned plantations, with their eerie tomb stillness, was described in very convincing detail, and I found myself with Scarlett mourning the lost world she loved and grew up in.

I could keep on writing about the various aspects of this story that were enjoyable and what I thought, but this review would get very lengthy if I did! Let me say this: the book was wonderful. Just read it! You won't regret it, yes, it is quite a hefty book but this story is so engrossing, compelling, and captivating you won't even notice how long the book is.

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40th Anniversary Edition of a Classic Novel

Gone with the Wind is one of the rare stories that delivers exactly what you wouldn't expect. Nothing about it is predictable, nothing is cliche. The heroine is infintely less of a heroine than ever before - she's Scarlett, the spoiled, selfish Southern daughter of a plantation owner, used to having everything handed to her on a silver platter. During the period of the Civil War, she is forced to grow up and become a woman, but she never loses childish inclinations to selfishness and pettiness.
Enter Rhett Butler, the conceited, vulgar 'Yankee' whom Scarlett despises and yet, is fascinated by. Though he is not quite a hero as Scarlett is not a heroine, he has become one of America's most beloved leading men.
Gone with the Wind is startling in its storyline and realism, and does not gloss over the brutality and harsh outcomings of the Civil War - on both sides.
I purchased my copy of Gone with the Wind at a library. The book had not been used by the library, but donated and then put for sale. I paid $3 for it - in very good condition. It was a 40th Anniversary Edition complete with slipcase. It is positively beautiful, and I could not have gotten a better bargain. Aside from some mild use and wear, and a name written in pencil on the first page, its in perfect condition. An excellent copy - I read it over and over.

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LOVE IT! A MUST read!

GWTW-I discovered it on the shelf of my highschool library & having never heard of it, I decided I would read it. I was completely unprepared for the ride! While we all want to be Melanie, the truth is-we're all a little Scarlett on the inside! I have since read the book many times (and of course own the DVD) and never tire of it. A definite book for gals-you get a glimpse into southern life at the time of the Civil War and experience a love story of enormous preportions. "Fiddle Dee Dee" is our catch phrase around the house! LOVED IT>

An all-time classic!

I read this book as a teenager and have absolutely loved it ever since. The descriptive quality of writing that Margaret Mitchell utilizes brings the story and its characters to life. It gives an good glimpse of the state of affairs in the antebellum and postbellum South.

I've read this on several occasions, and each time I get just as much enjoyment as I did the first! Excellent!

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Gone with the Wind: A tale of the color red

The color red. It usually represents blood or love. However, Margaret Mitchell uses a little bit of both meanings in her description of Scarlett O'Hara, protagonist of Gone with the Wind. Scarlett represents two of the most powerful human emotions: love and hate. Gone with the Wind is truly classic American literature, as it encompasses such strong emotions and redefines the reader's historical understanding.

It is hard to describe the level of feeling one gets from reading this book. Mitchell has loaded her story from cover to cover with strong details that take the reader on an intense voyage of human emotion. The reader can easily become involved in the story through this detail. The feelings Scarlett has for Ashley draw the reader back to his or her childhood. As Scarlett matures throughout the course of the novel, so too does the reader. Love, hate, anger and sorrow are all common emotions everyone experiences, and Mitchell uses her words to draw out these emotions from her readers so that they can truly understand Scarlett's character.

They say that history is always written from the winner's perspective. This novel counters that, as it tells the story of the South from the South's perspective. For example, it provides a new point of view on Sherman's march to the sea, showing the way the Southern cities were affected and the feelings of the people living in them. Because the events are familiar to the reader, they stick out and maintain the reader's interest.

Gone with the Wind is a classic in American literature, and is a touching story of a young woman experiencing life. Her name reflects her various personality traits, and makes for an interesting story. Everyone should read this book, but make sure you have plenty of time, as it is quite a lengthy book. Also, while extremely touching and a fun read, it can be difficult at times due to the broken Southern used as dialogue. Despite these few drawbacks, the novel is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys curling up with a good book and becoming emotionally part of the story. It is a good story that reflects the many aspects found in the color red.

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