Gone with the wind is an American film that illustrates the life of young American residents during the civil war period. The main players in this movie include Ashley and Scarlett.
Both Ashley and Scarlett’s families are badly affected by the civil war, which forces men to leave their families to go and fight. Scarlett loses her spouse Charles curtly after their marriage. Charles dies in the civil war, and it is during this mourning period that Scarlett meets Rhett at a charity bazaar. Rhett discloses to Scarlett his desire for her during a dance, which she refutes.
Many men from Tara die as war twirls against the federation. Scarlett assists Melanie during her delivery without any medical assistance as a way to keep her pledge to Ashley. Afterwards, they return to Tara with the help of Rhett where Scarlett learns of her mother’s death and the deteriorating mental ability of her father. This makes her vow to protect and take care of herself and the rest of the family at all cost[1].
After her father’s death, Scarlett finds herself in a very tricky situation where she cannot afford to pay her bills as required. She tries to convince Ashley to elope with her, but he cannot run away from his wife Melanie. As a result, Scarlett goes to Atlanta to ask Rhett for financial assistance, which he is not in a position to because his accounts have been blocked. In the process, Scarlett convenes Frank, and she persuades him to wed her.
According to this movie, civil war had both social and economic impacts on Americans. Economically, Scarlett finds herself in a position where she cannot pay taxes as expected. This is because economical operations were disrupted by the war were men had to leave their normal duties and operations to go to war[2]. Social amenities like hospitals could not be easily accessible at this time. As a result, we find Melanie delivering her baby without any medical attention. This left those who survived on such an income in a devastating state.
Social disharmony was the greatest, and the most adverse effect that civil war had on Americans. Many young families where broken during this period. Men did not have time to stay close to their loved ones as the government expected them to be at war. In addition, the young populace lost subsists in the fight. As seen in the movie, Scarlett loses her first husband at war, and many other men from her region die at the war break out. Social misconducts such as rape grow sore during this period[3].
As recorded in the movie, Scarlett escapes rape twice something that results to death of two different people one on each incidence. Accordingly, many natives became destitute or without any family connection. At the last part of the movie, Scarlett is not only an urchin, but also a widow. Such combinations of occurrences are a big blow on an individual’s social life. Ashley’s life is left in turmoil too; when his wife, the only family he had dies.
Bibliography
Foner, Eric. Give me liberty! : An American history. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013.
O’Hara, Scarlet, and Rhett Butler.”Gone with the wind”. A Civil War Epic. 2013. Web.
Footnotes
- Scarlet O’Hara, and Rhett Butler, “Gone with the wind”, A Civil War Epic.
- Eric Foner, Give me liberty! : An American history (New York: W.W. Norton, 2013), 27-37.
- Ibid., 38-45.