飘英文读书报告

学生姓名：陈忠华

学号：09121215

指导教师：王军

日期：2012.6

Book Report of Gone With the Wind Background of the novel

Gone with the Wind is written by Margret Mitchell. Margaret Mitchell was an American author who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for her novel Gone with the Wind and she only wrote this one book in her entire life. Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Eugene Mitchell, a lawyer, and Mary Isabelle. Her childhood was spent in the laps of Civil War veterans and of her maternal relatives, who had lived through the Civil War. I think the experience like this made her write the book Gone with the Wind finally.

Gone with the wind is often considerded as the most popular, enduring and moving work not only of that time but of all time. Sidney Howard‟s script was derived from Margaret Mitchell‟s first and only published, best-selling Civia War and Reconstruction Period novel of 1.037 pages that first appeared in 1936, but was mostly written Mitchell‟s novel in July, 1939 for $ 50,000- a record amount at the time to an unknown author for her first novel, causing some to label the film “Selznick‟s Folly”. At the time of the film‟s release, the fictional book had sold more than 1.5 million copies. When the novel was filmed and aired on television, more records were set in two parts in late 1976, and controversy arose when it was restored and released theatrically in 1998.

Gone with the Wind is one of the most famous romantic novels. The novel is set in the time of the American Civil War, from 1861 to 1865 when the Southern plantation owners fought against the northern Yankees for the right to own slaves. When the Southern plantation lost the war, they suffered from great losses of life in the process, and the romantic plantation life depicted in the early chapters of the novel is utterly destroyed.

Summary of the novel

Scarlett is a stubborn, headstrong and worldly lady, whose extraordinary beauty attractes lots of people and almost every young guys liked her very much and wanted to marry her. She lived in a wealthy manor home. Her mother has french family in the blood, asked her to abide by all feminist tradition. Her father was an outbreak of Irish immigrants, and he wanted her to close to any one of the rich young men and get married to one of them. In the beginning of the book, one cannot like Scarlett deeply because her beauty. However, Scarlett was attracted by Ashley Wilkes—who behaved gently to others and won a great reputation at the region they lived in. Scarlett thought Ashley liked her, but unfortunately in the party, he told people the message that he wanted to marry

to his cousin—Melanie Hamilton, which made Scarlett felt very sad and heartbroken. Scarlett wanted to ask Ashley whether he love her or not. When she knowed the truth that Ashely indeed decides to marry Melanie, Scarlett cried. The whole process was saw by Rhett Butler, who had the reputation as a rogue. As the Civil War began, Scarlett accepted a proposal of marriage from Melanie's brother, Charles Hamilton as a revenge to the man who hurted he. Later on when the guns of war come close around the country, some young peolpl, including Scarlett‟s husband and Ashle y, joined the army.

Two months later, Scarlett received a letter that Charles died of phenomena, followed by the measles. Scarlett had to wear mourning clothes, mourning for her husband thought she did not love him, and not go to parties, or at least not have any fun at parties. Everyone thought that when she wept, it was for Charlie, but indeed it was for herself. At one of the parties, other ladies‟ beautifully colored dresses make Scarlett envious. Comparing it to her own, she wished she could dance like the others and have fun like others. Then, Rhett was introduced as the hero and he came to collect the jewelry, saying that they will be melted and used to buy more medicine for the woulded soldiers who injuried from the war. Scarlett hesitated for a while and took off Charlie‟s wedding ring, and put it in the basket. Melly saw, and was touched, and took off her wedding ring too, saying it will help Ashley more off her finger. Rhett looked at Scarlett and knew