|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
02-26-2010, 02:15 PM | #31 |
Bah, humbug!
Posts: 39,073
Karma: 157049943
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.
|
Although the two characters are nothing alike, when I think of Scarlett's strength, I am reminded of another strong female character, Erle Stanley Gardner's Della Street from the Perry Mason books. I remember one scene in particular (although the book's title escapes me) where Perry and Della walk straight up to a door guarded by a ferocious dog. Because neither Perry nor Della showed fear, and because they boldly walked past the canine caretaker as if they owned the place, the dog accepted their alpha status did not molest them.
I'd be afraid to test how well that would work outside of novels, but I do remember that the pit bull we once owned got loose one day and ran up behind a woman who was walking down the street and began to bark. The woman spun around and pointed her finger in his face. I was too far away to have any idea of what she said, but Cain's response was clear. He shut his mouth, tucked in his tail, and plainly said in doggie-body language, "Yes ma'am. Sorry, ma'am. Won't happen again, ma'am." Then again, Cain always was all bark and no bite ... fortunately! |
02-27-2010, 08:11 AM | #32 | |
Member
Posts: 16
Karma: 10
Join Date: Feb 2010
Device: Sony Book Reader PRS-300
|
Quote:
I want the North to come in and wipe these people out, which obviously isn't the author's intended reader response. I'm finding Mitchell's attitudes on race and class sort of repulsive but the novel's entertaining and readable enough I'll keep going and also because if I commit to reading a 1000 page novel, then I'm gonna do what I can to finish it. |
|
02-27-2010, 08:21 AM | #33 | ||
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
02-27-2010, 08:31 AM | #34 | |
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
Quote:
|
|
02-27-2010, 09:24 AM | #35 | ||
Bah, humbug!
Posts: 39,073
Karma: 157049943
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.
|
Quote:
Quote:
Life under the slavery system life was uncertain and a slave's power of choice was extremely limited. As a slave, you had to please the master if you didn't want to end up being sold off and separated from your family and loved ones. Even under the best of masters, your life could be devastated by a downturn in your master's fortunes that forced unpleasant financial decisions upon them. That being said, many slaveholders seemed to hold paternalistic attitudes toward their slaves and believed, or at least sold themselves on the belief that slavery was best of all possible worlds for blacks as well as whites. Human beings have always been adept at rationalizations, and I don't wish to judge too harshly those in whose shoes I've never walked. As for the institution of slavery, that's another thing altogether, and I have no reservations about labeling it with a blanket condemnation. I believe our third president—himself a slaveholder—had it right when he said, "The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting depotism on the one part, and degrading submission on the other...." Further words on that topic (from that same document) seemed absolutely prophetic: "Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever." — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), “Notes on the State of Virginia” (1781-1785). Last edited by WT Sharpe; 02-27-2010 at 10:05 AM. |
||
02-27-2010, 08:50 PM | #36 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,259
Karma: 175640
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Brisbane Australia
Device: Sony PRS-600
|
Quote:
|
|
02-27-2010, 10:41 PM | #37 |
Bah, humbug!
Posts: 39,073
Karma: 157049943
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.
|
I can understand how people can be put off by the politics of Gone With the Wind, but in my humble opinion the storytelling is excellent and the characters are as fully drawn and interesting. I guess I'll just have to file this under everyone has different tastes; but for the life of me, I don't see how anyone can not be drawn into this story.
Last edited by WT Sharpe; 02-27-2010 at 10:46 PM. |
02-28-2010, 08:20 AM | #38 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,259
Karma: 175640
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Brisbane Australia
Device: Sony PRS-600
|
Quote:
|
|
02-28-2010, 09:44 AM | #39 | |
Member
Posts: 16
Karma: 10
Join Date: Feb 2010
Device: Sony Book Reader PRS-300
|
Quote:
|
|
02-28-2010, 11:56 AM | #40 | |
Wizard
Posts: 4,395
Karma: 1358132
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: UK
Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3
|
Quote:
What particularly surprised me was how funny parts of the first third of the book were. Scarlett's self-centredness provided a rich vein for humour. Now you mention him I think, in encompassing practically the whole range of human emotions and experiences against an epic backdrop, Mitchell achieved something Dickens himself would have been proud of. |
|
02-28-2010, 02:10 PM | #41 |
Bah, humbug!
Posts: 39,073
Karma: 157049943
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.
|
One thing I find redeeming about Scarlet is that when the chips were down, she could be depended upon. It took a lot of courage to stick with Melanie when she was having her baby as the Yankees were ravaging the town. It would have been so much easier to flee with the rest of the people, but she stayed there in the midst of intense danger. It could be said that her motives weren't pure--that she was only doing it for her love of Melanie's husband Ashley--but the fact remains that she stayed by her at great risk to her own life.
Likewise, all those folks at Tara and elsewhere who depended on her for financial support could always count on her to come through. She never let them down. Yes, she was self-centered, vain, and self-serving, and what she said to Rhett after Bonnie's death was unforgivable; but she also had some admirable qualities, and possessed a great deal of inner strength. Last edited by WT Sharpe; 03-03-2010 at 02:14 PM. |
03-01-2010, 04:23 AM | #42 |
Wizard
Posts: 4,395
Karma: 1358132
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: UK
Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3
|
|
03-01-2010, 07:34 AM | #43 | |
Bah, humbug!
Posts: 39,073
Karma: 157049943
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.
|
Quote:
All I was trying to show was that she was a complicated character. Like Rhett, she had major character flaws, but she wasn't all bad. Speaking of Rhett Butler, I think the best thing about him was his love for his daughter Bonnie. Certainly a daughter could ask for no better parent than he was to her. The other thing I liked about Rhett was his radical honesty. He always called it like he saw it and let the chips fall where they may. The worst thing about Rhett Butler? War profiteering and killing a newly freed slave for no greater offense than being "uppity" to a white woman. Mr. Butler could be very inhumane. Best Rhett Butler line? If not “My dear, I don’t give a damn,” then certainly it was "That's your misfortune," after Scarlet finally declared her love for him. Ouch! I could feel that from my house! |
|
03-01-2010, 07:46 AM | #44 | |
Wizard
Posts: 4,395
Karma: 1358132
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: UK
Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3
|
Quote:
Melanie's second pregnancy is a bit of a puzzle to me; I struggle to believe Ashley would have got her pregnant, or that Melanie would have risked leaving Beau motherless. Last edited by Sparrow; 03-01-2010 at 07:49 AM. |
|
03-01-2010, 08:08 AM | #45 | |
Bah, humbug!
Posts: 39,073
Karma: 157049943
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.
|
Quote:
Last edited by WT Sharpe; 03-01-2010 at 10:14 AM. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
MobileRead Discussion: The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster (spoilers) | pilotbob | Book Clubs | 66 | 04-02-2014 03:19 PM |
MobileRead Discussion Thread: The Hound of the Baskervilles (spoilers) | pilotbob | Book Clubs | 45 | 10-28-2013 01:50 AM |
MobileRead Discussion Thread: The Time Traders (spoilers) | pilotbob | Book Clubs | 32 | 02-24-2009 03:44 AM |
Brisingr/Inheritance discussion (spoilers) | nekokami | Reading Recommendations | 6 | 01-15-2009 10:22 AM |
Mitchell, Margaret: Gone With the Wind. v1. 9 May 07 | HarryT | BBeB/LRF Books | 8 | 05-12-2007 09:54 AM |