Margaret Mitchell: Gone With The Wind

[rishaj!]

I was surprised that i couldn't find a thread on this!!

Gone with the Wind, published on June 30, 1936, is a romantic novel and the only novel written by Margaret Mitchell. The story is set in Jonesboro and Atlanta, Georgia during the American Civil War and Reconstruction and follows the life of Scarlett O'Hara, the daughter of an Irish immigrant plantation owner.

The novel won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning 1939 film of the same name. The book was also adapted during the 1970s into a stage musical Scarlett; there is also a 2008 new musical stage adaptation in London's West End titled Gone With The Wind. It is the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime. It took her seven years to write the book and a further eight months to check the thousands of historical and social references. The novel is one of the most popular books of all time, selling more than 30 million copies. Over the years, the novel has also been analyzed for its symbolism and treatment of mythological archetypes.

The epic tale of a woman's life during one of the most tumultuous periods in America's history. From her young, innocent days on a feudalistic plantation to the war-torn streets of Atlanta; from her first love whom she has always desired to three husbands; from the utmost luxury to absolute starvation and poverty; from her innocence to her understanding and comprehension of life.

Tell me what you think about the novel and whether or not you think that a sequel should have been written.

Thanks!

[lionel]

Originally Posted by rishaj!

I was surprised that i couldn't find a thread on this!!

My, my, and now that pesky liddle bou'uk's gan an gotten its own threi'ud. Well, let's faice it, the Sowth wuz catton cuntree, so there show'er should be threids gal'ore!

Originally Posted by rishaj!

Gone with the Wind, published on June 30, 1936, is a romantic novel and the only novel written by Margaret Mitchell. The story is set in Jonesboro and Atlanta, Georgia during the American Civil War and Reconstruction and follows the life of Scarlett O'Hara, the daughter of an Irish immigrant plantation owner.

Yes indeed.

Originally Posted by rishaj!

The novel won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning 1939 film of the same name.

Lanssakes! Sure, ma'am, but thet wuz a fill'um, en thuh bou'uk waz nat the saime.

Originally Posted by rishaj!

Tell me what you think about the novel and whether or not you think that a sequel should have been written.

Get to Jonesboro an y'all might ged a cappy've Alice Randall's The Wind Done Gone. Grey'ut seein y'all.

Bah fer nah.

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[rishaj!]

LOVE your grammar

[lionel]

Originally Posted by rishaj!

LOVE your grammar

Thanks, but I seem to have frightened everyone else off! This was recently voted one of the most underrated Southern novels of all time, and the reason is obvious: the film has taken all the credit. The film plays down the racist elements in the book, and is in general a much slicker product. But there's a lot in the book about gender constructs.

I wouldn't recommend anyone go to her house in Atlanta, as it's a huge disappointment: general opinion and photos here. Jonesboro, the original Tara where Mitchell's grandparents lived, is much better, and if my memory serves me right, they have two copies of the sequel on exhibit - one official, one not. Jonesboro, too, is here. Oh, it's time I was not here.

[rishaj!]

Originally Posted by lionel

Thanks, but I seem to have frightened everyone else off! This was recently voted one of the most underrated Southern novels of all time, and the reason is obvious: the film has taken all the credit. The film plays down the racist elements in the book, and is in general a much slicker product. But there's a lot in the book about gender constructs.

I wouldn't recommend anyone go to her house in Atlanta, as it's a huge disappointment: general opinion and photos here. Jonesboro, the original Tara where Mitchell's grandparents lived, is much better, and if my memory serves me right, they have two copies of the sequel on exhibit - one official, one not. Jonesboro, too, is here. Oh, it's time I was not here.

LOL
i agree that the novel is absolutely amazing but i dont know about the movie. but what you say makes me wanna watch. although some of my friends said the same that the movie couldn't match up to the book.

But whatever everyone else says, you gotta love the book and what it teaches...

