Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Another of my personal favorites.

Gone with the Wind is the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a young woman growing up in the south in her father's cotton plantation. The story follows Scarlett through her personal struggles with love, loss, and poverty set to the time period of the Civil War, the freeing of slaves, and the hardships of the south's recovery.

Gone with the Wind has been banned by several schools since the release of the book in 1936. Back when it was first released it was banned for the use of such words as "whore" and "damn." Those are only sidenotes today in what many schools consider to be wrong with the novel. Now the book is often challenged for the use of the word "nigger," the most recent bannings being in 1978 and 1984. The book is also challenged for the actions of the main character, Scarlett, as she manipulates many of the people in her life by use of her charm and sexuality to survive and reach closer to where she wants to be in life.


* For more info on the bannings of Gone with the Wind - http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/reasonsbanned

* For more detail on the story of Gone with the Wind - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind


Is Gone with the Wind appropriate for school reading? Is the use of the term "nigger" in poor taste in this novel or does it offer insight to the students on a very real time in American history? If it does offer insight, do you think it's relevant to teach students of the lifestyle African Americans lived at the time or do you believe most students are beyond it?

*5 points extra credit


Happy reading,
Ms. Lewis