Gone With the Wind Part 5

On the last two Gone With the Wind Wednesday's, the topic has been characters.  Namely Scarlett, Rhett, Melanie, and Ashley.

Today's post examines two more integral characters, Tara and Twelve Oaks.

Yes, these are the names of two plantations in the book and film.  But places can be characters too.  These two plantations have story-line's of their own.  They are dynamic characters, meaning they change over the course of the story.  We as readers and viewers come to care what happens to these places/homes of our main human characters.

Tara is the name of the plantation that Scarlett grows up on.  Twelve Oaks is the name of the plantation that Ashley grew up on.  Both Scarlett and Ashley care deeply about their homes.  This becomes clear over the course of the story.  As Gerald, Scarlett's father said "land is the only thing that matters".

Tara

Twelve Oaks

These were cotton plantations in the American south (The Confederacy) in the mid to late 1800's.  Large, well maintained, and filled with people.  At least at the beginning.  These places are the source of both great happiness and great sorrow.  The type of homes that represent a way of life.  They are at once filled with love and strife.  The strife of the landowners and their families and strife of the slaves that helped to run these gigantic operations.

Grand Staircase at Twelve Oaks

Beautiful homes.

Random Saturday

I came across this song the other day called Ambition, so far I know the artist's name is Ian Crosstown and I think he's in L.A.  I will post more later about him, but I wanted help get this "out there" so hear it is:

Benjamin Bunny gives it 9 out of 10 Bunnies.

Gone With the Wind Part 4

The Character of Melanie

Gone With the Wind both the book and the film have a somewhat large cast of characters.  This week for Gone With the Wind Wednesday we will cover two major characters.  Melanie Hamilton and Ashley Wilkes.




Melanie Hamilton was played by Olivia de Haviland in the film adaptation.  In the book and the film she has been described by Scarlett as "mealy mouthed", "who won't open her mouth except to say yes or no."  However, Melanie has a quiet strength that might sometimes go overlooked.  When she is introduced she is a quiet girl from Atlanta.  She is Ashley's cousin.  "Wilkes's always marry their cousins" according to another character.






                                                                                                                                                        
Ashley Wilkes was played by Leslie Howard in the film adaptation.  Ashley is Scarlett's childhood and longtime love or rather crush.  He is from the plantation down the road from Tara called Twelve Oaks.  He is a slow and steady character, part of the old guard of the South.  This means he loved the South the way it was before the Civil War started and changed his homeland.

The Character of Ashley Wilkes

  

Olivia de Haviland as:

                                                                   Leslie Howard as:

           A clip about Ashley and Melanie: