Honors Theses
Date of Award
2014
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Southern Studies
First Advisor
David Wharton
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Although it was a massive success in its time and won a Pulitzer Prize, critics today tend to discard Gone with the Wind as a piece of low-quality, racist, historically inaccurate literature. However, the novel, through no intent of its author, parallels the Great Depression in many ways, a fact that likely contributed to its popularity. As such, the novel can be a useful tool in studying the culture of the 1930s. To study the cultural connections, I began by reading the novel, watching the film, and speculating as to the connections to Depression-era culture. I then researched the author, Margaret Mitchell, to learn the perspective from which she wrote. I read William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! to put Gone with the Wind in comparison with other literature of its time. I also researched 1930s culture to provide background for my comparisons. I then performed my own literary analysis of Gone with the Wind from a historical perspective, using my previous research as a basis. I discovered that there are many parallels between the novel and the era. I also compared the novel, the film adaptation, and 1930s culture to explore the cultural information that can be gleaned from the film as well.
Recommended Citation
Rentz, Cody, "In Another Day: The Historical and Cultural Relevance of Gone With The Wind" (2014). Honors Theses. 215.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/215
Accessibility Status
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