Brief introduction to the stories of anxious families in troubled times

The Author and Content Introduction of Gone with the Wind (Gone with the Wind)

About the author:

1900165438+1October 8th, margaret mitchell was born into a lawyer's family in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Her father is the president of the Atlanta Historical Society. During the civil war, Atlanta fell into the hands of the northern army general Shulman in 1864. Later, it became a hot topic among Atlanta residents. Growing up, Margaret always heard her father talk about the civil war with friends and even residents. When 26-year-old Margaret decided to write a novel about the civil war, Atlanta naturally became the background of the novel.

Margaret is studying at Smith College in Massachusetts. Later, because my mother died of illness, my family needed her to take charge of housework, so I had to drop out of school. From 1922, she began to write for Atlanta Daily with her nickname "Peggy". In the next four years, 129 signed and a large number of unsigned manuscripts appeared in newspapers. One of the manuscripts was a special report written by Margaret for past Confederate generals.

After the marriage failed, Margaret married John Marsh, the advertising director of Georgia Thermal Power Company, on 1925. 1926, Margaret had to quit her job as a newspaper because of a leg injury. Encouraged by her husband, she began to devote herself to creation.

Margaret later told People that it took her nearly 10 years to write Gone with the Wind. In fact, the first drafts of most chapters of the novel were completed as early as 1929. She finished the last chapter of the novel first, and then came back to write the first few chapters, but she never wrote in the order of events, but wrote wherever she thought. For nearly 10 years, Margaret seldom mentioned her manuscript to her friends. Although many people know what she is writing, few people know what she is writing. 1935 In the spring, Harold latham, editor of Macmillan Publishing Company, collected manuscripts all over the country. When he came to Atlanta, he occasionally heard about Margaret's book. At first, Margaret denied that she was writing a novel because she didn't believe that southerners' views on the civil war could interest northern publishers. As a result, the day before latham left Atlanta, Margaret sent her manuscript nearly five feet thick. In July of the same year, McWhae Lun Company decided to publish this novel, tentatively entitled "Tomorrow is a New Day".

Since then, Margaret has spent half a year repeatedly verifying the specific time and place of historical events involved in the novel. She quoted a poem by Ernest Dawson, an American poet, and changed the title of the novel to Gone with the Wind. At the same time, Macmillan also made a lot of publicity. Therefore,1June 30, 936, once the "masterpiece" of this unknown writer was published, its sales immediately broke many records in the American publishing industry: 50,000 copies a day; Issued 100Q copies in the first 6 months; 2 million copies in the first year. Subsequently, this novel won the Pulitzer Prize of 1937 and the American Publishers Association Award. In the year when the novel came out, Hollywood bought the right to adapt Gone with the Wind into a movie for $50,000. The film Gone with the Wind directed by David Selznick and starring clark gable and Vivien Leigh was released on 1939.

For more than half a century, this novel with a thickness of more than 1000 pages has been in the forefront of American bestsellers. By the end of 1970s, novels had been translated into 27 languages and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

With the publication of Gone with the Wind, Margaret became a celebrity in the American literary world almost overnight and became a household name "heroine" in Atlanta. This sudden fame completely changed her life. 1936 On July 8, nine days after Gone with the Wind was published, Mrs. Magritte told her story in a letter to a professor in Florida:

"I don't know the writer's life will be like this. If I had known in advance, I would never have tried to be a writer. In the past few decades, my life has been very peaceful. This is a lifestyle I choose, because I am not good at interacting with people; Because I want to work and like to be quiet; And because of poor health, I need to rest. In recent days, my life has completely lost its quiet atmosphere. "

Margaret's maid also recalled:

"On the day when the novel was published, the phone rang every three minutes, someone knocked at the door every five minutes, and a telegram came to the door every seven minutes. A dozen people stood at the door of the apartment. They are waiting for Margaret to come out so that she can sign the novel. "

There is an endless stream of people who ask for interviews, invite Margaret to give speeches all over the world, and even ask her to donate to various charities. In the first week alone, 300 copies of Gone with the Wind were sent to her from all over the country. These admirers want her to sign and pay. The ensuing disputes over copyright and translation rights plunged her into a series of legal affairs. So it's not hard to understand why Margaret didn't publish any works after Gone with the Wind was published until she died in a car accident in August 1949. But she left many letters. Her collection of letters (1976) was published by Macmillan Company, entitled "Floating on margaret mitchell"; Letters. "

Introduction to the story:

Gone with the wind is also called gone with the wind.

Gone with the Wind tells a love story set in the American Civil War.

