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'''''Gone with the Wind''''' is a novel portraying life in the southern [[United States]], during the [[Civil War]] and [[Reconstruction]], written by [[Margaret Mitchell]], and originally published in 1936.  The 1000 page runaway best-seller tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a young woman on a Georgia plantation who tries to keep control of her land and find love while facing war, defeat and poverty.

'''''Gone with the Wind''''' is a novel portraying life in the southern [[United States]], during the [[Civil War]] and [[Reconstruction]], written by [[Margaret Mitchell]], and originally published in 1936.  The 1000 page runaway best-seller tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a young woman on a Georgia plantation who tries to keep control of her land and find love while facing war, defeat and poverty.  It remains a classic in the history of film, and the history of the self identity of [[The South]].

[[File:Gwtw2.jpg|thumb|400px]]

[[File:Gwtw2.jpg|thumb|400px]]

The story is intensely anti-war, showing how hot-heads (repeatedly ridiculed by Rhett Butler) take the highly prosperous South into a needless war and destroy their whole way of life.   

The story is intensely anti-war, showing how hot-heads (repeatedly ridiculed by Rhett Butler) take the highly prosperous South into a needless war and destroy their whole way of life.   

None of the characters is profoundly changed by the war, except for Scarlett.  She moves from the frivolous lover of leisure to a Yankee-like shred, hard-driving business leader. It takes a very hard-headed Scarlett to whip the underperforming traditionalistic menfolk into shape to deal with the modern postwar economy.<ref> Scarlett's transformation is exactly what they Yankees had planned for the Southern white men during Reconstruction. See C. Vann Woodward, "The Southern Ethic in a Puritan World," ''William and Mary Quarterly,'' Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul., 1968), pp. 344-370 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1921772 in JSTOR]</ref>  Rhett, although Southern-born is a war profiteer who is hated by the men because he resembles a mercenary money-grubbing Yankee. Only prostitutes like him. At first Scarlett finds the war merely tiresome as the foolish young men rush out to get killed, spoiling her parties. Scarlett only loves Ashley; she can't have him so she marries a series of men for the money to save Tara. That motivation marks her transformation. As the the first female capitalist of the New South, she resists Rhett's overtures even after marriage showing her choice of money and power over sex and romantic love. In Shakespearian terms, she is a shrew who will not be tamed.   

None of the characters is profoundly changed by the war, except for Scarlett.  She moves from the frivolous lover of leisure to a Yankee-like shred, hard-driving business leader. It takes a very hard-headed Scarlett to whip the underperforming traditionalistic menfolk into shape to deal with the modern postwar economy.<ref> Scarlett's transformation is exactly what they Yankees had planned for the Southern white men during Reconstruction. See C. Vann Woodward, "The Southern Ethic in a Puritan World," ''William and Mary Quarterly,'' Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul., 1968), pp. 344-370 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1921772 in JSTOR]</ref>  Rhett, although Southern-born is a war profiteer who is hated by the men because he resembles a mercenary money-grubbing Yankee. Only prostitutes like him. At first Scarlett finds the war merely tiresome as the foolish young men rush out to get killed, spoiling her parties. Scarlett only loves Ashley; she can't have him so she marries a series of men for the money to save Tara, her home. That motivation marks her transformation. As the the first female capitalist of the New South, she resists Rhett's overtures even after marriage showing her choice of money and power over sex and romantic love. In Shakespearian terms, she is a shrew who will not be tamed.   

Gable gave the best, most expressive acting of his career. De Havilland provided the movie with a moral center, and Leigh gave one of the most electrifying performances in the history of film.  

Gable gave the best, most expressive acting of his career. De Havilland provided the movie with a moral center, and Leigh gave one of the most electrifying performances in the history of film.  

Several authors have tried to write sequels, but none works well.

Several authors have tried to write sequels, but none works well.

[[File:GWTW1939.jpg|thumb|300px|Victor Fleming (seated second from right) with Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable on the set of “Gone with the Wind,” in 1939, the year he also made “The Wizard of Oz.”]]

[[File:GWTW1939.jpg|thumb|300px|Director Victor Fleming (seated second from right) with Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable on the set of "Gone with the Wind," in 1939, the year he also directed  "The Wizard of Oz."]]

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

[[Category:American Civil War]]

[[Category:American Civil War]]

[[Category:Reconstruction]]

[[Category:Reconstruction]]