[titania7]

Mmm. . .I haven't ever read the book, but the film has always been a favorite of mine. Vivien Leigh is my favorite actress, and even though I prefer at least two of her others films to this one, Vivien does make a marvelous, feisty, and unforgettable Scarlett O'Hara!

Best,
Alexis

"Some commensense streak in me kept me from having my head turned, made me understand how easy it would be to slip, unless I compensated for my lack of experience by hard work. I struggled far more to keep at the top than to get there." ~Vivien Leigh~

[Liam]

Originally Posted by rishaj!

I was surprised that i couldn't find a thread on this!!

Indeed.

Forever Amber should be next, I think--





Don't worry people, I love the movie, too--if only for the "I don't give a damn" scene.



Cheers,
L.

[titania7]

Liam,
I would scarcely "worry" about whether you like the movie or not. It's all the same to me.

As for my favorite part of the film, it's when Scarlett O'Hara calls Rhett Butler a filthy varmint. I love it when women tell men what they really think about them!

~Alexis

"The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them." ~Queen Victoria~

[lionel]

Originally Posted by rishaj!

LOL
i agree that the novel is absolutely amazing but i dont know about the movie. but what you say makes me wanna watch. although some of my friends said the same that the movie couldn't match up to the book.

I think a lot depends on what your interest is. If it's for an educational project of some kind, then watching the film might interfere with your understanding of the book, so I'd say avoid the film. There are differences, and books and films are two separate things after all.

As a minor example, take the words at the end of the film: 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'. The film censors, because the film makers insisted on using the word 'damn', only let it through if a fine was paid, and if the word emphasized was 'give' rather than 'damn'. In the book, the sentence is slightly different: 'My dear, I don't give a damn.' This may seem of no significance, but the absence of 'Frankly' hardens the impact of the sentence, as does the emphasis on 'damn' which the reader will certainly perceive.

But both sentences strongly express finality. Doesn't that make a comment on a possible sequel?

[Manuel76]

Originally Posted by lionel

In the book, the sentence is slightly different: 'My dear, I don't give a damn.' This may seem of no significance, but the absence of 'Frankly' hardens the impact of the sentence, as does the emphasis on 'damn' which the reader will certainly perceive.

I like that 'Frankly', without it the sentence seems more bitter but for that reason less hard too. I mean that the Frankly seems more humorous, and so his awakening from all dreams of a life with Scarlett much more definite. In the film the impact is precisely that lack of resentment, that humorous final good bye.

I haven't read the book, I love the film.

[rishaj!]

No I'm not doing this for educational purposes...its because I loved the book.
And what i loved most about it was the way Scarlett never really gave a 'damn' about anything and did exactly what she felt like doing. it was the main reason i LOVED her character even if it became a little callous sometimes.

and oh yeah, one of my favourite parts of the novel is when Scarlett answers Rhett's proposal that she should become his mistress. i think she says something like: 'what would I get out of that except a passel of bastards?" I lol on that one

but what i love most about her is that she almost NEVER gives up! she has an incredibaly strong will to survive

[rishaj!]

Also, another thing that interested me was how Scarlett's opinion of melanie changed completely after her death. what do y'all think??

[rishaj!]

Originally Posted by Manuel76

haven't read the book, I love the film.

you should read the book, it really is amazing!

[Mirabell]

Originally Posted by lionel

As a minor example, take the words at the end of the film: 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'. The film censors, because the film makers insisted on using the word 'damn', only let it through if a fine was paid, and if the word emphasized was 'give' rather than 'damn'. In the book, the sentence is slightly different: 'My dear, I don't give a damn.' This may seem of no significance, but the absence of 'Frankly' hardens the impact of the sentence, as does the emphasis on 'damn' which the reader will certainly perceive.

[lionel]

Originally Posted by Mirabell

Play it again, Sam.
All that glitters is not gold.
There's method in his madness.
Etc, etc.

No, indeed, no one'll notice. 'Misquotations' would make a good thread, though.

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