Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Reviewed by JenniferRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
Ratings Explanation
Language: Common swear words and profanity throughout the book. Slaves regularly referred to as “darkies” and several instances of “nigger”. Many racial slurs.
Violence: Some war violence. Scarlet slaps Prissy. Scarlet shoots and kills a Yankee soldier in defending her home and family. Wilkerson, Tara’s former overseer, is shot. Scarlet is attacked, her dress is ripped open and her attacker feels between her breasts looking for hidden money. The KKK, in retribution for the attack on Scarlet, kills the two men who attacked her. In this altercation, Frank is shot and killed and Ashley is shot. Bonnie is thrown from her horse and dies.
Sexual Content: Rhett is described as “loose with women.” He asks Scarlet to be his mistress and she vehemently refuses, but later offers herself to him as either his wife or mistress in exchange for $300 to pay the taxes on Tara. Belle Watley is a prostitute and later the madam of one of several houses in Atlanta’s “red light district”. Rhett spends time with Belle and frequents her establishment. No details are given, but the reader knows where he spends his time. A few scenes of passionate kissing. One ardent night between Scarlet and Rhett.
Adult Themes: Slavery is an important theme throughout the book. Written from a southern point-of-view, the southerners all treat their slaves well and many of them are treated as part of the family. The Yankees are the ones characterized as prejudiced because, having never lived around black people, they don’t know how to interact with them. Obviously this is a slanted view of history, but provides a good catalyst for discussion. The horrors of the Civil War are freely discussed. The young southern gentlemen romanticize the war believing they will triumph in glory, but instead the south is ravaged, homes are burned, men are killed, and every family in the south is affected. Vivid descriptions of the wounded and dying soldiers. The development of the KKK.
Synopsis
Young Scarlet O’Hara is the charming belle of Clayton County, Georgia. Parties, dresses and her beau are the only things she worries her pretty little head about, until the Civil War breaks out. Gone With the Wind follows Scarlet on her harrowing journey through the war years and reconstruction. A survivor to the end, she will do whatever is necessary to protect herself and her own. This epic story, filled with characters never to be forgotten, is an American classic.
GWTW is definitely one of my top 10 favorite books. I love the self-serving, manipulative Scarlet who will survive at any cost. I adore Melanie, pity Ashley and swoon over the dashing Captain Butler. Written in 1936, this is history according to a southerner, and if judged by today’s standards, it is very politically in-correct. But as long as you know that and judge it on its own merits, the incredible writing of Margaret Mitchell, the story you can’t put down and the characters indelibly etched in the reader’s mind, provide an (almost) unequaled reading experience.
©2010 The Literate Mother