Scarlett O 'Hara, the hero of the novel, is the daughter of a rich and prestigious planter in Georgia, USA. Father Gerald is an immigrant from Ireland. When he first arrived in Georgia, Gerald was penniless and won the ownership of Tarot Manor by gambling. So he began to start a business in this red land and weave his American dream. It was not until he was 43 years old that he married Allen, the daughter of a French immigrant on the east coast. 15. Gerald has a good heart but a bad temper, while his young wife has a good family education and strict moral values. She personally manages the daily affairs of the whole manor, and even treats the slaves in the manor and delivers babies. Therefore, the couple were respected by the surrounding white manor owners and loved by the black slaves. Daughter Scarlett grew up slowly in this environment.

186 1 April, the north-south relationship in the United States has been very tense. People in Georgia are talking about the inevitable war. However, Scarlett, who is 16 years old, has no interest in this. In addition to dancing and outing, there are those admirers who surround her. She was surprised when she heard that Ashley Wilkes would announce her engagement to Melanie at the picnic the next day. She has always liked Ashley's gentlemanly manner and thinks that she is much better than Melanie in every way. With her charm, she is sure to persuade Ashley to elope with her.

But at the party the next day, Scarlett never found a chance to talk to Ashley alone, because Ashley was already with Melanie. Out of a revenge, Scarlett easily attracted Melanie's brother Charles to her side. A few words fascinated this inexperienced and shy young man. After the party, the male guests are arguing fiercely about the current situation. Gerald had a particularly heated argument with a stranger named Rhett Butler. Leite believes that the south has no industrial resources, and it will definitely lose when it fights; On the other hand, Gerald and his friends thought that the Yankees could surrender without a fight, and only fight one or two wars and then surrender.

In the afternoon, Scarlett finally seized an opportunity to talk to Ashley about her thoughts, but Ashley politely refused. Scarlett felt abandoned by Ashley. She slapped Ashley in the face in a rage.

When the news of the war came, the dance that night was cancelled. Scarlett suddenly decided to marry Charles, because it would save her face and stimulate Ashley and her suitors. In this way, the wayward Scarlett became Charles' wife two weeks later.

Two months later, Charles died in the front, and Scarlett suddenly became a widow. To make matters worse, she found herself pregnant. A few months later, her son Wade was born.

The widow's life is unbearable for the lively Scarlett. At this time, Ashley also came to the front. His wife Melanie wrote from Atlanta and invited her to stay at Charles' menstruation's house for a while. Scarlett left Tarot Manor with Wade and came to Atlanta.

The change of environment made Scarlett feel a little better. Thankfully, her late husband Charles left her a property and several shops in the city.

As the war became more and more tense, women in Atlanta were mobilized to take care of the wounded and sick brought back from the front in the local hospital and sew munitions for the Confederate army. However, as Scarlett is a widow, she can't attend dances and parties where soldiers go out to fight.

On one occasion, the hospital held a fund-raising dance. Scarlet was called in to help because she was short of hands. At the ball, Scarlett saw Rhett who had quarreled with her father at Tarot Manor again. Now, Wright has become a famous businessman in Atlanta. He stole the northern blockade and provided materials for the southern army. Every time he comes back from the north, he will also bring their favorite fashions and fabrics to the upper-class women in Atlanta. So Leite is very popular with ladies. At the beginning of the dance, Rhett invited Scarlett to be his partner. Scarlett finally couldn't resist the temptation and took to the dance floor in mourning.

With the deterioration of the war situation, the rules and regulations in life gradually fade in people's minds. Scarlett returned to her original appearance, frequently participated in various entertainment activities, and flirted and joked with officers. However, she still can't forget Ashley.

For a time, Wright became a guest of many families in Atlanta. However, because he always laughed at and satirized the Confederacy, he soon became annoying. Only Melanie agreed with Wright's analysis of the war, because her husband Ashley also believed in the letter that the Confederacy could not win the war at all.

1863 In July, the army commanded by General Robert Lee of the Confederacy was defeated in Pennsylvania in the north. Many boys who grew up with Scarlett were killed in that fierce battle. On Christmas Eve, Ashley came back from the front and stayed at home for a few days. When they were alone, Scarlett told Ashley the real reason why she married Charles and admitted that she still loved him. However, after the ordeal of the war, Ashley has lost her past passion. At the beginning of the following year, Melanie received a notice from the front that Ashley was missing. Later, through Wright's northern relations, it was obvious that Ashley was not dead. After being injured and captured, he was imprisoned in the Rock Island concentration camp in the north.

