Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind is possibly the most celebrated and highly acclaimed novel in existence. With over 20 million copies sold, Margaret Mitchell's iconic classic has become the inspiration behind movies, books, music and even comedy sketches. Although the novel has an upwards length of nearly a thousand pages, the story is intriguing as Mitchell conveys a riveting tale of desperation, deception and determination.

In 1861, Scarlett O'Hara is the epitome of the term "Southern Belle". Beautiful and demure, many of Georgia's leading gentlemen covet the illustrious daughter of Gerald O'Hara. Despite her numerous and venerable beau, Scarlett is in love with Ashley Wilkes; a man set to be married in mere weeks. With the devastating announcement of Ashley's engagement Scarlett rashly attempts to make Ashley jealous by marrying his brother in-law, Charles Hamilton. Before Scarlett can fully comprehend the consequences of her actions, Ashley and Charles are dispatched to fight in the war. Measles take the life of Charles barely two months after their departure, leaving Scarlett a widow and mother at the sheer age of seventeen. Although she never truly loved Charles, Scarlett falls into a state of despair as she realizes her new status as a widow forfeits any opportunity she had at being belle of the county again. Fearful of her depression, Mrs. O'Hara sends Scarlett to Atlanta where she quickly become acquainted with the dark and mischievous blockade-runner, Rhett Butler. Rhett forces Scarlett out of mourning and promptly helps her to rediscover the life she led before her marriage. As the Civil War rages on around Atlanta, the union becomes dreadfully close to the city limits and Atlanta begins to burn. Scarlett must gather the strength she never knew she possessed to continually save the people and places she loves.

I felt that one of the most interesting aspects of the novel was the character of Scarlett O'Hara. I found myself constantly struggling to decide whether I enjoyed her spunk and spirit, or if she annoyed me. I admire her development from naive and frivolous girl into a strong and determined woman, however, her constant struggle for control and manipulation grew tedious. I advocated her decisions, yet felt her methods were imprudent. Nearly the entire books was comprised of Scarlett's hasty and unreasonable decisions. Although I found her annoying at times, Scarlett was an extremely entertaining protagonist to follow and her strong-willed nature made for interesting reading material.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mitchell's writing style as well. One of the exceptionally interesting facts I learned about the writing of Gone with the Wind, was that Margaret Mitchell was suffering from an ankle injury and began writing the novel as a way to occupy her time. It is quite evident that Mitchell spent many hours on the lengthy classic, as it was not officially completed until nearly a decade after she began writing. Her time was well worth it though, as the novel induces a feeling of personal attachment to the characters and the plantation. During one section of the novel, a union soldier ventures onto Tara in the hopes of obtaining jewels and valuables. The combination of Scarlett's anger and protective nature drives her to extremities as she quickly kills the soldier and destroys all evidence. I found myself nearly as infuriated as Scarlett was at the idea that someone would even consider touching Tara's "red earth".

I felt that Gone with the Wind was an incredibly unique novel. Based on the length and its establishment as a "classic", I was skeptical of how interesting the novel might be. Often times, the Civil War can be an extremely dry subject and I was worried that the book would become just another war story. The balance between the fighting, romance, and character development was astounding however, and provided a different aspect of interest for everyone. Gone with the Wind is by far my favorite novel of all time, and I would definitely recommend it to anybody in search of a great read.