Gone with the wind

The movie Gone with the Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell, was adapted by Sidney Howard and directed by Victor Fleming. The main character Scarlet O’Hara was acted by Vivien Leigh, the famous Hollywood actress; the man who loved Scarlet Rhett Butler was played by the handsome well-known actor Clark Gable; Ashley Wilkes who was deeply loved by Scarlet till the end of the film was acted by Leslie Howard; Melanie Hamilton, the wife of Ashley, and the Negro Mammy were acted by Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel respectively. Being shown on Dec.15, 1939, this movie won nine rewards in the twelfth Oscar Academy Award including the best actress, the best supporting actress, the best picture, the best director, the best screen play, the best art direction, the best cinematography and the best film editing. It is worth seeing and appreciating again and again to chew the inner meaning of this great work.

This movie was set in the south of American during and after the America Civil War. It mainly showed us the life the people before and after the Civil War in the American south. Grown in a very wealthy family, Scarlet was a very beautiful and wise girl before the Civil War. She knew how to win the affection from the young men in the countryside. In the ball held in Ashley’s house, she exposed her love towards him during the noon break. However, Ashley refused her love even though he loved her because he understood that Scarlet was very anti-traditional and was not the one he expected to spend his rest life. During the ball, almost every gentleman thought that the North American could never defeat the south. Contrary to the mainstream idea, Rhett put forward his thoughts that the south should never belittle the strength of the north. He didn’t want to quarrel with them and left the room then came across Scarlet and fell in love with her even though Scarlet took little attention on him.

When Scarlet knew that Ashley married his cousin Melanie, she could not bear it and accepted the proposal of one man whom she did not liked in order to revenge Ashley. Shortly afterward, the Civil War broke out and many young men in the south took part in the army including Ashley. Meanwhile, her husband was dead and she could not attend the parties organized in the countryside which made her very depressed. During the war, the north army destroyed her family’s farm which was the main source of their life. Her mother was deeply sick and her father almost could not stand the big change brought by the war. She had to move to her aunt’s house and lived with them. There, she still worried Ashley with Melanie although she considered her as a rival in love and she helped to deliver her child.

Several months later, the war almost ended, she began to help the injured soldiers returned from the battle field. With the help of Rhett, she tried to make a balance of her family earning and spending. One day, Ashley came back to Scarlet’s farm which made Scarlet and Melanie very happy. Scarlet was still loved him and confessed her love to him and told him that she can give up everything to live with him when Ashley was doing farm work. However, Ashley refused her again even though he kissed her out of passion unconsciously. Scarlet started to doubt that Ashley may not really love her and married Rhett at last. But she did not love Rhett no matter how deeply Rhett loved her and tried to win her love through thousands of means. No knowing how to win her love, Rhett transferred his love towards Scarlet to the little daughter. Unfortunately, the little girl died in a horse practice and this made Rhett ultimately desperate. He almost mad and locked himself in his room no matter who went to persuade him. Several days later, Melanie became seriously ill and she asked Scarlet to take care of her husband Ashley and told her tried to win back Rhett’s love. But Scarlet still loved Ashley and she wanted to marry him because she thought Melanie was dead. Rhett could not bear her anymore and chose to leave her whatever Scarlet was saying.

Though this movie, we can feel the great change the Civil War brought to the people living in the south. At the beginning of the movie, we can taste the happiness and quietness in the south. People who were wealthy or had a good reputation would frequently attend some grandiose balls or barbecues. They were freely and joyfully showed their love towards their loved ones. The owner of the farm mainly depended on the gain on the farm with the work of black people. Besides, the traditional beliefs were deeply implanted in the mind of the southern people. They did not agree with Scarlet’s undue behaviors towards men and always scorned her behind her backs. They were confident enough when they talked about war against the north and even wanted to fight with Rhett when he said that they should not contempt the northern army.

However, after the war broke out, the previous quietness and confidence were defeated completely. The old farms were pillaged and burned by the northern army with bare field left in the original place; the former bustling street was filled with scatters and residue of the war; the previous ordered and formal systems were damaged because many officials were left. The southern American could no longer show their confidence because of the defeat in the war. Scarlet, who was once an elegant girl in the countryside and could do nothing except for playing and sparing her time with the young men who shared the same status with her, became entirely independent because of the great changes of her surroundings. She helped Melanie delivered her child even though she had never done that before. Besides, she shouldered the responsibilities of making her old farm operate normally by working in the field herself. She even went to do some secret business to make money to pay the tax. Those great changes strike every viewer profoundly and make people think more about the war.

In spite of those great changes, there were still many things remained unchanged—the traditional conceptions. The Civil War was declaring to let the black people free from slavery life. Actually, quite contrary to the announcement, many black people still chose to live in the owner’s house and worked for them. They had won the right vote and live freely in the city in the law, but from the curse of Scarlet’s mammy the audience can feel that the old black people could never accept the new changes. Besides, the traditional southern people would never change themselves with the pace of history. As the representative of the old south, Ashley never gave up his old beliefs and always lived in his dreams. Melanie was the symbol of his dream, so he told Scarlet that he felt very safe when he saw his wife and once Melanie died his dream of old south building suddenly collapsed. We can feel his desperation when he knew that his wife was going to die and no matter what Scarlett had told to him could not cheer him up.

Besides, the protagonists’ love was never changed no matter how hard the time was. Scarlet loved Ashley deeply even though the war had changed everything. She always held her affection towards Ashley although he had refused her several times and waited for him. When she got to know that Ashley was going to marry his cousin, she could not believe her ears and she even violated the civility of a lady to show her love. During the war, she was brave enough to go though many difficulties partly because of her expectation and love for Ashley. On the other hand, Rhett also showed his great love towards Scarlet and he persisted in this love even he knew that Scarlet always loved Ashley. He knew Scarlet always wanted to marry Ashley after he married her and he came across Scarlet confessed her love towards Ashley many times. But he forgave her and showed his great tolerance. His leaving in the end just made Scarlet began to know herself and her true love.