Editing Gone with the Wind (novel) (section)

===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>