《飘》赏析

AbstractThis present paper concentrates on an analysis of the characters of the heroine: Scarlett in the novel <Gone with the wind>.Her characters can be analyzed by two aspects: the positive characters such as strong will and courage, honesty and keeping promise ; and the demerits in her characters, such as selfishness and coldness, abjection etc. To support the thesis, the paper is divided into five parts. The first part gives a brief introduction to both the author and the novel. The second part makes an analysis of the positive characters of Scarlett. The third part makes an analysis of the demerits in Scarlett’s characters. The fourth part gives the reasons for the formation of Scarlett’s characters. The fifth part is the conclusion, restating the thesi s of the paper.Key Words: Scarlett; Weakness of characteristic; Strength of characteristic; Personality formation I. Introduction1.1 A brief Introduction to the authorMargaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949), popularly known as Margaret Mitchell was an American author. She was born in a prominent Atlanta lawyer’s family in Atlanta. The time Mitchell grew up was under the environment of Civil War, she heard a lot of burning of the city, the use of the family house as an army hospital, and the sufferings of the family and their friends during the post-war reconstruction period. Margaret started writing Gone with the Wind in 1926, which is the next year she married John Marsh. The aim of her writing is to write a defensive, chauvinistic account of the South’s war. The whole process of writing lasted almost 10 years. The novel Gone with the Wind was published in 1936, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. The novel is one of the most popular books of all time, selling more than 28 million copies. An American film based on this novel was released in 1939, which is one of the highest-grossing film in the history of Hollywood, and received a record-breaking number of Academy Awards.[Note1] Mitchell drew upon her encyclopedic knowledge of the Civil War and dramatic moments from her own life, and typed her epic novel on an old Remington typewriter. She originally named the heroine "Pansy O'Hara", and Tara was "Fontenoy Hall". She initially considered naming the novel Tote The Weary Load or Tomorrow Is Another Day .[Note 2] Mitchell wrote for her own enjoyment and with solid support from her husband. In 1949, crossing a street to go to a theater, Margaret Mitchell was killed by a drunken driver.1.2 A brief Introduction to the novelThe story of Go ne with the Wind revolves around Scarlett O’Hara, who is daughter of Irish landowner Gerald, and who has made the plantation Tara into one of Georgia’s finest. In this novel, Scarlett is in love with Ashley Wilkes, who marries his cousin Melanie. As the civil war begins, Scarlett bears the responsibility to protect her family and the pregnant Melanie. During the time she stays in Atlanta with relatives, she faces Sherman’s army and delivers Melanie’s baby as the city was in danger. During the after-war reconstruction period, Scarlett practically does business with the Yankees and so prospers and restores the fortunes of Tara. In this novel, she marries 3 times with purposes —firstly she married with Charles Hamilton to spite Ashley, a second time to pay off Tara’s postwar taxes, and the third time for fun. Her thirdhusband, Rhett Butler, engages in lucrative deals with the Federal Army from the start of the conflict and right through Reconstruction. He was angry about his wife’s love for Ashley and selfish d isengagement from him and their daughter, Bonnie Blue, who dies in a riding accident. The novel ends with Scarlett realizing how much she loves Rhett and resolving to get him back—by returning to her beloved hometown Tara to plan her strategy.II. An analysis of the positive characters of Scarlett2.1. Scarlett’s integrity to promise Scarlett’s integrity to promise is evidenced by what she does during the war; she tries her best to look after Ashley’s wife and son, only because she loves Ashley and has promised him to take care of Melanie. Before Ashley leaves to fight for the South, he asked Scarlett to take care of his wife-Melanie. Scarlett agreed and carried her promise till the end of this story. Even though she is in love with Ashley, and jealous on Melanie, she always looks after her and her baby. After Ashley left, the Yankees finally begin their siege of Atlanta, the city evacuates. Melanie and Scarlett remain behind to leave the dangerous place as Melanie is pregnant and about to give birth. After attempts to get help, Scarlett delivers Melanie's baby herself. When they return back to Tara, Scarlett still constantly offers help to Melanie and her child. Even after Ashley returned back to Tara, Scarlett still offers help to his and her family. It is not only because she loves Ashley, but also because she wants to keep her promise, which she made long time ago. 2.2. Scarlett’s loyalty to loveScarlett’s loyalty to love is evidencedattractive to Scarlett, because he is a mystery to Scarlett; she is always trying to get to know Ashley’s real feelings. The things about Ashley, which she could not understand, make her love him more. They know each other since their childhood, Scarlett and Ashley always play together. She has seen him come and go and never gives him a thought, and Ashley has never seemed so very attractive to her at the early stage. Scarlett fell in love with Ashley since “that day two years ago when Ashley, newly home from his three years’ Grand Tour in Europe, hand called to pay his respects, she had loved him.” That year she is only 16, she is so attracted and falls in love with him until she is 28. She turns to see Ashley to be that authority figure, which she always respects and loves, but he is not able to be one for her. Her so-called love for Ashley is a kind of child’s love, because he is someone that denied her, so that makes her want it more. “Even now, she could recall each