The personality traits of the main characters, the main plot, and the theme of the work in "Gone with the Wind"

Main character characteristics: Scarlett

The protagonist Scarlett is a very complex southern female image and the most representative character combination of personalities. She is the daughter of a southern manor owner. She is beautiful, lively, innocent and carefree. Due to her father's doting, among the many sisters, Scarlett has developed a character of arrogance, rebelliousness, stubbornness and vanity. She fell in love with Ashley, but was rejected.

When the war came, facing Ashley and Melanie's marriage, she married a man she didn't love out of anger. Unfortunately, her husband died in the war, but she was not sad at all. On the contrary, she believed that mourning clothes were not what she should wear at all. As the war rages across Atlanta, Melanie is about to give birth. Scarlett bravely accepted the task. With the help of Rhett, she bravely and decisively helped Melanie deliver the baby. Although she had never done this before, her calmness in the face of danger fully reflected the courageous side of this woman.

After experiencing war, entrepreneurship and struggle, Scarlett grew into a multi-faceted and mature woman. She married Rhett, but she was still thinking of Ashley. Scarlett didn't realize that she had fallen in love with Rhett. When Melanie died, she already felt the importance of Rhett to her life, even though Rhett no longer loved her.

Rhett

Rhett is a rebel from a southern aristocratic family. He never talks much in social situations, but when he does speak, his words are often shocking. He is alert and calm, and can clearly understand the trends and directions of social development. He seizes every opportunity to make money, and even during the war, he tries his best to make a fortune from the national crisis, which fully reflects his selfishness, unscrupulousness and risk-taking. Spirit. He has his own way of seeing through everything about Scarlett, making her love and hate him at the same time, while he himself loves Scarlett but keeps a distance. When the war broke out and Scarlett and others encountered real problems, he risked everything and stepped forward to save them. He can become friends with prostitutes, not out of teasing, but because he can truly understand and sympathize with the helplessness of that fallen life.

When his daughter was awakened by a nightmare, he interpreted a father's deep love and care for his daughter; when Scarlett fell down the stairs due to his own mistakes, resulting in a serious illness and the loss of the child, He again showed real and profound self-blame. Finally, he felt disgusted with Scarlett's emotional games. After losing his daughter and friends, he decided to leave Scarlett and return to his hometown. Regardless of Scarlett's pleas, he resolutely went back to find peace. [2]

Ashley

is the main character in the novel. When the war broke out, he bravely joined the army and achieved success; in the face of Scarlett's many confessions, he was able to stick to his love and loyalty to Melanie. But the war did not change him. What he still longed for was the pastoral life he once had. Faced with reality, he could not withstand the storm and was always escaping from life. [2]

Melanie

Melanie is a female image that combines many good qualities of women. She is gentle, kind, generous and considerate of others. The turbulence of life did not deter her pursuit of life. When faced with difficulties, she was willing to accept and bear them, and encouraged people around her to have ideals in life. When the war was turbulent, she signed up to be a medical worker to help people in need; when the war came to the door, she still hoped that the child she was waiting to be born would have a bright future; when Scarlett killed the robber who broke into her home, she encouraged Scarlett praised her actions and gave her affirmation; Scarlett was injured when she fell from the building, and she stayed with Rhett to comfort him and encourage him. No matter what life throws at her, she is full of courage.

Story summary

Scarlett is the daughter of a wealthy and well-established plantation owner in Georgia, USA. His father, Gerald, was an immigrant from Ireland. When he first arrived in Georgia, Gerald was penniless and gambled to win ownership of the Tarot Estate. So he started to start a business in this red land and weave his American dream. It wasn't until he was 43 that he married 15-year-old Ellen, the daughter of French immigrants from the East Coast. Gerald is kind-hearted but has a bad temper, while the young wife has a good family education and strict moral values. She personally handled the daily affairs of the entire manor, and even treated the black slaves in the manor and delivered babies. Therefore, the couple was respected by the surrounding white plantation owners and deeply loved by the black slaves. Daughter Scarlett O'Hara grew up slowly in this environment.

In April 1861, relations between the North and the South of the United States were already very tense. Men in Georgia talked about the inevitable war.

