Gone With The Wind Literary Analysis: Gone With The Wind

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Hoanganh Taylor Nguyen Mr. Stephenson AP U.S. History, Period 6 31 May 2016 Gone With the Wind Gone With the Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell, inaccurately portrays time period during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction Era (1865-1877). Set in Clayton County, Georgia and Atlanta, Mitchell falsely depicts the rise of the feminism through Scarlett O’Hara, for it did not exist at the time. In addition, although she accurately maintains the historical background of the novel by providing details about the war and important figures, the portrayals of several key characters in comparison to those who lived in the actual time period are not realistic. Overall, especially because the novel is written in a biased point of view of …show more content…

This affirms that traditional gender roles in the household are commonly enforced. Scarlett O’Hara, the daughter of an aristocratic family, is praised for her manners, charm, and her “seventeen-inch waist, the smallest in three counties” (Mitchell 5), and primarily focuses on finding the perfect suitor. In Women in the Civil War, it is also asserted that before the war, women “devoted their lives to creating a clean, comfortable, nurturing home for their husbands and children” (History.com Staff). This exemplifies how greatly the women valued the notion of creating an ideal Southern family. However, when Georgia declared secession from the Union to join the Confederacy, Scarlett begins to slowly break away from the traditional customs that are expected of her. When she hears about Ashley’s marriage with his cousin, she confesses her love to him only to be turned down. She behaves in an unladylike manner, notably when she lost her temper and slaps Wilkes in the face, which marks the beginning of her breakaway from conventional expectations. Scarlett soon accepts a proposal from Charles Hamilton to seek revenge on Ashley and Honey, continuing her acts of defiance against long-established traditions. As the conflict progressed, the South “was

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