GWTW Summary + Reflection

Gone with the Wind

Summary + Reflection

Summary: 

"Gone with the Wind" is a book and film surrounding the events of the Civil War. The main character is Scarlett O'Hara, who is a young woman, living in the South and in love with a Confederate soldier, Ashley. She is seen surrounded by men who want her hand in marriage, but she flirts around, seeming to try to make Ashley jealous as he is marrying another woman, Melanie. 

Scarlett is again surrounded the next day at a barbecue held at the plantation neighboring hers by her admirers, but grows jealous of Ashley and Melanie; she agrees to marry Charles Hamilton after she confesses her love for Ashley and he turns her down. She also is confronted by another soldier, Rhett, who had heard the entire conversation between her and Ashley and he seems to ridicule her, as well as show interest. 

Scarlett, now married to Charles, finds out that he has died in the war and enters the mourning period. She then travels to Atlanta to stay with Melanie and sees Rhett again, and she dances with him, even though they were being looked down upon by the others. It seems then that she started to feel something for Rhett, but she was still consumed by her love for Ashley and remains confident that she can have him. 

Scarlett volunteers in the hospital as a nurse and tends to injured and dying soldiers; she and Rhett seem to grow closer, and Scarlett has to deliver Melanie and Ashley's baby while everyone else is away, as she promised Ashley that she will take care of Melanie for him. The house slave, Prissy, says that she can deliver babies but grows anxious and draws into herself, leaving Scarlett to take care of Melanie just as she promised. 

The South starts to crumble as the Union grows stronger, and they are forced to flee. On the way back to Scarlett's hometown, Rhett leaves her, giving her his gun and saying that he is joining the army. Scarlett, Prissy, Melanie, and the baby make it back to find out that the town is also in ruins and Scarlett's mother has passed. 

Reflection: 

I think that it's really interesting that both the book and the movie adaptation were telling the story of the Civil War in the perspective of an individual living during that time. I've noticed that a lot of books and media that are historical fiction tell the story through someone who has a bigger role in the specific event, and I really like how "Gone with the Wind" tells a huge moment in history through the eyes of an individual who was impacted but not directly involved. 

I also thought it was really interesting to show the dynamic between Scarlett and Ashley because Scarlett was pining for him throughout the entire first act of the movie; I think it makes her character easier to connect to. She was struggling with her intense love for Ashley and the hurt and jealousy that he was marrying Melanie, which I think that many people can relate to, but she was also struggling with the world as she knew it crumbling around her. 

Something that I think was really surprising was that the writers and directors of the film adaptation (and the book) decided to add a lot of romance into "Gone with the Wind". I think it was a good idea to add the romance aspect because it really shows me how much Scarlett was actually struggling, she was struggling with grief, heartbreak, jealousy, and the feeling of being unsure, which made me connect to her character more as well.