/kloc-in the summer of 0/864, the union army approached Atlanta, the capital of the confederacy. The city was surrounded, and Charles's aunt and many families in the city fled Atlanta. But because Melanie was going to have a baby, Scarlett had to stay with her. Meanwhile, Rhett calls at home and asks Scarlett to be his mistress, but Scarlett refuses.

At the end of August, the sound of siege artillery suddenly fell silent. Legend has it that the Confederate army has decided to give up the city. Just then, Melanie's son was born. Atlanta was in chaos at this time, and there were no doctors at all. In desperation, Scarlett delivered the baby herself, saving Melanie and her mother's life. That night, the last Confederate troops withdrew from Atlanta, and the Union troops would soon enter the city. In despair, Scarlett had to turn to the ureter for help. Wright managed to send her, Melanie and her son out of town in a stolen broken carriage and arrived at Tarot Manor at night.

The sight along the way made Scarlett panic. Many familiar manors were burned to ruins, and only some broken walls stood there. After a bumpy day, they finally came to Tarot Manor. Unexpectedly, the white buildings in Tarot are still intact. But only my father Gerald and a slave housekeeper came out to meet them; Scarlett's two sisters were seriously ill in bed, and her mother passed away yesterday. Old Gerald could hardly recognize his daughter.

The burden of the whole family suddenly fell on the widow Scarlett, who was only 19 years old. Besides themselves and their children, the whole family includes my father, two sisters, Melanie and her newborn, and the only three slaves on the manor. They always need to maintain the livelihood of 10 people. Then she remembered the stories she heard from her father when she was a child, Irish fathers who started their own businesses.

The first problem before us is to find something to eat. So Scarlett dug in the ground with a basket every day and picked it up in the ruins. Her two sisters are both Miss Jiao, so I can't count on them. Even the three slaves emphasized that they never did housework or farm work. The bitter life tempered Scarlett, but it also made her heartless, and her family was a little afraid of her. From then on, Scarlett was eager to restore the former style of Tarot Manor: the dining table was filled with silver tableware, transparent wine glasses and rich food, a good horse was tied to the stable, a luxury carriage was placed in the garage, and groups of slaves were picking cotton in Tarot fields. ...

One day, a northern soldier rode to the manor. Scarlett shot him with a pistol and took a horse and some money from the soldier's pocket. This solved her urgent need.

On Christmas Eve, Frank Kennedy, my sister Suellen's fiance, came to the manor with a Confederate grain collection team. Scarlett certainly won't give them hard-won food in vain.

1in April 865, the confederate army surrendered and the war finally ended. Many southerners cry for their failure. In Scarlett's mind, the more important question is how to keep Tarot Manor.

After the war, some soldiers passed by Tarot Manor every day and returned to their hometown. One day, Scarlett found a young man lying unconscious at the door and rescued him. With everyone's concern, this young man named Will gradually recovered. Will was homeless, so he settled in Tarot and slowly took on many management affairs of the manor.

Ashley finally came back alive. He was ragged and haggard, and his original temperament was gone. The following spring, the new government ordered Tarot Manor to pay a new additional tax within a time limit, otherwise it would auction the manor to offset the tax. It turned out that Jonas, the housekeeper who was driven away from Tarot Manor for dereliction of duty a few years ago, became the head of the newly established Slave Liberation Committee. Now, he tried to embezzle Tarot Manor, so he came up with the idea of compulsory payment of additional tax. Scarlett and Will are at a loss, hoping that Ashley can do something for them, but Ashley's cowardice disappoints them.

In despair, Scarlett suddenly thought of Scarlett. If Ratken pays to keep Tarot Manor, Scarlett is willing to marry him or be his mistress. The next day, Scarlett came to Atlanta to look for Scarlett, and then she learned that Scarlett was imprisoned on suspicion of embezzling large sums of money from the Confederacy. Frustrated, Scarlett accidentally met her sister Suellen's fiance Frank. Now that he is the owner of a shop and has a sum of money in his hand, Scarlett suddenly has a plan to lie that Suellen is married and then easily hug Frank in her arms. Two weeks later, they got married Tarot Manor has been saved! But it was soon discovered that Frank had no business sense and turned a deaf ear to other people's suggestions, so his business was very bad. At this time, Leite was released through various personal relationships. He lent Scarlett a sum of money, and Scarlett bought a closed wood processing factory behind Frank's back and started her own business. It is unprecedented for a woman to earn money by doing business like a man in Atlanta. This incident caused a great sensation.

