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Margaret Mitchell is a rebellious woman who shares some qualities with Scarlett. She refuses the marriage arranged and makes her first marriage to an idealistic, handsome man. Unfortunately, the marriage is ended within months. After that, Mitchell starts her career as a journalist for the Atlanta Journal.
Margaret Mitchell is considered to be a successful American feminist author. Even during the hard times, Mitchell makes her effort to survive. She lives through terrible disasters many times. And these misfortunes make her become braver and strong-minded. She experiences car accidents more than once and is killed in a car accident in 1949.
1.2 The Main Ideas about Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind describes a story about changes of American South during the time of 1860s. The story takes place in 1861 and ends in 1871. The novel begins in pre-war Georgia where tradition, chivalry thrive. As the Civil War begins, the Atlanta changes a lot. The war causes the breakdown of traditional doctrines and power structures. In the process of struggling for survival, Scarlett becomes a strong-willed and independent woman.
The novel tells a love story. Scarlett is crazy in love with Ashley. Scarlett’s feelings for Ashley drive the novel’s plot. Because of the love for Ashley, Scarlett stands by Melanie and supports the Wilkes family for Ashley’s sake. Unfortunately, Scarlett fails to appreciate the love and support that Rhett lavishes upon her over the years till the end of the novel. This novel indicates that Scarlett is a girl who doest’t know what the true love is till the novel’s end.
The theme in Gone with the Wind is survival. Just because of the war, the traditional ways of life and thinking, old power structure, even love are gone with the wind. People who live through the war become more independent and strong than before. 源/自:751:`论~文'网www.751com.cn
2. Literature Review
After it was published, Gone with the Wind won immense popularity but little critical success. Oxford American Literature Handbook does not mention Gone with the Wind at all. One early appraisals of Gone with the Wind noted its memorable characters and historical accuracy as well as Mitchell’s remarkable story telling ability. (Yang Jingyuan, 1981: 42) Generally speaking, contemporary researches abroad focus on four aspects.
1. Research on the novel’s theme. Henry Steele Commager gives the comprehensive and unique analysis for this novel in the front-page review for the New York Herald Tribune Books (Zhu Chuan, 2011: 5). Compared with other critics, Commager’s advantages are that he is not a literary critic but also a historian. He emphasizes the history as tradition, as epic, as politics and as the study of inpidual historical characters. In the Civil War, the characters suffer changes in all aspects. They are involved in the political, social, military life experience passively and are forced to make some actions.
2. Research on the main character-Scarlett O’Hara. It can be pided into two kinds. First, Scarlett is criticized as a courageous and independent heroine. For instance: For-Genress Elizabeth’s Scarlett O’ Hara: the Southern Lady as New Woman. Second, Scarlett is a woman who is not well-mannered independent completely. For instance: Belle Rosenbaum’s 1937 essay calls Scarlett’s O’ Hara“a harlot”. This essay also reveals Scarlett’s independence. Because she gets money from men by fair means or foul and wants to rely on men and always seeks consolation from her family. (Li Meihua, 2000: 34-37)
3. Research on literary value of the novel. Commager holds that Gone with the Wind has its profound academic values for her successfully description of the characters like Scarlett, her passion to memorize the Old Southern life which creates a romantic atmosphere of this novel and these were highly agreed by other critics. But there are many negative voices after Gone with the Wind was published. Malcolm, Cowley gives harshly criticisms and his views have dominated the mainstream of this novel for 40 years. He depreciates the commercialization of Gone with the Wind. (Zhu Chuan, 2011: 6)