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Gone With The Wind Summary

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In order to understand a literary work, readers often pay attention to the setting of the story as it conveys the fundamental reasons leading to the meaning of the whole story as well as every single detail. “Gone with the wind” happens in prewar Georgia, where pride, politeness and tradition are highly valuable. As the Civil War occurs, the story takes place in Atlanta, where the war brings about remarkable breakdown of old gender roles and power systems. When the war is lost and the slaves are freed, causing high impacts to the Southern way of life, the internal conflict intensifies. White men are afraid of black men. The South shifts significantly during the intervening years, and Mitchell’s masterpiece reflects the struggles of the Southerners …show more content…

We would venture to say “wind” is war. Frankly, Mitchell would say that during the time of Civil war and followed by the Reconstruction, everything is temporary and can be sweep away by meaningless war, or the economy, even poverty. A specific trait of wind is that it is cyclical. It goes around and comes back around without even warning. When the history shifts, everything is changed, including the lifestyles, the roles of men and women in the society, the class structure, and not to mention the individuals themselves. The person and the Southern society before turns into an illusion that people can only dream of but can never get it back. They must adapt to survive with the challenges that lives throw at them. The one who reflects the most changes in society is Scarlett. After the war, her hometown is severely damaged. She spends years hopelessly obsessing with Ashley the gentlemen who is simply not suitable to her. Her obsession with Ashley blurs her mind, makes her incapable of realizing her perfect match. Not until when she appreciates the existence of Rhett Butler – who cares and supports her truly, it became too late. The dream also shows in a massive aspect: the society as a whole. The Southern need to appear more critical and realistic because life will stop for

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