I'm Not Goin'..

I'm Not Goin'..

Lovin' the venom you throw,
   Treasuring the brand on my skin;
into my veins i feel it flow,
   scorching hot it settles in.

Half a decade of shadows,
   Flags of new War;
darken within yet parasitically glow,
   declaring at odds, fighting for more.

You've played your cards,
   And i've been fair;
the Jack sings your tunes like the Bards,
   my Ace us yet to declare.

Push me, shove me, deflower me
   But I ain't goin' nowhere;
You've done your bit,
   And I'm not goin', so you must love me...

-Jk
(L1-L3 and L2-L4 in each stanza make a strand...)
1700
26th July 2011
(written while waiting for an importanat verdict from an expert...)
(inspired from the musical 'Dreamgirls' and its song 'You Must Love Me')

Gone with the Wind... (3)

Gone with the Wind... (3)

Melanie Hamilton Wilkes (Melly)

Considering the importance of each of the principals in the novel, i thought i'd rather analyse each of my favorites.  Rhett Butler and Melanie Wilkes top my list followed by Scarlett O'Hara and then follow Mammy, Ellen and Gerald O'Hara, Wade Hampton, Frank Kennedy, the Tarleton twins, and last Ashley Wilkes. somehow all through the narration i never warmed up to Ashley. Rhett won me over instantaneously. while Mrs. Melanie Wilkes grows on to the reader

Melanie as a character is described as a quintessential sweet girl who remains genteel, polite and positive. she never saw anything bad in anyone. she was like a child at heart. she remained innocent and loved. many  readers would find that to be a cliche and there is no disagreement with that. she is all that. Melanie Wilkes is a foil to Scarlett. Scarlett aspired to be a lady like Ellen, moreover she tried her best to replace Melanie which remained futile.

As a character Melly remains undiscovered in my eyes. she appears to be child like and petite with hip that resemble her lil son Beau. According to Scarlett, Melly had had no bosom. physically Melly was weak. one child birth had sent her to the death bed. it was Scarlett who nursed her back to health. Rhett Butler comments on how Melly had a heart; nothing else. Period.

Rhett says Melanie Wilkes is the only great lady he knows and overtly admires (and he expresses may be Ellen O'Hara would be like Melly). a social outcast like Rhett and a severely disliked member of a community, Scarlett - both remain close to her. while Rhett always appreciates her. she helps him grieve over Bonnie's accidental death. she nurses him that fateful night. she helps him in matters of emotions. and he too helped in the earlier pre-war times. the night when Atlanta was under an attack he carried Melanie to the carriage and helped her and Scarlett escape to Tara with Wade, new born Beau and Prissy. it is true he did it for Scarlett but one can observe his gentleness with her. Melanie's last words to Scarlett are : be kind to Capt. Butler, he cares for you. even in death she thought of her friends.

the relationship between Scarlett and Melanie is often bizarre. Melanie admires Scarlett for her grit, her courage and survival instincts. Scar's determination and bravery are seen in Melanie when Scar shoots the Yankee officer at Tara. a fire is seen in Melanie. so in other words, there was a mini-Scarlett who remained dormant in Melly. it was obvious Melly admires and loves Scar. and she was faithfully loyal and grateful to Scarlett all her life and in her death.

Scarlett O'Hara despised Melanie. plain simple and there is no other way around to explain the situation. Scar envied Melly for the latter had Ashley. for Melly was a respected lady under all circumstances. for Melly was loved, and Melly was ever so popular and people loved being around Melly. in this manner, Scar's was a clear case of sour grapes. however, with gradual time, Melly substitutes Ellen (Scar's mommy) in Scar's life. Scarlett often sought Melly's approval though she did make fun of her and all. yet Melly was her only peer to remain with her through thick and thin. Melly was her only support system. Melly was the lady that Scar wanted to be. Melly's death did hurt her family. her lil son Beau, her husband Ashley, Aunt Pitty, India Wilkes. Scar, one can assume, lost her only ally, her only peer and friend. the only female companion she ever had.

Melanie Wilkes was the beloved lady of Atlanta. she was the beloved child of the town. and in today's world her kind is rare.

Gone with the Wind... (2)

Gone with the Wind... (2)

to read is like to meditate... it brings profound insight.

'Gone With the Wind' brought out in me a person who is understanding, someone who felt the hardships of Ms. Scarlett. seeing  her make her way through the pre-war times, surviving the war and struggling in the post war world helps one understand her. her marriages, each of the three, are a journey in their own rights. each reveal an important facet of her persona.

many a readers have idealized Ms. O'Hara and her struggles. i'd certainly add myself among those. i do feel inspired by Scarlett's instincts and practicality and her obstinate desire to live according her own ways. however, in my own opinion may be Scarlett is over-rated. (omg! blasphemous statement!)

the other principals and secondary characters are also just as important.. each of them aid in fleshing out Scarlett's character and also explain the themes of the novel (love, war, survival, post-war, slavery). Rhett Butler, Melanie Wilkes, Ashley, Mammy, Ellen and Gerald O'Hara, aunt Pitty, Frank Kennedy, Belle Watling, Uncle Peter, India Wilkies, Charles Hamilton, Big Sam, Brent and Stuart Tarleton, Will Benteen, Suellen, Careen and others. the children of the principals are also instrumental. Melanie and Ashley's son Beau, Scarlett and Charles's son Wade, Scar and Frank's lil girl Ella and Rhett and Scar's Bonnie - each child has a substantial role to play. Like her parents, Bonnie Blue Butler plays an important role.

Scarlett is the soul of the novel, yet as a reader her character often made me wonder if she was way too much of a misfit or was she just a hedonist who failed to realize the importance of her present while pondering about the future and the past. one may let go of the previous husbands. she married Charles in rage/envy, and Frank out of necessity of money. but her blind and obsessive infatuation with Ashley Wilkies and her confusion between liking and love results in the fading away of Rhett's love for her. Rhett was only man to love her what she was, a 'rascal' to quote him.

Ellen and Melanie were her anchors, her towers of strength, and she loses both. after the demise of the each of the 'great ladies', Scar learns of her love for Tara, the plantation and Rhett her husband and her only love.

Cont...

Gone with the Wind...

Gone with the Wind... (1)

reading an epic novel has its own charm, its own attraction so to say. the sheer volume did make me wonder if i was outta ma mind! for this was no 'mills and boons' or 'Nicholas Sparks' or a classic that was going to venture. it was Margret Mitchell's 'Gone with the Wind'. i had spent weeks thinking would i be able to complete or shall it meet the with fate of Hardy's 'Return of the Native', which i read in bits and rapidly schemed through till the time Mrs. Yeobright set on the fateful journey. a lot of questions ran across. so this American classic was my Everest for the summer. it was my idea of defying my own lethargy.  

every sporting event requires a thorough warm up. reading, in my view needs the same. thus, EM Forster's 'A Room With a View' and 'Maurice', Judith Guest's 'Ordinary People', F.Scott Fitzgerald's classic 'The Great Gatsby', 'The Quilt' by Ismat Chughtai and short stories by Premchand  proved to awaken the ardent reader in me. i became restless and addicted. i wanted more. i knew i was ready to for Scarlett O'Hara and her Southern world. 

contd...