However, 16-year-old Scarlett has no interest in it. Besides the dance and the outing, she was thinking of the crowd of admirers surrounding her. When she heard that Ashley Wilkes would announce her engagement to Melanie at the outdoor party the next day, she was shocked. She has always liked Ashley's gentlemanly demeanor and his handsome appearance, and believes that she is much better than Melanie in every aspect. With her charm, she can definitely convince Ashley to elope with her. But Ashley declined politely. Scarlett felt "abandoned" by Ashley.

She slapped Ashley in anger and threw a vase after Ashley left. Unexpectedly, Rhett Butler had been listening to him. When Scarlett accused him of not being a gentleman, he retorted that Scarlett was not a lady.

When news of the war came, the dance that night was cancelled. Scarlett suddenly decided to marry Charles because it could save her face and stimulate Ashley and her suitors. In this way, the willful Scarlett became Charles's wife two weeks later. Two months later, Charles died of illness and Scarlett suddenly became a widow. Because she did not love Charles, she did not feel sad about his death, and was even happy.

But the life of a widow makes the lively Scarlett unbearable. At this time, Ashley also went to the front line. His wife Melanie wrote from Atlanta, inviting her to stay at Charles' aunt's house temporarily. Scarlett left Tara Manor and came to Atlanta. The change of environment made Scarlett's mood slightly better. As the war became more intense, women in Atlanta were mobilized to go to local hospitals to care for the sick and wounded brought back from the front, and to sew munitions for the Confederate army. However, because Scarlett was a new widow, she could not attend balls and evening parties held for soldiers on active duty. [1]

In the summer of 1864, the Northern Army approached Atlanta, the capital of the Confederacy. The city was besieged, and Charles' aunt and many families in the city fled Atlanta. Scarlett received a letter from her father and learned that her mother and two sisters were seriously ill. She just wanted to go home. But because Melanie was about to give birth, Scarlett took into account Ashley's entrustment and had to stay by her side. During this period, Rhett once visited and asked Scarlett to be his mistress, but Scarlett refused.

The war finally ended when the Confederate Army surrendered in April 1865. Many Southerners were weeping over their defeat. In Scarlett's mind, the more important question is how to save Tara Manor.

After the war, some soldiers passed by Tara Manor every day to return to their hometown. One day, Scarlett and the others found an unconscious young man lying at the door and rescued him. Under everyone's care, the young man named Will gradually recovered to health. Will was homeless, so he settled in Tara and slowly took on many of the management tasks of the estate.

Ashley finally came back alive. His clothes were ragged, his appearance was haggard, and his original noble temperament had completely disappeared. In the spring of the next year, the new government ordered Tara Manor to pay the new surcharge within a time limit, otherwise the manor would be auctioned to offset the tax. It turns out that Jonas, the housekeeper who was expelled from Tara Manor due to negligence a few years ago, became the leader of the newly established Emancipation Committee. In an attempt to embezzle the Tara estate, he came up with the idea of ??forcing the payment of additional taxes. Scarlett and Will are at a loss. Scarlett hopes Ashley can help them find a way, but Ashley's cowardice and incompetence disappoints them.

In despair, Scarlett suddenly thought of Rhett. If Redken spends money to keep Tara Manor, Scarlett is willing to marry him or be his mistress. Scarlett and her family made a new skirt out of mother Ellen's moss-green velvet curtains. The next day, Scarlett wore the new skirt and accompanied by her mama, came to Atlanta to look for Rhett. He was imprisoned for allegedly embezzling large sums of money from the Confederacy. The depressed Scarlett accidentally met her sister Suellen's fiancé Frank Kennedy. He was already a store owner and had a lot of money. Scarlett understands that Suellen longs for her former wealthy life and is selfish. If Suellen marries Frank, she will never use money to save Tara Manor. So Scarlett lied that Suellen was going to marry Thomas Fontaine, and then easily made Frank fall into her arms. Two weeks later, they were married. Tara Manor is saved! But it was soon discovered that Frank had no business acumen and turned a deaf ear to other people's advice, so the business was not running well. At this time, Rhett was released through various personal relationships. He lent Scarlett a sum of money, and Scarlett bought a failed wood processing factory behind Frank's back and ran it alone. For a woman to be in business and make money like a man was unprecedented in Atlanta. This incident caused a great stir. Her illegal business operation made Frank lose his face.

