Those Changes that the Underwent through Southern American Literature Research Paper

Those Changes that the Underwent through Southern American Literature - Research Paper Example These river valleys was were civilisation was at peak in this region as it was the location of most of the towns, however, between these valleys and in the least accessible mountainous regions little human activity took place. However, westward expansion through the southern Appalachian turned towards the Ohio valley and North West territory changed this course and people started settling in the mountainous regions. Relationships between families and communities in this region were hostile and although they sometimes united to maintain churches and schools, the memberships of these institutions kept on changing. Slavery in this region was the norm where slaves were got from Africa to work for their American masters in their land or in their homes. In the novel ‘Gone with the wind’, Margaret Mitchell has depicted slavery in the southern America region by dividing the characters in two groups along class lines: the white planter class such as Scarlett and Ashley, and the b lack servant class such as Mammy, Prissy, pork and uncle Peter who acted as house servants. Mitchell goes further to show the subdivisions that were there in different classes such as among the slaves, there were those who worked in the house and stayed with their master; these were considered to belong to the highest caste. In addition, there were those who worked in the farms and did manual work; these were considered to be lower in the caste system of the slaves (Mitchell 24) Southern Belle, which is the traditional reference for a young woman in southern America who belonged to the rich upper class, has been brought up in the character of Scarlett O’Hara. Scarlett O’Hara is depicted as an attractive person although not good-looking, which is a perfect description of a southern belle. However, for Scarlett, the perfect description of a southern belle is her mother Ellen whose back is never seen to rest against the back of any seat on which she sit and whose broken h eart is usually mistaken for an innocent composure. The charming nature of a southern belle can be seen in the way that Scarlett is able to manoeuvre the wars and financial misfortunes that happen to her and gain wealth of her own. In addition, despite several of her husbands dying, she was determined to get married and raise a family of her own, a typical characteristic of a southern belle. The battles and confrontations that the southern part of America participated in shaped the history of the area; these battles saw the young men recruited to the army despite the conflicting interests where young girls wished them to remain behind for marriage purposes. Some of the battles that the southern communities were involved in include the seven days battle at Richmond Virginia that lasted between 25th June and 1st July in 1962 and the confederate army won; the battle of Fredericksburg at Fredericksburg, Virginia from December 11th to 15th, the confederate army won. Other battles were th e Streight’s Raid in northern Alabama from April 19 – May 3, 1863 where union colonel was captured by confederate army general, Battle of Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania County in Virginia from April 30 to May 6 where the confederate a