Peggy (Margaret) Mitchell Gone with the Wind

1. Which of the following best describes the social class of the O’Hara family?

a. merchants b. poor whites c. planters d. factors

2. Which of the following best describes Mammie’s role at the O’Hara plantation?

a. field hand b. domestic slave c. skilled slave d. driver

3. What is the name of the O’Hara’s home?

a. Scarlett b. Twelve Oaks c. Atlanta d. Tara

4. Mammie is an outspoken character who isn’t afraid of voicing her opinion about Scarlett’s behavior and is much involved in things that concern the O’Hara family. She frequently refers to others, both black and white, as “trash.”

In your opinion, do you think it was common for a slave in Mammie’s position to be as outspoken? Justify your opinion with information you know about the relationships between slaves and owners.

4. Rhett Butler is introduced at the barbeque at Twelve Oaks. In one scene, the men are discussing the possibilities of secession and war. Although many share similar opinions, others do not. How did the following characters feel about secession and war?

a. Ashley Wilkes:

b. Charles Hamilton, Gerald O’Hara, Frank Kennedy, the Tarleton twins, and the rest of the crowd:

c. Rhett Butler:

5. In that same scene, Rhett points out that the South will be at a disadvantage in the war because the North is better equipped and more prepared. Name two things that the North has but the South lacks. How does lacking these things put the South at a disadvantage?

During the war…

1. In one scene, Melly and Scarlett are working at dance to raise money for the Confederacy. Dr. Meade gets on stage to announce a Confederate victory and to reintroduces Rhett Butler as a courageous blockade runner.

a. What is a blockade?

b. What purpose did a blockade serve during the Civil War?

c. What does Rhett do as a blockade runner?

d. Because of the blockade, many goods are difficult to acquire, especially luxury items. Eventually, even common items become hard to find. Using what you know about supply and demand, how will the price of these goods change as a result of the blockade?

2. In one scene, Scarlett and Melly are waiting for a list of dead, captured, or wounded soldiers to find out news about Ashley. After reading through the list,

a. What do they learn about Ashley?

b. What does Scarlett learn about her friends and acquaintances who were fighting in the war?

3. Scarlett’s life changes drastically while in Atlanta during the war. Scarlett, Melly, and several other women perform a variety of tasks to contribute to the war effort, but there is one in particular that Scarlett truly dislikes. Which is it?

a. nursing wounded soldiers b. picking cotton c. sewing uniforms d. caring for orphaned children

4. When Scarlett learns that many in Atlanta are evacuating, she runs into the panicked streets, where she notices Big Sam and several other O’Hara slaves being led by a military officer. Big Sam tells Scarlett that they are going to work in the war.

a. What task will they perform?

b. Are they working for the Union or the Confederacy?

5. In one scene, many people are fleeing Atlanta as the Union’s army approaches. Scarlett cannot leave until Melly has had her baby. Finally, when she does, Rhett arrives to take them out of Atlanta. They have heard explosions for hours, and on their way out, they discover that the warehouses and other places containing war materials have been set on fire.

a. Did Union or Confederate troops set fire to the warehouses? Explain why this was done.

After the war…

1. Once Scarlett arrives in her county, she notices many physical changes to the homes and landscape as a result of total war.

a. What is total war?

b. What was the purpose of total war?

c. What has happened to the county as a result of total war?

d. Which Union general led a total war campaign through much of Georgia?

2. Scarlett returns to a broken home, where her mother has died, and her father has lost touch with reality. Because of this, she must become head of the household. How was this responsibility unusual considering the role of women during the antebellum and post-bellum era?

3. After Scarlett marries Frank Kennedy, she takes over his store’s operation and opens a lumber mill. She drives out to the mill regularly despite many people warning her that it has become dangerous since homeless former slaves and soldiers had set up Shanty Town near there.

a. What happens to Scarlett on her way to the mill?

b. Which of the O’Hara’s former slaves rescues Scarlett?

4. Because of the Shanty Town incident, Ashley, Frank, and a group of others set fire to the area. A number of men die as a result. When the Union officers arrive to arrest Ashley, Melly tells them that he is at a political meeting at Frank’s store. The officer replies that there was no political meeting, insinuating that Ashley and the others are involved in a secret organization that opposes Yankee occupation of Atlanta, Reconstruction, and freed slaves.

Based on this description, to which group does the officer believe Ashley and the others belong?

5. In one scene, Scarlett is talking to Ashley about leasing convict workers, whose supervisor has been known to deprive them of food and medical care. Ashley objects, saying, “I will not make money off of the forced labor and misery of others.” Scarlett responds, “You weren’t so particular about owning slaves,” to which Ashley says, “That was different. We didn’t treat them that way.”

Compare Ashley’s view on how his family treated slaves to what you know about the treatment of slaves both in the South and in Louisiana. How did certain aspects of slavery differ in south LA in comparison to other southern states?