Flashcards for Gone with the Wind

Ashley Wilkes

Ashley Wilkes is the golden-haired, classically educated heir to Twelve Oaks plantation.

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Belle Watling

Belle Watling is known as Atlanta's most infamous madam, running a brothel that clearly sets her apart from respectable society.

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Bonnie Blue Butler

Bonnie Blue Butler is the beloved only child of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, born late in the story as a representation of both her parents' deepest dreams and the collapse of their marriage.

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Charles Hamilton

Charles Hamilton is a minor yet crucial character in Gone With the Wind, primarily known as Scarlett O'Hara's first husband.

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Ellen O'Hara

Ellen O'Hara, née Robillard, is the matriarch of Tara plantation and Scarlett's mother.

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Frank Kennedy

Frank Kennedy is a minor yet crucial character in Gone With the Wind, primarily serving as Scarlett O'Hara's second husband and illustrating her ruthless pragmatism.

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Gerald O'Hara

Gerald O'Hara is the Irish-born patriarch of Tara plantation and one of the most memorable supporting characters in the novel.

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India Wilkes

India Wilkes is Ashley's uptight, sharp-tongued sister and a minor yet symbolically significant antagonist in Gone With the Wind.

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Mammy

Mammy is the O'Hara family's enslaved house servant and one of the most morally complex characters in the novel.

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Melanie Hamilton Wilkes

Melanie Hamilton Wilkes acts as the moral compass of the novel and one of its two main female characters, serving as both a contrast to and an unexpected ally for Scarlett O'Hara.

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Prissy

Prissy is an enslaved house girl at Tara and later in Atlanta, playing a minor yet memorable role in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind.

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Rhett Butler

Rhett Butler is the charming, sharp-eyed outsider who plays both the foil and the tragic romantic lead in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind.

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Scarlett O'Hara

Scarlett O'Hara is the captivating and determined protagonist of Gone With the Wind, whose journey charts a dramatic shift from a pampered plantation belle to a fierce survivor.

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Suellen O'Hara

Suellen O'Hara is the middle sister of the three O'Hara siblings and mainly serves as a contrast to the novel's main character, Scarlett.

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Will Benteen

Will Benteen is a quietly essential supporting character in Gone With the Wind, a Confederate veteran who arrives at Tara near the end of the war—thin, injured, and close to death—and is cared for by the O'Hara family.

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“Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect.”

This line is spoken by Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind.

Rhett Butler

“I'll think of it all tomorrow, at Tara. I can stand it then. Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.”

These are the closing lines of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind (1936), spoken by Scarlett O'Hara after Rhett Butler leaves her, delivering his heart-wrenching farewell.

Scarlett O'Hara · Final chapter (Chapter 63)

“I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new.”

This line is spoken by Rhett Butler near the climax of the novel during his heartbreaking farewell to Scarlett O'Hara.

Rhett Butler · Final chapters (Chapter 63)

“Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is.”

This line is delivered by Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind.

Rhett Butler

“She was never able to recall anything except that she was very tired and that she wanted to go home.”

This line is from Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind (1936) and captures Scarlett O'Hara's mental and emotional state right after the fall of Atlanta and her harrowing escape through burning, war-torn roads back to Tara.

Narrator (focalized through Scarlett O'Hara) · Chapter 23

“Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything, for 'tis the only thing in this world that lasts.”

This line is delivered by Gerald O'Hara, Scarlett's father who emigrated from Ireland, early in the novel as he fervently teaches his daughter about the immense importance of their land — particularly Tara, their plantation in Georgia.

Gerald O'Hara · Chapter 2

“After all, tomorrow is another day.”

This famous closing line is delivered by Scarlett O'Hara, the novel's resilient protagonist, at the conclusion of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind (1936).

Scarlett O'Hara · Final chapter (Chapter 63)

“You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.”

This line is spoken by Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind.

Rhett Butler

“Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.”

This famous line is delivered by Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara at the end of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind (1936).

Rhett Butler · Final chapter (Chapter 63)

Scarlett's Green Dress

In Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Scarlett O'Hara's iconic green dress—especially the gown made from Tara's velvet curtains—represents her resilience and resourcefulness, showcasing her struggle to maintain dignity amid devastation.

Tara Plantation

In Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, Tara Plantation stands for rootedness, resilience, and the alluring myth of the Old South.

The Bonnie Blue Flag

In Gone With the Wind, the Bonnie Blue Flag—featuring a single star on a blue background—captures the romantic yet doomed idealism of the Old South and the Lost Cause narrative that characters like Ashley Wilkes and Rhett Butler's daughter embrace.

The Oak Tree at Tara

In Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, the grand oak trees rooted in Tara's rich Georgia soil symbolize permanence, ancestral strength, and the lasting connection between the O'Hara family and their land.

The Red Earth of Georgia

In Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, the red soil of Tara represents deep roots, identity, and a fundamental source of strength.

Symbolism

In Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell presents Tara — the O'Hara family plantation — as a central symbol throughout the novel.

Imagery

In Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell uses imagery as the novel's main emotional framework, anchoring the vastness of the Civil War and Reconstruction in vivid sensory details.

Motif

In Gone With the Wind, Tara represents a central theme that consistently shapes Scarlett O'Hara's identity and influences her decisions during times of crisis.

Personification

In Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell powerfully employs personification through the land itself—Tara, the O'Hara plantation—depicting it as a living entity that demands loyalty and shapes identity.

Extended Metaphor

In Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell uses the land as a powerful metaphor for identity, survival, and the essence of the South.

Allusion

In Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell builds allusion into the very fabric of the novel.

Irony

In Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell uses irony as a key element of both structure and tone, most powerfully showcased in the contrast between Scarlett O'Hara's self-image and the truth.

Juxtaposition

In Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell uses juxtaposition as both a structural and moral driving force throughout the novel.