Tuesday, 16 June 2020

(Book Review) “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell


                      
1.Introduction 

“Gone with the Wind” is a novel published in 1936 by Margaret Mitchell of America. The book is all about the life of Scarlett O’Hara during the American Civil War (1861 - 1865).

Scarlett had never given up hope for the future. “Tomorrow is another day!” It was her famous quote. Can we Christians find any lessons from her story? 


2. Summary

Scarlett was the daughter of Gerald O’Hara, who owned the Tara Plantation in Georgia state.





Scarlett was cheerful and charming. She loved Ashley Wilkes, but she didn’t have a chance to confess it to him.

One day, she heard the terrible news. Ashley was going to marry her cousin Melanie Hamilton. She rushed to Ashley, but it was too late to get it right.

Scarlett went crazy. In anger, she got married to Charles Hamilton, Melanie’s brother.

The Civil War broke out. Charles joined the army of the South, but he died of pneumonia before he got into a battlefield.

Scarlett still loved Ashley and went to Atlanta, where he lived. Melanie’s giving birth offered Scarlett an excellent reason to stay there.

The army of the north invaded Atlanta. Scarlett tried to escape together with Melanie. 
She went to Tara, her hometown, with the help of Rhett Butler.

Rhett was good at making money. During the Civil War, he made a massive fortune from smuggling.

In Tara, Scarlett found herself in big trouble. Her mother died of typhoid, and the shock drove her father insane. Her farm was devastated.

At last, the War ended. The South was defeated. Farm owners lost all slavers.

Scarlett suffered from the considerable tax imposed on her farm. She headed for Atlanta to ask Rhett for help.

Rhett was in jail. Scarlet met Rhett, but she failed to get help from him. 

Scarlett ran out of the due date for tax. Her last resort was marriage with a rich man. She had chosen Frank Kennedy as her new husband.

One day, Scarlett was nearly raped in the black slums. Frank was furious and tried to revenge it. But, he was shot dead.

Rhett proposed Scarlett to marry him. She accepted it. Rhett’s love was real, but Scarlett’s love was pretending. 

She still loved Ashley. Rhett knew Scarlett was not in love with him. When their daughter called Bonnie fell from a horse and was dead, he left Scarlett.

Melanie asked Scarlett to look after Ashley just before her death. That meant Melanie had already noticed Scarlett loved Ashley. Melanie had forgiven Scarlett. 

Knowing the truth, Scarlett made up her mind quitting loving him.

Scarlett found her real love was in Rhett. She murmured, “Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back.”


Regarding Tara, she also said to herself, “After all,  Tomorrow is another day.”


She never gave up anything, whatever the circumstances were.

3. Lessons

(1) Scarlett’s hope and the hope of Christians

Even in despair, Scarlett holds onto hope, saying, “After all, tomorrow is another day.” What is the reason Scarlett can have confidence? It’s nothing but herself.  She believed in her never-give-up personality.

If so, where does our Christian hope come? Let’s stand on the promise, which is based on Jesus, not on me. The trust in Jesus, who saved us, is the root of our hope. Praise the Lord Jesus, who can let us live with the desire!

(2) The contrast between a selfish life of Scarlett and a selfless life of Melanie

Scarlett is a self-centered woman. For her, marriage is only for the sake of money. Although she is seeking true love, she has never sacrificed herself.

This novel places Melanie in contrast with Scarlett. In terms of the spectrum of light, the two are at each end: Selfish Scarlet and selfless Melanie.

Scarlett loved Ashley Melanie’s husband, so she deliberately stayed with Melanie all the time. She thought Melanie didn’t know her love for Ashley.

But when Melanie, at the moment of death, asked Scarlett to look after Ashley, she suddenly realized that Melanie had already noticed everything. 


Ironically, Melanie’s forgiveness led Scarlett to quit her love for Ashley.

As a Christian reader, I hope Scarlett to go further. Is Scarlett not able to quit her self-centered desires? 


If the heart of Scarlett opens to neighbors, she will be able to encounter the real love of Christ Jesus.

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