A Whiff of familiarity in Margaret MitchellMitchell’s 'Gone with the Wind' and Sarita Mandana’s 'Tiger Hills'

Résumé ou Introduction

Margret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind is both a romance and a meditation on the changes that swept over America in 1860’s. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. The novel illustrates the struggles of the southern people who lived in the civil war era. The story opens in the pre war Georgia, where tradition, chivalry and pride thrive. As the civil war began, the setting shifts to Atlanta where the war leads to the breakdown of traditional gender roles and power structures. The epic tale comes to an end in 1871 after the democrats regain power in Georgia. The novel has a genuine sweep, a convincing feel for the passage of time. It shows the South before, during and after the war, all seen through the eyes of Scarlett O’Hara.
Gone With The Wind is the story of woman’s life during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. From her young, innocent days on a feudalistic plantation to the war torn streets of Atlanta, from the utmost luxury to absolute starvation and poverty – from her innocence to her understanding and comprehension of life. The story is about Scarlett O’Hara, the spoilt daughter of a wealthy plantation owner.
Tiger Hills written by Sarita Mandana is a multi- generational tale set against the picturesque backdrop of Coorg – the Scotland of India. The Europeans had settled down in the area in their estates on the coffee plantation. The original inhabitants of the area dwelled in villages in their golden thatched homes. Each family had its own wetlands and grazing pastures. And then there were these dense forests “simmering with a dangerous, compelling beauty, marked by faintest of trails.”