LCE 6th grade Electronic Book Review Form

1. Student Reviewer’s Name: Andrea K.
2. Date of review of book: February 24, 2008
3. Complete Book Title: Gone With the Wind
4. Author of Book: Margaret Mitchell
5. Year the book was published: 1936
6. Genre: Historical Fiction
7. Student rating of the book (1 the highest, 5 the lowest): 1

8. Main conflict in the book:

In the Old South, plantation owners relied on slave labor. But, after the Civil War, the only way to survive was to work hard, start a business and enter the modern era. Ashley Wilkes, the object of Scarlett’s affection, was an intellectual and a dreamer. He was the personification of a gentleman in the Old South. In contrast, Scarlett O’Hara represents the New South., frowned upon by the community for running a business better than any man. In the book, Scarlett’s challenge was to escape the Yankees as they attacked Atlanta, feed her starving family after the Yankees burned the area surrounding Tara, her family’s plantation, and find the money to pay the taxes on Tara to save it from being purchased by its former overseer.

9. Setting of the book: (place and time)

Gone with the Wind is set in the Civil War era; it spans the period immediately preceding the war, the war itself, and the Reconstruction after the war. This epic takes place at Tara, the O’Hara family’s plantation in Northern Georgia, and in the city of Atlanta.

10. Main Characters and part they play in the book:

(1) Scarlett O’Hara was raised to be a charming Southern belle, but demonstrated that she actually was not a helpless creature. She is the book’s main character who shows her strength repeatedly. For example, when she returns to Tara after the Union army has passed through and burned the surrounding plantations, she digs in the dirt with her bare hands to find food to feed her family. She also demonstrates an unladylike ability to run a business and add figures in her head when she purchases a sawmill and earns money to pay the taxes on her land.

(2) Rhett Butler met Scarlett when she slapped Ashley Wilkes because he was marrying someone else. Rhett teased Scarlett throughout the book about not being a true lady. He made a tremendous amount of money smuggling goods during the Civil War and it is that money which entices Scarlett to marry him.

11. Are the characters believable and interesting?

Scarlett O’Hara is very believable because the risks she took to survive, support her family, and save her plantation are what everyone living in modern times would do. When she is confronted with problems that would hold her back from achieving her goals, she tells herself that she will think about the problem tomorrow, because after all, “tomorrow is another day.” This was a helpful method for keeping her sanity intact despite the destruction of her entire world. Rhett Butler is also very interesting because he is a dashing, clever man who knew how to make his fortune.

12. One excellent direct quotation from the book: (include who said it, page number, and
quotation marks.)

On page 428, Scarlett is near starvation and says, “As God is my witness, as God is my witness, the Yankees aren’t going to lick me. I’m going to live through this, and when it’s over, I’m never going to be hungry again. No, nor any of my folks. If I have to steal or kill—as God is my witness, I’m never going to be hungry again.”

13. Good reasons to read the book: This book gives a realistic picture of life in the Civil War era. The easy plantation life was different from the hardships of battles, sieges, and hard work during wartime and Reconstruction. It brings the era to life.

14. Any reasons not to read the book? This book was written from the viewpoint of Southerners during the Civil War. Their feelings toward their slaves might be very offensive to readers. This book has to be read in the context of the prejudice of its era.

15. Did you like this book or not? And why….

I liked this book because of its drama and action, the twists and turns of the story line and the descriptive and powerful writing.