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Sunday, 30 December 2012

Scarlett O'Hara

I've just finished reading Gone With The Wind. And it is, hands down one of the best books I have read! Scarlett O'Hara is one of the most beautiful and real characters created. You hate her, you sympathise with her and finally, you fall in love with her! She is strong, but at the same time longs for someone to take care of her, to pamper her.. To do the same things she does for everyone! She starts off as an attractive young girl, used to the attention of boys, and loving it! Nothing matters to her more than getting a pretty ball gown, and a bonnet to go with it! She doesn't care for literature, or the war that is around the corner! And her infatuation with Ashley Wilkes! She just couldn't stand the fact that someone wasn't beguiled enough by her charms and was marrying someone far less attractive or interesting than she was! Out of spite, she marries his fiancee's brother just to rub it into his face! I like the fact that she isn't a saint. She's a real person with flaws. And that's what makes her all the more beautiful!
When widowed, she longs for the life she had before! She hated black and the fact that she couldn't dance or participate in the merriment. She was only a girl of sixteen, saddled with a child and a duty to mourn her husband. Of course she resented it! But she geared it with dignity, even though on the inside she was screaming. And what girl wouldn't jump at the offer to dance, when she hasn't been offered in the longest time? I don't think she even cared about who it was with, or the scandal that she was causing!
But behind that pretty, dainty face of hers, was hidden a woman of real steel. She was the only one who kept her family going through the hard times. She worked in the fields till she had calluses on her palms, she took care of her father after her mother passed away. She took care of her sisters, her son, Melanie and her son. She provided for them and she also killed to protect them. She always made sure there was food on the table. But the fact is that she longs to be the person she had been before. She longs to not have a care in the world! Although I don't condone the fact that she married her sister's beau without telling anyone, she did it to save Tara, the place she loved and also the place where her entire family was living. I love the fact that even during the time when all women were supposed to do was look pretty and stand beside their husband, she had the guts to run her own business and she was also a darn sight better at it than her second husband.
She may have had her flaws, but she would never ever allow anyone to mistreat the slaves. In fact, she was almost ready to whip the man who wasn't giving them enough to eat. In my opinion, her marriage to Rhett Butler was one of the best decisions she'd ever made, because, even she'd never admit it, he truly made her happy. And he was practically the only man who saw her for what she was. Not the pretty maiden, but a fiery, spirited young woman with so much courage and strength that she would put a man to shame! She shows so much strength when she has a miscarriage, and when her youngest daughter dies. She may be selfish, but that doesn't erase the fact that she is a true soldier. However bad things got, she always managed to pull everyone up, not for a moment did she give up. Not for a moment, did she put her head in her hands and say she couldn't do anything. That, if you ask me is true grit. She is truly one of my favourite storybook characters after Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Atticus Finch. This is a book that if one reads, one never forgets. Scarlett O'Hara is a person that you envy, love, admire and at times identify with. If you read the book, I'm sure you will love her too!

Tuesday, 25 December 2012

The Ugly Truth...

Hey! If you're reading this you're reading this, you've lived through doomsday! Sorry! Cliched, I know! Anyway merry Christmas! I know I haven't written in a long time, but I couldn't think of anything to write! Currently, me and my family, are watching the news like crazy people because of the rape case in Delhi. It is such an ugly thing to happen, but as much as I hate to admit it, not an uncommon occurrence in our country! Like my mom repeatedly says, all women in India have been through something unpleasant with men! I just can't believe the gall that most men have! I mean, how dare they think that it's okay to do something like this! And then try to blame it on the women! How is it ever the woman's fault? Is it her fault that she's a woman? Should she not work, wear the clothes she wants to, assert herself, become successful? It's not fair that men act as superior beings! We live in a democratic country, shouldn't all of us have equal rights? I mean our constitution looks great on paper, but when will we actually follow those principles? I was watching a show called 'We The People', where an actor Rahul Bose said that part of the reason this happens is because men  can't deal with the fact that now women are coming up in life, are getting ahead and it infuriates them! How will our country even develop socially, when men can't accept the fact that they have to be equal to women? How can anyone be proud of a country that can't protect it's women? It's a shameful thing and I hope that for once our government does something about this situation!

Saturday, 8 December 2012

New years'!!

Hmm.. It's less than two weeks to doomsday and no one really seems to care anymore! Everyone is about their own business and planning for the next year! Me? I'm gonna be planning a farewell party for my seniors! And it just so happens that it falls on doomsday!! Ironic, right? That is also the day my sister comes home from college. I just finished my second semester and I'm now heading towards my finals... God! I wonder when I won't have exams?!?
Life is so fast these days! Before you know it the year has come and gone!! It was quite an eventful year for me! What with my board exams and my sister leaving! It's hard to believe that the new year is just around the corner! And my 17th birthday too! Although I'm not interested in celebrating, it still is a milestone! I'm a year away from driving and voting! It's also my first b'day without my sister! That's gonna be very odd!
I also don't have a habit of making resolutions because I rarely stick to it! As a matter if fact I don't think anyone does! But I guess it's tradition for people to make a promise to be different and better human beings in the new year! But according to me, people don't change, just their circumstances do!! I haven't decided what I'm going to do for new years' this time! Not that I do much anyway! I'll probably just end up having a sleepover with my friends! What about you?