My Thoughts on Gone With the Wind

Hey, readers!

Welcome to my thoughts on Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. 

This won't be too detailed, but I need to write a post on something.

Before I start, I want to make it clear that I really do not like this book. I detest it, but so many others love it (for some reason), and as thus you may want to check some other reviews out before you brush this book off as terrible. 

To everyone who likes the book and is offended by this post; I'm sorry, the story just makes me cringe! Cringe, cringe, cringe-y cringe...

I have decided to not go on a rant as to why this book makes me cringe (at least, I don't think I went into too much detail), and instead give the basic plot summary and a few of my thoughts on it.

Warning: Spoilers 

Scarlett O'Hara, our "heroine", is the confederate daughter of a well-off, single father (the mother died). She is madly in love with a frustrating (I find him frustrating, at least) guy named Ashley. When Ashley marries someone else, Scarlett does as well, but she does so in spite. Before this, she throws a tantrum in which we meet the sly, smooth-talking womanizer, Rhett Butler. The rest of the story is basically Scarlett's POV as she goes through life and husbands (they all die {except for Rhett [who she does end up marrying]}), Rhett trying all the while to get her to sleep with him. As already stated, they do eventually get married, but only in the last quarter-or-so of the book. Yet, Scarlett still moons after Ashley, and Rhett still moons after "pleasurable company". The book ends with Rhett's leaving--"My dear, I don't give a damn"--, and Scarlett (who is now madly in love with him) swearing to win him back--"After all, tomorrow is another day".

I do not recommend this book at all, but if you wish to read it, I suggest you be at least twelve. Aside from a decent amount of the story being connected to sensual themes, there's is also a decent amount of swearing, as well as some darker themes, seeing as it takes place during and after the Civil War.

I think that Scarlett is a prideful little brat who I wish would just grow up (I suppose she does at the end of the book, but it's AT THE END OF THE BOOK, like, last chapter). As their marriage draws to an end (in the sequel, which I also read, it is revealed they divorced), I think that Rhett stops seeing other women because he is truly in love, before he stops being in love, because WHY NOT.

The entire story just really gets on my nerves, and... Sigh. I really don't see how someone so unlikable could be so appealing to so many readers. If I knew a Scarlett O'Hara, I'd die--and not in a good way.


Also, the sequel was trash, too. I have not seen the movie and thusly cannot comment on it.

So, have any of you read Gone With the Wind? If so, please leave a comment as to what your opinion of it is.

Thanks for reading!

~Bekah The Bookworm