Editing Gone with the Wind (novel) (section)

==Critical reception==

===Reviews===
The sales of Margaret Mitchell's novel in the summer of 1936, as the nation was recovering from the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] and at the virtually unprecedented price of three dollars, reached about 1 million by the end of December.<ref name=autogenerated90 /> The book was a bestseller when reviews began appearing in national magazines.<ref name=autogenerated65 /> Herschel Brickell, a critic for the ''New York Evening Post'', lauded Mitchell for the way she "tosses out the window all the thousands of technical tricks our novelists have been playing with for the past twenty years."<ref>Pierpont, C.R., ''A Critic at Large: A Study in Scarlett'', p. 88.</ref>

Ralph Thompson, a book reviewer for ''The New York Times'', was critical of the length of the novel and wrote in June 1936:<blockquote>I happen to feel that the book would have been infinitely better had it been edited down to say, 500 pages, but there speaks the harassed daily reviewer as well as the would-be judicious critic. Very nearly every reader will agree, no doubt, that a more disciplined and less prodigal piece of work would have more nearly done justice to the subject-matter.<ref>[http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/print/ababgwtw/Mitchrev.html "Books of the Times: ''Gone With the Wind'' by Margaret Mitchell"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604232010/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/PRINT/ababgwtw/Mitchrev.html |date=June 4, 2011 }}, Ralph Thompson, (June 30, 1936) ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 13, 2011.</ref></blockquote>Some reviewers compared the book to [[William Makepeace Thackeray|William Thackeray]]'s ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]'' and [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s ''[[War and Peace]]''. Mitchell claimed [[Charles Dickens]] as an inspiration and called ''Gone with the Wind'' a "'[[Victorian era|Victorian]]' type novel."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/gone-wind-novel|title=Gone With the Wind (Novel)|last=McAlexander|first=Hubert H.|date=January 20, 2004|website=New Georgia Encyclopedia|access-date=April 25, 2019}}</ref>[[File:Gone with the Wind three dollars.jpg|thumbnail|Mitchell worried the high $3.00 price would ruin its chance for success. When Mary Louise received this copy from Mother and Dad in December 1937, the novel was the best American fiction bestseller for the second year.<ref>Brown, E., et al., ''Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood'', Taylor Trade Publishing, pp. 44 & 167.</ref>]]

[[Helen Keller]] read the 12-volume Braille edition. The book brought her fond memories of her Southern infancy, but she also felt sadness compared to what she knew about the South. Keller's father had enslaved people and fought as a Confederate captain, but Helen would later support the [[NAACP]] and the [[American Civil Liberties Union|ACLU]].<ref name="Nielsen2007">{{cite journal| title=The Southern Ties of Helen Keller| year=2007| last=Nielsen| first=Kim E.| journal=Journal of Southern History| volume=73| issue=4| url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242408791|url-access=registration |doi=10.2307/27649568 |jstor=27649568 |jstor-access=free| page =800 }}</ref>

===Scholarship: Racial, ethnicity and social issues===
''Gone with the Wind'' has been criticized for its stereotypical and derogatory portrayal of African Americans in the 19th century [[Southern United States|South]].<ref name=autogenerate45>James Loewen [http://www.ushistory.org/us/historians/loewen.asp "Debunking History"], US History transcript from May 12, 2000. Retrieved April 2, 2011.</ref> Former field hands during the early days of Reconstruction are described as behaving "as creatures of small intelligence might naturally be expected to do. Like monkeys or small children turned loose among treasured objects whose value is beyond their comprehension, they ran wild{{snd}}either from perverse pleasure in destruction or simply because of their ignorance."<ref name=autogenerate44/>

Commenting on this passage of the novel, [[Jabari Asim]], author of ''The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why'', says it is "one of the more charitable passages in ''Gone With the Wind'', Margaret Mitchell hesitated to blame black 'insolence' during Reconstruction solely on 'mean niggers',<ref name=autogenerate44/> of which, she said, there were few even in slavery days."<ref>Jabari Asim (2007), ''The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why'', New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, p. 150. {{ISBN|978-0-618-19717-0}}</ref>

Critics say that Mitchell downplayed the violent role of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and their abuse of freedmen. Author [[Pat Conroy]], in his preface to a later edition of the novel, describes Mitchell's portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan as having "the same romanticized role it had in ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'' and appears to be a benign combination of the [[Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks|Elks Club]] and a men's equestrian society".<ref>Pat Conroy, Preface to ''Gone With the Wind'', Pocket Books edition</ref>

Regarding the historical inaccuracies of the novel, historian [[Richard N. Current]] points out:

<blockquote>No doubt it is indeed unfortunate that ''Gone with the Wind'' perpetuates many myths about Reconstruction, particularly with respect to blacks. Margaret Mitchell did not originate them and a young novelist can scarcely be faulted for not knowing what the majority of mature, professional historians did not know until many years later.<ref>Albert E. Castel (2010), ''Winning and Losing in the Civil War: Essays and Stories'', University of South Carolina Press, p. 87. {{ISBN|978-1-57003-917-1}}</ref></blockquote>

In ''Gone with the Wind'', Mitchell explores some complexities in racial issues. A Yankee woman asked Scarlett for advice on whom to appoint as a nurse for her children; Scarlett suggested a "darky", much to the disgust of the Yankee woman who was seeking an Irish maid, a "Bridget".<ref name=autogenerated47 /> African Americans and Irish Americans are treated "in precisely the same way" in ''Gone with the Wind'', writes David O'Connell in his 1996 book, ''The Irish Roots of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind''. Ethnic slurs on the Irish and Irish stereotypes pervade the novel, O'Connell claims, and Scarlett is not an exception to the terminology.<ref>O'Connell, D., ''The Irish Roots of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind'', pp. 14–15 & 71.</ref> Irish scholar Geraldine Higgins notes that Jonas Wilkerson labels Scarlett: "you highflying, bogtrotting Irish".<ref>Part 5, chapter 49</ref> Higgins says that, as the Irish American O'Haras were enslavers and held African Americans in bondage, the two ethnic groups are not equivalent in the ethnic hierarchy of the novel.<ref>Giemza, B.A., ''Rethinking the Irish in the American South: Beyond Rounders and Reelers'', pp. 80–81 & 83.</ref>

