Reading the Chunksters discussion

Please discuss this section below.

For those of you who have seen the movie, how do you think the description of Scarlett differs from how she was portrayed in the film?

I have not seen the movie, so Loretta's question I can't answer. What I am struck by in these first three chapter though are the descriptions of Southerners. In a way it's so stereotypical it almost made me laugh.

I am also struck by the brief descriptions of Tara, and being kind of shoddily made and a not the grand old house that I also pictured, given the lore of GWTW.

I will definitely be seeing the movie when I have finished reading so I can compare/contrast.

I find myself being bothered by the portrayal of the slaves in a way that I wasn't when I first read it (probably due to being older and more educated).

One example I'm thinking of is the Tarleton twins' slave (Jeems? or was it Jeebs?) who the (3rd person omniscient I guess) narrator said felt better than other slaves because he was owned by a wealthy family. That struck me as pretty horribly offensive, and likely completely atypical of how slaves would have actually felt.

I have never see the movie, there is something that has never clicked in my brain with classical movies. I just cant stand them. I feel its a failing in my appreciation of culture. Ah well.

I just moved away from the South after living and loving it for five years. I love the description of the moss hanging from the trees, the lazy breeze in the heat, the crepe myrtles and dogwoods blossoming. It made me a little homesick, and I felt the author did well painting a scene. And I mean that, there was something about the wording that made it seem, to me, more like she was painting an actual stage, then describing a the book to me. The characters are very isolated by their stage: Enter: Scarlett, dining hall. Very structured so far, which I wonder if that is to make her coming poverty more obvious to the reader.

As for slaves: there were slaves that hated being slaves, and there were slaves that refused to leave once they were freed because they'd loved their family. There were slaves who sought freedom, but visited their old "owners" years later and stayed as a guest (See: Elizabeth Keckley who wroteBehind the Scenes: Thirty Years a Slave & Four Years in the White House). Keckley ran the gambit of a slave's experience, she was beaten and raped, but later was sold to a family as a Mammy, and years after the war ended enjoyed an extended several month visit to them, where she waiting on by white servants. When she arrived the young women ran to her and hugged her. For as many slaves as there were there had to be just as many experiences.


Most history books state that House slaves in richer plantation homes were better off than white house servants back in England- they were fed better and even had more time off. And, the whites, frequently, had to work just as hard as the House slaves. They were up morning to evening working. Field slaves were considered barbarbians by whites and house slaves a like. They were persecuted and worked to the bone. Still, all of this depended both on the slaves and the master/mistresses disposition.

Specifically in the case of Jeebs, he was a slave that was born and raised that way. He would have been completely indoctrinated, I imagine that some of them suffered from Stockholm-esque syndrome, or something akin to North Koreans, who after starving flee to South Korea, only to be completely overwhelmed by freedom and change that they'd rather revert to their previously abusive relationship with the N.K. government.

Is it offensive? Of course, slavery should never have happened. But I don't know if I would say that the portrayal of slaves' emotions is completely wrong in this book. I'll reserve that judgement until later. Once Sherman's Army marches and Lincoln frees the slaves, I want to see how the author treats the reactions of various slaves- will we only see Mammy and Prissy throughout the book? Or will we be introduced later to slaves that want to be free? I am interested to see how after 1k pages the whole story of the South is played out, and whether its really one-sided or not.

Becky, I agree with your comments. I am loving the detailed descriptions. Long family sagas have always been my favorite.

Loretta, I have seen the movie numerous times. The first time I saw it was in high school, had to watch it in class. Everyone thought it was a drag to have to sit through such a long film, but I was captivated. I loved Scarlett. Not being very far into the novel, I'm finding her superficiality grating. Funny how time changes one's perspective, yeah?

The only thing I want to comment on that no one else has mentioned is how surprised I am at the general attitude of the southerners towards the Wilkes family. They were educated, enjoyed books and travel, and everyone thought they queer. of course, they did marry eachother, but that was common then. What did y'all think of that? Was it uncommon to be well-educated then?

So funny to think back to the earliest chapters. Knowing what I know now about the Wilkes family and Scarlett's relationship to them, it is quite funny that most thought they so strange at the beginning of the story. I have now come to see them as the prototypical pre- Civil War southern family.

Now that I've read a bit further, I guess what everyone thought so queer about the Wilkes was that they married eachother, not that they were smart. Also, the Scarlett I remember loving as a teen is showing her true colors, finally.

I read this so many years ago that there were many nuances that went completely over my head at the time. I never noticed the attitude of the slaves until years later it was pointed out to me how stuck-up they appeared and so in love with their family and so on, but as Becky said, there were as many varieties of slave and free blacks as there were whites in those days, that there had to be an equal number of unique experiences, perspectives, emotions and opinions. To my understanding, there were indeed some slaves with these attitudes, but just as many without.

What's interesting to me, having now spent a lot of time in the South and having lived there for awhile, both in Kentucky and in Georgia (in fact, I was literally on the brink of moving to Savannah at one point), is the perspective on the different attitudes of the whites toward one another. There is just as much diversity in culture between parts of the South now as there was back then, but I didn't realize until I was older just how much variety there really was/is.

I found the background story of Scarlett's parents very interesting, especially the Irish+French mixture. Those are the cultures viewed in America stereotypically, at least in those days, as low and high class, respectively. Very interesting combination.

I'm curious how my perspective on this novel changes as I read through it for the second time. I loved it when I first read it before high school (devoured it in a weekend, as a matter of fact) but I think a second reading at an older age will bring new perspective to it.

I just got chapter three. This is my third serious attempt to get past the first few pages. I'm glad this group has read this so I post on these old discussions.

I read a chapter a night to get through it helps put me to sleep because these first few chapters are kind of a snore. I did enjoy chapter 3 more than the others as Alana had said the background story of the parents is very interesting to me as well.

It is odd to read this right after reading A Time to Kill since that was so much about conflict in the South. And last summer I read an annotated version of Uncle Tom's Cabin and so considering that one the author seems to be spot on with her descriptions of the slaves through non-slave eyes if that is her intent.

I have never seen the movie Gone with the Wind so this is all new to me.

Can't wait to see what the next few chapters bring but I am really excited to finally tackle this one.

I hope you enjoy it Luella! I found it incredibly eye-opening into some of the mindsets of the time (some of which continue to this day).

Alana wrote: "I hope you enjoy it Luella! I found it incredibly eye-opening into some of the mindsets of the time (some of which continue to this day)."

Now that I am on the next section I am enjoying it a little more. :)