June/July 2019 - Gone With the Wind - Part 1 Discussion (thru 06/12/19)

[Kimberly]

Hi. I’m Kimberly from Michigan. I am a little late here but I am going to start this book tonight. I have never read GWTW before but have seen the movie twice. I look forward to giving this one a try.

[Morgan]

I read this a few years ago when I was in college and enjoyed it. I read it in three months while taking many classes for vet tech school and it's one of my top ten favorite books of all time. While I preferred to read something I haven't already read, I am glad I decided to read it again and I can appreciate it more as an adult. I learn new things that I didn't think about when I read it the first time.

[Danny]

For a book that moves delightfully slow, I had to reread the very end of part one to fully grasp how the events unfolded in Scarlett's life.

[Mary]

Scarlett is growing on me in Part 2. I like how honest she is with herself about her feelings about the war and don't blame her at all for keeping those feelings to herself.

But I still like Melly.

[Jackie]

I have finished Part One and I guess I'm going to try to jump into the conversation here for the first time. A little challenging given the wide range of topics raised so far and the number of comments here. Yikes!

I am surprised by how much I am identifying with Scarlett. I have never enjoyed living up to stereotypes and would not have done well at "acting like a lady." I was shocked that she decided to marry Charles; I cannot understand why she did it at all.

I see that there has been some discussion of slavery in the pre-war South. I'm not sure what good it is to discuss that; we know slavery was bad, but that there are/were a large contingent of Southerners who believed that it was fine for a variety of reasons, particularly because they were treating their slaves well. Obviously it's not okay, because people were being treated as objects, and no one would treat actual friends the way the black people in this book are treated.

I find it interesting that there are so many different versions of people depicted in these first 100 or so pages. There are men who are active and not thinkers, men who are thinkers and not active, and men who buck systems and become social outcasts. There are women who are solely focused on finding a man for marriage and children, women who give themselves up to become wives, women who rule the roost.

This author is obviously skilled at descriptions of people and places. Her dialogue (inner and outer) is provoking and actions are believable. Looking forward to seeing where this is going.

[Tom]

Jacki, Scarlett married Charles to be near Ashley. I am a bit surprised about the slavery issues, but it was legal and therefore only an issue with the Abolitionists, bless them. Tom

[Danny]

Jackie wrote: "I have finished Part One and I guess I'm going to try to jump into the conversation here for the first time. A little challenging given the wide range of topics raised so far and the number of comm..."

I give it up to Margaret Mitchell for laying out the whole social stratification system of the South without putting me to sleep. If there is any bias towards any group of people in her narrative, I am hard-pressed to see any evidence of it. For example, Scarlett questioning the roles of women in society and merely rising above would be too predicable of a narrative. Mitchell sprinkling in her obsession with vanity and her attitudes towards child rearing, and you have a concoction that puts mainstream 1936 America in a frenzy. If you fully accept Scarlet or Ashley or any of the characters, it may require an individual to question a lot about themselves and their firmly held beliefs. I did not expect this book to be so progressive and socially relevant to the issues of today. This book looks like a harlequin novel to someone passing by, but as they say: don't judge a book by its cover.

[La Tonya]

I am in Chapter VI. I am amazed at how much time and effort goes into preparing for a barbecue and a ball especially since this was a regular function throughout the summer. The descriptions of the planations are very detailed and how each one is ran by the owner is subtly woven into the story.

Quote
Scarlett loved Twelve Oaks even more than Tara, for it had a stately beauty, a mellowed dignity that Gerald's house did not possess.

[La Tonya]

Scarlett has meet a man she cannot deceive in Rhett Bultler. Her first male rejection. She is starting to grow up slowly.

There are so many unwritten rules of being a gentlmen and a lady that it is understandable how outsiders do not fit in well even those who had lived in the South for many years.


Quote
Aftrenoon naps were a custom of the country and never were they so necessary as on the all-day parties, beginning early in the morning and culminating in a ball.

[Danny]

La Tonya wrote: "Scarlett has meet a man she cannot deceive in Rhett Bultler. Her first male rejection. She is starting to grow up slowly.

There are so many unwritten rules of being a gentlmen and a lady that it ..."

La Tonya, I have a few Jamaican friends who tell me naps are encouraged in the afternoon back on the island.

[Dianne]

Hello... My name is Dianne (pronounced Deon) and am a Project Manager working for a non-profit. I’m a proud mother and happy grandma with more on the way.

I’m an Air Force brat born in Panama City, Fl. I lived in Ramstein, Germany which was the happiest of my childhood. We moved from Colorado Springs, San Antonio, Wichita, Illinois, California, Oklahoma where I landed for 30 years, married and raised a family. Empty Nest found me in Sacramento, California for 16 years. My daughter started her family and wanted me local, so I’m in my 3rd Texas summer and missing The California life. But, granddaughters are the best so here is where I’ll stay.

I read more than watch TV but do go to movies at least once a week. I live with my 2 dogs and am 10 minutes from my daughter. My California job has allowed me to keep my job and work from home. Life is good and I’m sure I’ll enjoy this group.

[Danny]

Dianne wrote: "Hello... My name is Dianne (pronounced Deon) and am a Project Manager working for a non-profit. I’m a proud mother and happy grandma with more on the way.

I’m an Air Force brat born in Panama City..."

You seem like a very happy, settled person. I hope you enjoy the group as much as I do. I live in the state where it all started for you but on the east side.