detail of his dress, how brightly his boots shone, the head of a Medusa in cameo on his cravat pin, the wide Panama hat that was instantly in his hand when he saw her.” However, Ashley does never show love to her, even though he knows clearly that she loves him, “And yet- and yet – she knew he loved her. She could not be mistaken about it. Instinct stronger than reason and knowledge born of experience told her that he loved her. Too often she had surprised him when his eyes were neither drowsy nor remote, when he looked at her with a yearning and a sadness, which puzzled her. She knew he loved her.” In fact, Ashley do es not love her, but he chooses to keep a vague relationship with her. Although Scarlett knows Ashley does not love her, stillwants Ashley to marry her at that time and wishful thinking to be his wife. She even encourages him to run away with her, which is always a nice dream to Scarlett. 2.3. Scarlett’s courageScarlett’s courage can be seen from what she does to protect her family and her second marriage to Frank. When Scarlett return Tara, the Tara's former overseer, Yankee Jonas Wilkerson, newly a Scallywag, raises the taxes on Tara to force the O'Haras out so that he and his wife can live there. In order to save Tara, Scarlett goes to Atlanta and gets Rhett to give her the money to pay the taxes. She soon finds out Rhett is in jail and unable to help her. She then runs into Frank Kennedy, who is a successful storeowner. Frank, is unable to resist Scarlett's charms, marries her and gives her the tax money. In all, her courage makes her to marry her second husband, Frank, in order to protect Tara, where he r family is. 2. 4. Scarlett’s strong willScarlett’s strong will is reflected when she return back to Tara. At that time, Scarlett finds the house in Tara in ruins, the crops burned, most of the slaves run off, her mother dead, her father demented, and her two sisters sick with typhoid. Some of her npillaging of the Yankees and they share with her all that is possible. Therefore, Scarlett forces her family and the slaves to tend fields and pick cotton. During that reconstruction period, a lone Yankee soldier arrives looking to loot and assault Scarlett, she shoots him. In all, the Scarlett’s strong will makes her to do anything to protect Tara and herself. Scarlett has a practical nature and willingness to step on anyone who doesn't have her family's best interests at heart, including her own sister. For example, in her mind, and the circumstances appear to support her thinking, there simply was no choice if they were to keep Tara. Encouraged by her strong willingness to protect Tara, she had to steal and marry Frank Kennedy herself. In fact, what people hate most about her literally enabled her to save the family.2. 5. Scarlett’s strong sense of responsibilityScarlett has a strong sense of responsibility. During the war, she volunteers to take care of the wounded in Atlanta. She has a strong sense of social responsibility, similar as many white women; she takes an active and educated part in the movement to separate the South from the North. To Scarlett, protecting south means to protect her family and the plan tation. Atlanta is completely lost from South after Sherman’s campaign. Many people in Atlanta desert their lands and families and escape to other places. Scarlett’s sense of responsibility could be seen from her loves to family and the whole of Tara. Tara is her land and her backbone; she stays and tries her best to preserve Tara no matter what it costs. Moreover, her responsibility can be seen from how she keeps with her promises. Although she agrees to take care of Melanie because she is in love with Ashley and she does not want to upset him, but she eventually does all her best to keep this promise. 2.6. Scarlett’s pursuit of independenceScarlett is an independent woman to some extent. It can be shown when she returns Tara. She starts her business and practice usury, run timber mill, and illegally employ Negroes. Even though she is abused by the southern royalty to be greedy, selfish, shameless, cruel and cold, she is an adventure, an upstart and a great heroinewho has survived in the war. In fact, all the people in Tara including the Ashleys are living on Scarlett’s shoulders. Without her help, Melanie and her child would be dead in the war. Without Scarlett to be an evil, Melanie could not be respected as an angel. Therefore, Scarlett is the real respectable person because of her independence and strong characteristic. It might be arguable that Scarlett is not a fully independent woman at first, because she is a spoiled girl at first, and then she relied on men to get through the challenges in her life. However, eventually after she goes back to Tara, she becomes an independent woman, she owns her business and she looks after her family and other people in Tara with h III. An analysis of Scarlett’s demerits in her characters3.1. Scarlett’s selfishness and coldnessScarlett’s selfishness and coldness could be reflected from her attempts to get Ashley in any mean. Against the background of war, Scarlett stays in Atlanta and enjoys the company of Rhett; on the other hand, she continues to carry a torch for Ashley. She does not really care about how Melanie feels about her relationship with Ashley, and she is willing to destroy Melanie’s marriage. The day Ashley leaves, Scarlett once again reveals her feelings to him, hoping Ashley will also break down and allow he to tell Scarlett that he loves her too. Ashley makes Scarlett promise that she will look after Melanie and see his family through the upcoming crisis in his absence. Scarlett blindly agrees to his promise. As Ashley intends to leave, Scarlett clings to him desperately and they share a passionate, forbidden embrace. From an ethical point of view, it is not right to destroy anybody else’s family, particularly Melanie is her relative. However, she still does it because she is selfish, she does not care the consequence, she just want to get love from Ashley。