Scarlett is pregnant. She wanted to earn more money before production for a rainy day, so she bought the second timber factory. During this time, Scarlett drove herself to and from the lumber mill every day, and she had no friends except Scarlett. One day, Leite advised her to be careful on the road, suggesting that if she was attacked by a black man, the Klan would retaliate for her. At that time, the Atlanta military government, which implemented the "Reconstruction Act", was planning how to eliminate the Ku Klan and all suspected southerners.

In June, Scarlett returned to Tarot Manor to attend her father's funeral. After the funeral, the scarlett family, including Ashley, Melanie and Will, moved to Atlanta and bought a shabby house to live in. Melanie quickly won the trust of women and became a respected figure. On the other hand, Ashley was entrusted by Scarlett to manage a timber factory, but it was not well managed.

Scarlet gave birth to a daughter, and a few weeks later, she began to run between two timber mills. At this time, the security situation in Atlanta is deteriorating. 1867 One night in March, Scarlett was attacked by a white man and a black man while driving home. Thanks to the protection of a black slave, she was not injured. That night, the Klan launched an attack, but they fell into a trap set by the army. In the crossfire, Frank was killed and Ashley was injured. Thanks to Wright's advice, other white people who participated in the Klan movement were saved. A few months later, despite the dissuasion and opposition of relatives and friends, Scarlett and Scarlett got married. Their honeymoon was spent in New Orleans, and the new house designed by Scarlett herself was soon completed, which is the most luxurious house in Atlanta. For Scarlett, at this time, she seems to have realized her dream in Tarot Manor. Wright gave great satisfaction to any material requirements she put forward. She really has everything. Soon, their daughter Bonnie was born. Brett has done almost everything for Bonnie. Wright's efforts to change her image in the eyes of Atlanta residents are entirely aimed at establishing Bonnie's position in Atlanta in the future.

Scarlett still has an old affection for Ashley. One night, at the lumber mill, Scarlett and Ashley had a very speculative conversation. They recalled having a picnic together 10 years ago. Ashley admits that he and Leite are actually very similar, but they have chosen different directions on the road of life. Recalling the past suddenly made Scarlett feel a sense of fear, and she fell into Ashley's arms involuntarily. It was soon known to Wright and Melanie. A few days later, Rhett took Bonnie on a long trip. After he left, Scarlett immediately went to Melanie to confess her mistake. But Melanie stopped her, and she repeatedly stressed that only Scarlett was her closest relative.

Soon, Scarlett found herself pregnant again. At this time, she began to miss Leite and hoped that he would come back soon. On the day Rhett got home, Scarlett specially greeted him on the stairs. I wanted to tell him the news of pregnancy, but when I saw his sarcastic eyes, Scarlett couldn't breathe. As a result, I slipped and fell down the stairs and broke my ribs. Wright was remorseful. In front of Melanie, he cried like a child and admitted his mistake.

Since then, Wright seems to have changed. He broke with his "old friends" in the military-controlled government in the past and joined the Democratic Party, preparing to oust the governor appointed by the federal government with a group of civil war veterans in Atlanta. 187 1 Christmas, the power of the state government finally returned to the hands of southerners.

The black mother suggested buying a pony for four-year-old Bonnie so that she wouldn't have to ride with Rhett again. I didn't expect Bonnie, who was active, to have an accident while riding the fence. After Bonnie died, Rhett drank all day and treated Scarlett like a passerby.

Melanie went against the doctor's advice and got pregnant again. After pregnancy, her health deteriorated rapidly. On her deathbed, she gave Scarlett the responsibility of taking care of Ashley. At this time, Scarlett suddenly realized that Melanie, who had always been thin, was actually protecting her sword and shield.

After Melanie's death, Ashley seems to have lost his backbone, and he is more afraid of Bisca Raiter. Only then did Scarlett believe what Scarlett had been telling her for years that Ashley was really not worth loving. In fact, she didn't love Ashley in real life, so the two spiritual pillars in her life disappeared.

In the fog, Scarlett ran home in despair. In the fog, she seemed to relive a nightmare that had plagued her for many years. Finally, she saw the light of her house, and suddenly she felt that she saw hope, because there was still Leite in the world, and she really loved Leite!

However, all this is too late. Rhett has decided to leave home and Scarlett forever. At this moment, for Scarlett, all the light in life disappeared. She can only go back to Tarot Manor. She felt so tired that her brain could no longer bear the pressure. She said to herself, "Let's leave it till tomorrow … Anyway, tomorrow is another day …"