[Olive]

Angela wrote: "it is a book which grips you and its just one you can not put down. I have history with this book. My grandmother was Margaret Mitchell's bFF. My grandfather was a journalist at the same newspaper ..."

Wow! That's so cool to have a connection like that.

[Angela]

I heard so many stories about the book growing up. Although they were all second hand since both my Caudill Grandparents passed before I was 2.

[Tom]

Angela: what a cool connection! Tom

[Tom]

The home used in the film as the twelve oaks plantation is up for sale online on July 4th. The starting bid: $1 million. It was renovated in 2017 and is currently a B&B. Couldn’t copy the link here but check it out online. Tom

[Danny]

Tom wrote: "The home used in the film as the twelve oaks plantation is up for sale online on July 4th. The starting bid: $1 million. It was renovated in 2017 and is currently a B&B. Couldn’t copy the link here..."

I think the whole OBNW group should get a complimentary night stay at the "Twelve Oaks" bed and breakfast for hosting such a massive international group read 😂

[Paul]

Daniel had a great idea! The overnight stay would be a well earned reward.

[Tom]

Daniel: good idea! Here’s an article from history.com. Had to copy it since we can’t seem to post internet addresses:

Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, one of the best-selling novels of all time and the basis for a blockbuster 1939 movie, was published on this day in 1936 — 83 years ago.

In 1926, Mitchell was forced to quit her job as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal to recover from a series of physical injuries. With too much time on her hands, she soon grew restless.

Working on a Remington typewriter — a gift from her second husband, John R. Marsh — in their cramped one-bedroom apartment, Mitchell began telling the story of an Atlanta belle named Pansy O'Hara.

In tracing Pansy's tumultuous life from the antebellum South through the Civil War and into the Reconstruction era, Mitchell drew on the tales she had heard from her parents and other relatives, as well as from Confederate war veterans she had met as a young girl. While she was extremely secretive about her work, Mitchell eventually gave the manuscript to Harold Latham, an editor from New York's MacMillan Publishing.

Latham encouraged Mitchell to complete the novel, with one important change: the heroine's name. Mitchell agreed to change it to Scarlett, now one of the most memorable names in the history of literature.

Published in 1936, Gone with the Wind caused a sensation in Atlanta and went on to sell millions of copies in the United States and throughout the world. While the book drew some criticism for its romanticized view of the Old South and its slaveholding elite, its epic tale of war, passion and loss captivated readers far and wide.

By the time Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937, a movie project was already in the works. The film was produced by Hollywood giant David O. Selznick, who paid Mitchell a record-high $50,000 for the film rights to her book.

After testing hundreds of unknowns and big-name stars to play Scarlett, Selznick hired the British actress, Vivien Leigh, only days after filming began. Clark Gable was also on board as Rhett Butler, Scarlett's dashing love interest.

Plagued with problems on set, Gone with the Wind nonetheless became one of the highest-grossing and most acclaimed movies of all time, breaking box office records and winning nine Academy Awards out of 13 nominations. Though she didn't take part in the film adaptation of her book, Mitchell did attend its star-studded premiere in December, 1939 in Atlanta.

She died just 10 years later, after she was struck by a speeding car while crossing Atlanta's Peachtree Street.

Thanks History.com

[Tom]

All our names are truncated. We can’t seem to respond to individual emails. Is this correct?

[Sylvia]

Tom wrote: "All our names are truncated. We can’t seem to respond to individual emails. Is this correct?"

No, you can click on their names and that will take you to the profile. From there, you can send a personal message.

[La Tonya]

Tom wrote: "Daniel: good idea! Here’s an article from history.com. Had to copy it since we can’t seem to post internet addresses:

Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, one of the best-selling novels of all ..."

Thank You, Tom. Excellent information. Enjoy Reading, 📚

[Tom]

Today, June 30th: Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, one of the best-selling novels of all time and the basis for a blockbuster 1939 movie, is published on this day in 1936. History.com

[Olive]

Angela wrote: "I heard so many stories about the book growing up. Although they were all second hand since both my Caudill Grandparents passed before I was 2."

Angela, please share with us a story that we would not have heard before!

Also, I am loving the history I am learning here. I am not American so I am learning a lot of things for the first time about this period of American history.

I am behind on the book reading so I can only view part 1's discussion for now, but I am really enjoying the book so far. I think Scarlett is set up quite nicely for a character arc by the end of the first part.

[Sylvia]

Welcome Olive! The discussions are broken up by parts, so everyone can read at his/her own pace. It’s a great story and extremely well-written.

Where are you from?

[Angela]

Olive wrote: "Angela wrote: "I heard so many stories about the book growing up. Although they were all second hand since both my Caudill Grandparents passed before I was 2."

Angela, please share with us a story..."
did you know that the first chapter Mrs March wrote was the last one. and she wrote more than one version per chapter sometimes 3 -4 and each chapter was in a manilla envelope. Scarlett was originally Pansy O'Hara. She also made sure that not one character's name was actually a person who lived in Atlanta. She kept the whole story secret even from her friends. They all knew she was writing a story but noone read it for 10 years

[Sally]

I finally got my copy from the library and am starting to read it today.!! It has been 20 years since I read this novel, but I loved it the first couple times I read it. I did help my son write a report on it five years ago, but it has been a long time since I just read it from start to end. I am excited to see if my views have changed.

[La Tonya]

Sally wrote: "I finally got my copy from the library and am starting to read it today.!! It has been 20 years since I read this novel, but I loved it the first couple times I read it. I did help my son write a r..."

Enjoy Reading, 📚