Gone With the Wind
Margaret Mitchell's Bio
Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1900.
Her dad, a lawyer and the president of the Atlanta Historical Society, and her mom, a women suffragist, raised Mitchell with stories about Atlanta during the Civil War.
Margaret attended Smith College, which was a women's college in Massachusetts. When her first marriage was a disaster, Mitchell worked as a journalist for the Atlanta Journal and married John Robert Marsh.
After ten years of writing her 1000 page novel that takes place in the Civil War era, Gone With the Wind was published in 1936. Receiving the 1937 Pulitzer Prize, Gone With the Wind became one of the best-selling novels of all time. But Mitchell wasn’t as fond of the uprising popularity of her work and she eventually fell ill from exhaustion.
Even though Gone With the Wind was her only novel, Margaret continued to write nonfiction.
In 1949, Margaret was hit by a car while crossing the street in Atlanta.
Quick Summary of Book
Connection to APUSH
Symbols:
Ashley Wilkes
Ashley symbolizes the old south
Rhett Butler
He represents a type of all who were ostracized from society because they didn't conform to traditional expectations.
Scarlett
An early "women's activist"
Tara
Home, Scarlett's roots, the center of life which is worth fighting for.
Mammy, Pork and Old Sam
The types of the household slaves. Contrary to some beliefs, the slaves are a valued part of the family and many were intensely loyal to the people they served.
The lumber mills
They symbolize progress and independence, but their location on the outskirts of town also suggests alienation.
Aunt Pittypat's house
The best of the old south. That element of the old traditions which was real rather than artificial and was therefore able to withstand the wind of war and change.
Melanie
Pride and courage born of character rather than money
Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1900.
Her dad, a lawyer and the president of the Atlanta Historical Society, and her mom, a women suffragist, raised Mitchell with stories about Atlanta during the Civil War.
Margaret attended Smith College, which was a women's college in Massachusetts. When her first marriage was a disaster, Mitchell worked as a journalist for the Atlanta Journal and married John Robert Marsh.
After ten years of writing her 1000 page novel that takes place in the Civil War era, Gone With the Wind was published in 1936. Receiving the 1937 Pulitzer Prize, Gone With the Wind became one of the best-selling novels of all time. But Mitchell wasn’t as fond of the uprising popularity of her work and she eventually fell ill from exhaustion.
Even though Gone With the Wind was her only novel, Margaret continued to write nonfiction.
In 1949, Margaret was hit by a car while crossing the street in Atlanta.
Quick Summary of Book
Connection to APUSH
Symbols:
Ashley Wilkes
Ashley symbolizes the old south
Rhett Butler
He represents a type of all who were ostracized from society because they didn't conform to traditional expectations.
Scarlett
An early "women's activist"
Tara
Home, Scarlett's roots, the center of life which is worth fighting for.
Mammy, Pork and Old Sam
The types of the household slaves. Contrary to some beliefs, the slaves are a valued part of the family and many were intensely loyal to the people they served.
The lumber mills
They symbolize progress and independence, but their location on the outskirts of town also suggests alienation.
Aunt Pittypat's house
The best of the old south. That element of the old traditions which was real rather than artificial and was therefore able to withstand the wind of war and change.
Melanie
Pride and courage born of character rather than money