The novel has been criticized for promoting plantation values and romanticizing the white supremacy of the antebellum South. Mitchell biographer Marianne Walker, author of ''Margaret Mitchell and John Marsh: The Love Story Behind Gone with the Wind'', believes those who attack the book on these grounds have not read it. She said that the popular 1939 film "promotes a false notion of the [[Old South]]". Mitchell was not involved in the screenplay or film production.<ref>Marianne Walker (1993), ''Margaret Mitchell and John Marsh: The Love Story behind Gone With the Wind'', Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, p. vii (preface to 2011 edition). {{ISBN|978-1-56145-617-8}}</ref>

[[James W. Loewen|James Loewen]], author of ''[[Lies My Teacher Told Me|Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong]]'', says this novel is "profoundly racist and profoundly wrong".<ref name=autogenerate45 /> In 1984, an alderman in Waukegan, Illinois, challenged the book's inclusion on the reading list of the Waukegan School District on the grounds of "racism" and "unacceptable language". He objected to the frequent use of the racial slur ''[[nigger]]''. He also objected to several other books: ''[[The Nigger of the 'Narcissus']]'', ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'', and ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' for the same reason.<ref>Dawn B. Sova (2006), ''Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds'', New York: Infobase Publishing, p. 166. {{ISBN|0-8160-6271-4}}</ref>

Mitchell's use of color in the novel is symbolic and open to interpretation. Red, green, and a variety of hues of each of these colors are the predominant palette of colors related to Scarlett.<ref name=Americana>[http://www.americanpopularculture.com/archive/bestsellers/mitchell.htm "Color Symbolism and Mythology in Margaret Mitchell's Novel Gone with the Wind"], O. Levitski and O. Dumer (September 2006) ''Magazine Americana''. Retrieved December 8, 2013.</ref>

The novel came under intense criticism for alleged racist and white supremacist themes in 2020 following the [[murder of George Floyd]], and the ensuing [[George Floyd protests|protests]] and focus on systemic [[racism in the United States]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=After 84 Years, Gone With the Wind Finally Acknowledged as Racist as Shit|url=https://gizmodo.com/after-84-years-gone-with-the-wind-finally-acknowledged-1844147115|access-date=June 28, 2020|website=Gizmodo|date=June 25, 2020 |language=en-us}}</ref>

===Awards and recognition===

In 1937, Margaret Mitchell received the [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction]] for ''Gone with the Wind'' and the second annual [[National_Book_Award_for_Fiction#Most_Distinguished_Novel_(1935–1936)|National Book Award for Fiction]] from the [[American Booksellers Association]].<ref>"5 Honors Awarded on the Year's Books:", ''The New York Times'', February 26, 1937, page 23. ProQuest Historical Newspapers ''The New York Times'' (1851–2007)</ref> It is ranked as the second favorite book by American readers, just behind the Bible, according to a 2008 [[Harris Insights & Analytics|Harris poll]].<ref name=harrispoll>[http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080408005148/en/Bible-Americas-Favorite-Book-Wind The Bible is America's Favorite Book Followed by ''Gone With the Wind''], (April 8, 2008) ''Business Wire''. Retrieved May 10, 2011.</ref> The poll found the novel has the strongest following among women, those aged 44 or more, both Southerners and Midwesterners, both whites and Hispanics, and those who have not attended college. In a 2014 Harris poll, Mitchell's novel ranked again as second, after the Bible.<ref>[http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/1422/Default.aspx "The Bible Remains America's Favorite Book"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924025030/http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/1422/Default.aspx |date=September 24, 2015 }}, Harris Interactive; Retrieved April 29, 2014.</ref> The novel is on the [[list of best-selling books]]. As of 2010, over 30 million copies have been printed in the United States and abroad.<ref name=Brown>Brown, Ellen F., et al., ''Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood'', p. 320.</ref> More than 24 editions of ''Gone with the Wind'' have been issued in China.<ref name=Brown /> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine critics [[Lev Grossman]] and [[Richard Lacayo]] included the novel on their list of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.<ref name=Time100b>Grossman, Lev & Lacayo, Richard (October 16, 2005). [https://web.archive.org/web/20100216130650/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1951793,00.html "All Time 100 Novels"], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. Retrieved May 10, 2011.</ref><ref name=Time100a>Kelly, James (October 16, 2005). [https://web.archive.org/web/20100310070348/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1951793_1952018_1952023,00.html "Time's List of the 100 Best Novels"], ''Time''. Retrieved May 10, 2011</ref> In 2003, the book was listed at number 21 on the BBC's [[The Big Read]] poll of the UK's "best-loved novel".<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml "BBC – ''The Big Read''"]. BBC. April 2003, Retrieved October 27, 2012</ref>

=== Censorship ===
''Gone with the Wind'' frequently has been the center of controversy.

In 1978, the book was banned from English classrooms in the Anaheim Union High School District in [[Anaheim, California]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Office of Intellectual Freedom|date=March 26, 2013|title=Banned & Challenged Classics|url=https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics|access-date=June 20, 2021|website=American Library Association|language=en}}</ref> 

In 1984, the book was challenged in the Waukegan, Illinois, School District due to the novel's use of the word ''nigger''.<ref name=":0" />