Ages of Audience
Adults
Where could you offer this?
Library or Book Club/Reading Group
What type of room do
you need?
Classroom, community room, or living room
Type of Lesson (may be more than one)
1. Small group exercise/discussion
critical thinking
2. Video (optional)
Time Needed
1. Scientist prep time: time to read the
almost 1000 page book
2. Participant time: about 1 hour to discuss
the land theme in the novel
Soil and Land in Gone with
the Wind
There are many works of literature that
use the powerful symbolism of soil or land.
Authors have included the metaphor of the
fertility or lack of productivity of soil in
their writings since the Bible. This activity
shows how the novel Gone with the Wind,
along with a few movie clips, can stimulate
a discussion of the symbolism of land and the
importance of soil to people and societies.
This could be equally useful in the classroom
or for a book club or reading group.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
was published in 1936. This Pulitzer Prizewinning
historical novel covers the Civil War
and Reconstruction from a Southern point of
view. Numerous themes emerge during the
course of the story, from the role of women
to the lost cause of the South, to survival,
to the importance of land. It remains one of
the best-selling books of the 20th century. It
is ranked as the eighth most-read book in the
world (see right).
There are several critical scenes that
highlight the significance of the land to Scarlett’s
spirit and her very survival. In some
cases, touching the soil itself is what inspires