Tansy Xu
ENG 101
Dr. Lauren Holt
Response2
The South and Scarlett
When people speak of Gone with the Wind, most of them are entangled in the romantic story; others, may be fascinated by Scarlett’s beauty, similar to my reaction when I was at a younger age. However, being in the course Southern (Dis)Comfort provides me a different perspective to look at the protagonist Scarlett. Having gained basic knowledge of the Civil War, especially about the South, my vision became clearer as I tried to examine the tacit bond between Scarlett and the South.
In my opinion, Scarlett is a self-contradictory character. She loved two men who she did not truly know in her life, so she hovered between them. This characteristic reflects the ambivalence of the South, which could not help to change and progress, while hesitating to sever the connection to the Old South. The similarity between Scarlett and the Old South evokes what I read in the “South Renaissance”: to maintain “continuity with the Old South, New South propagandist had danced around the delicate issue of slavery, paying tribute to the grace and gentility of the slaveholding class without addressing the devastating human and economic impact of the institution hat supported them” (Cobb 104). From this part, I saw South’s vacillation is analogous to Scarlett’s fickleness in her relationship. I began to realize Scarlett is not only a vivid role of aesthetic value, but also stands for an image of the Old South. Moreover, I obtained a fresh understanding of Wolfe’s slight “of the South’s mythically glorious past and its sordid materialistic present” in the “Southern Writers” chapter (Cobb 136): I had thought that being in two exclusive situations, the New and the Old South had nothing in common. As a result, I could not understand how Wolfe could “equally” depreciate the Old and the New South. Having watched the film, I got to know that the vestige from the Old South was never eradicated. Therefore, even though the New South came and transformations were made, people could not disengage from the past.
One of the most impressive scenario in the movie to me is when going back to Tala Manor after the Civil War, Scarlett discovered the dilapidated field and claimed not to suffer from starvation in the future. Although there was only one person playing on the screen, I seemed to see a whole group of diligent southerners working and asserting on the ground. The scene also reminded me what I had met in my college located in the South: I can often encounter a local staff with physical problem serving in the DUC dining hall. His every step makes him twist from top to toe. However, he keeps working hard. Inconsistent with my usual response, my admiration for him exceeds compassion for him. During reading Away Down South, I figured out a great many spots discussing the indolence and lassitude of southern people. To some extent, I realized this repetition had formed the label that southerners are languid in my mind. Meanwhile, the slavery history had casted an impression that southerners were dependent and incompetent. But combining the film and my personal experience, stereotype from reading is disproved in some sense. I feel proud for the southerners. In Unit One’s reading, I learned the South is assumed to be less developed in science and technology compared to the North, but in my opinion, the South’s insistence on agriculture and manual labor reflect other indispensable merits: diligence and independence.
From the analysis above, I was surprised to find the film and previous readings to be linked together, despite that the resources are from different units. I also comprehend that it is those ingenious metaphors that make Gone with the Wind widely recognized and immortal. On Tuesday night, I delivered Gone with the Wind to the librarian in the Woodruff Library. She glanced at it and acclaimed: “This is a great book. I am obsessed with it!” I definitely agreed with her. The book not only assumes weight of the classic southern literature, but also reveals a period of history of the South in a subtle way. Instead of daunted by the huge volume, I am eager to read the book. I believe, reading it as an enjoyment and complement, I can have a more holistic appreciation for the class.
Bibliography
1. Cobb, James C. "South Renaissance." Away down South: A History of Southern Identity. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. 104. Print.
2. Gone with the Wind. Dir. Victor Fleming. Prod. David O. Selznick. By Sidney Coe Howard, Max Steiner, and Ernest Haller. Perf. Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Havilland Olivia De, Thomas Mitchell, and Hattie McDaniel. Loew's Inc., 1939. DVD.
ENG 101
Dr. Lauren Holt
Response2
The South and Scarlett
When people speak of Gone with the Wind, most of them are entangled in the romantic story; others, may be fascinated by Scarlett’s beauty, similar to my reaction when I was at a younger age. However, being in the course Southern (Dis)Comfort provides me a different perspective to look at the protagonist Scarlett. Having gained basic knowledge of the Civil War, especially about the South, my vision became clearer as I tried to examine the tacit bond between Scarlett and the South.
In my opinion, Scarlett is a self-contradictory character. She loved two men who she did not truly know in her life, so she hovered between them. This characteristic reflects the ambivalence of the South, which could not help to change and progress, while hesitating to sever the connection to the Old South. The similarity between Scarlett and the Old South evokes what I read in the “South Renaissance”: to maintain “continuity with the Old South, New South propagandist had danced around the delicate issue of slavery, paying tribute to the grace and gentility of the slaveholding class without addressing the devastating human and economic impact of the institution hat supported them” (Cobb 104). From this part, I saw South’s vacillation is analogous to Scarlett’s fickleness in her relationship. I began to realize Scarlett is not only a vivid role of aesthetic value, but also stands for an image of the Old South. Moreover, I obtained a fresh understanding of Wolfe’s slight “of the South’s mythically glorious past and its sordid materialistic present” in the “Southern Writers” chapter (Cobb 136): I had thought that being in two exclusive situations, the New and the Old South had nothing in common. As a result, I could not understand how Wolfe could “equally” depreciate the Old and the New South. Having watched the film, I got to know that the vestige from the Old South was never eradicated. Therefore, even though the New South came and transformations were made, people could not disengage from the past.
One of the most impressive scenario in the movie to me is when going back to Tala Manor after the Civil War, Scarlett discovered the dilapidated field and claimed not to suffer from starvation in the future. Although there was only one person playing on the screen, I seemed to see a whole group of diligent southerners working and asserting on the ground. The scene also reminded me what I had met in my college located in the South: I can often encounter a local staff with physical problem serving in the DUC dining hall. His every step makes him twist from top to toe. However, he keeps working hard. Inconsistent with my usual response, my admiration for him exceeds compassion for him. During reading Away Down South, I figured out a great many spots discussing the indolence and lassitude of southern people. To some extent, I realized this repetition had formed the label that southerners are languid in my mind. Meanwhile, the slavery history had casted an impression that southerners were dependent and incompetent. But combining the film and my personal experience, stereotype from reading is disproved in some sense. I feel proud for the southerners. In Unit One’s reading, I learned the South is assumed to be less developed in science and technology compared to the North, but in my opinion, the South’s insistence on agriculture and manual labor reflect other indispensable merits: diligence and independence.
From the analysis above, I was surprised to find the film and previous readings to be linked together, despite that the resources are from different units. I also comprehend that it is those ingenious metaphors that make Gone with the Wind widely recognized and immortal. On Tuesday night, I delivered Gone with the Wind to the librarian in the Woodruff Library. She glanced at it and acclaimed: “This is a great book. I am obsessed with it!” I definitely agreed with her. The book not only assumes weight of the classic southern literature, but also reveals a period of history of the South in a subtle way. Instead of daunted by the huge volume, I am eager to read the book. I believe, reading it as an enjoyment and complement, I can have a more holistic appreciation for the class.
Bibliography
1. Cobb, James C. "South Renaissance." Away down South: A History of Southern Identity. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. 104. Print.
2. Gone with the Wind. Dir. Victor Fleming. Prod. David O. Selznick. By Sidney Coe Howard, Max Steiner, and Ernest Haller. Perf. Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Havilland Olivia De, Thomas Mitchell, and Hattie McDaniel. Loew's Inc., 1939. DVD.