Scarlett is pregnant. She wanted to make more money before production in case of urgent needs, so she bought a second lumber mill. During this time, Scarlett drove to and from the lumber mill by herself every day without any friends except Rhett. One day, Red advised her to be careful on the road, implying that the Ku Klux Klan would retaliate against her if she was attacked by a black man. At that time, the military-controlled government in Atlanta that was implementing the "Reconstruction Act" was planning how to wipe out the Ku Klux Klan and all suspected Southerners.

June Scarlett rushes back to Tara Manor to attend her father's funeral. After the funeral, Scarlett's family, including Ashley, Melanie, and Will, moved to Atlanta and bought a dilapidated house to live in. Melanie, a kind and upright woman, quickly gained trust in the women's community and became a highly respected figure. Although Ashley was entrusted by Scarlett to manage a lumber mill, it was run very poorly.

A few months later, despite the dissuasion and opposition of relatives and friends, Scarlett and Rhett got married. On Christmas Day 1871, the power of state government finally returned to the hands of southerners.

Bonnie was very beautiful, and Rhett devoted almost all his efforts to Bonnie. The reason why Red worked hard to change his image in the eyes of Atlanta residents was entirely to establish Bonnie's future status in Atlanta.

Scarlett still has her old feelings for Ashley. On the afternoon of Ashley's birthday, Scarlett and Ashley had a very lively conversation at the lumber mill. Together they reminisced about the outdoor party. Rhett and Melanie soon learned about this. A few days later, Rhett took Bonnie on a long trip. After he left, Scarlett immediately went to Melanie to confess her fault to her. But Melanie stopped her, and she repeatedly emphasized that only Scarlett was her closest relative. Melanie forces everyone to believe in Scarlett and to protect Scarlett unswervingly.

Soon, Scarlett discovered that she was pregnant again. At this time, she began to miss Rhett and hoped that he would come back soon. The day Rhett arrived home, Scarlett specially greeted him at the stairs. She wanted to tell him the news of pregnancy, but when she saw his sarcastic look, Scarlett couldn't get angry. As a result, he lost his footing and fell down the stairs, breaking his ribs.

Melanie, who has always been in frail health, ignored the doctor’s advice and became pregnant again. Her health deteriorated rapidly after pregnancy. Before she died, she handed over the responsibility of taking care of Ashley to Scarlett. At this time, Scarlett suddenly realized that Melanie, who had always been thin, was actually the sword and shield that protected her, and she also realized for the first time that she loved Melanie.

When Melanie died, Ashley seemed to have lost his backbone, like a child. He was more scared than Scarlett. Only then did Scarlett understand that she did not love Ashley. Her special feelings for Ashley were only because he was not obsessed with her like other men. From then on, the two main spiritual pillars in her life disappeared.

In the thick fog, Scarlett ran home desperately. In the fog, she seemed to be reliving a nightmare that had troubled her many years ago. Finally, she saw the lights of her house, and for a moment she felt that she had seen hope, because there was still Rhett in the world, and the one she really loved was Rhett!

However, it was too late. Rhett was already disappointed with Scarlett and decided to run away from home and leave Scarlett. At this moment, for Scarlett, all the light in life disappeared. Her only way out was to return to Tara Manor. She felt so tired that her brain could no longer handle the stress. She said to herself: "Let's leave it to tomorrow... Anyway, tomorrow is a new day..."

The novel is based on Atlanta and a nearby plantation. The story scenes depict the life of southerners in the United States before and after the Civil War. The work depicts the images of many southerners of that era, with Scarlett, Rhett, Ashley, Melanie and others in the center being typical representatives. Their customs and etiquette, words and deeds, spiritual concepts, and political attitudes, through the love entanglement of Scarlett and Rhett Butler as the main line, successfully reproduced the Civil War led by Lincoln and the social life of the southern United States.

(Sorry for my poor retelling skills, I have read this book and the ending is thought-provoking)