Wednesday 16 November 2011

on Public Opinions and Strength of Conviction

I can write a lot on how weak characters get swayed by public opinion. There are many angles from which I can deal with this topic, working in the television industry I've seen stories being changed, new tracks being introduced, beautiful stories been hacked mercilessly to conform . Today, however I want to tell a story. A story that is a classic, its been read by millions across the globe.

As is the case with me, I don't read the story as it is, I read between lines, I read the subtext, I reach my conclusions and form opinions.i  go with the flow, i don't take a negative character on face value. The story I'm writing is one of my all time favorites " Gone With the Wind" for people who have not yet read this beautiful novel I recommend that you do, but for the time being here is a link to a brief narrative of the basic plot: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind#Plot_summary


Scarlett O'Hara on surface reading appears to be an impulsive, shortsighted, selfish young girl, too hot headed for her own good. From my point of view, she is all of the above except the selfish part. Scarlett believed in one thing, one thing only... Tara. Tara was the plantation owned by her father. His blood and sweat had built it up. Scarlett would go to any lengths to preserve this piece of land. The other thing Scarlett believed in, was her love for Ashley. These two things that Scarlett believed in dictated her every move, they changed the direction of her life several times, the public opinion about her was always negative. Her neighbours, her sisters, the men in her life, her extended family, nobody understood her, they judged her. She had this childlike innocence that believed ,the end justifies the means. Scarlett didn't bat an eye lid to get married to a man she didn't love, who was her sister's fiance', she knew she would get the required money to save Tara. it was as simple as that for her. Scarlett never could live on Tara post her marriage, that didn't stop her. Had her sister got married to that man, would she have sacrificed as much as Scarlett did to save Tara?

Scarlett became tough when required. She did not sit down weeping and wallowing in her misfortune, she did what ever it took to get back on her feet, bring Tara back on its feet. She hid the wallet in Melanie's baby's diaper to protect it from Yankees, she shot a man and buried him, she nursed her sister's back to health, she took care of her father, mammy , her other servants, she took on the mantle, the role destiny had decided for her. Yes she was not too diplomatic about her ways, she didn't plead and cajole people, she took life by its horn and was undefeated till the very end .

Once she was married, her husband describes her sweet gestures of warming his slippers and taking care of his medication. She took care of people in her own way. She gave Ashely a job, it enabled him to sustain his family. She cared for Melanie through her child birth. After Melanie's death she prevented Ashley from harming himself, whatever her reasoning, Scarlett did things her convictions lay in. She did not care what other's thought of her. She was full of life, courage and an immense inner strength. She defied what the societies diktats were, she was probably the first " woman of today".

I read Gone With the Wind for the first time when I was in school. I re -read it several times over the years, every time life challenged to throw me into an abyss of darkness and helplessness. I fought, I learnt from Scarlett, not to care about shallow people, their opinions. I learnt to lead my life on my own terms. Public opinion is just that, opinion of people who actually have nothing to do with your personal life. Who is society and where is this society that throws brickbats at you when you dare to be different. Why should I care about what some fictitious character is supposed to have done and now I have to follow his standards? Why should I care about people who judge from their narrow point of views? I too took life by its horns. I learnt, grew, made mistakes, fell down, got up and ran again, just like God intended.

All I know when one strongly believe in something, has the strength of conviction ,in anything, his art, his writing, his opinion, his life style, no public opinion can make him cower. You can be killed, burnt at stake, boycotted , your views can be thrashed, yet there will be, maybe a fistful of people, people who look deeper, people who have a wiser understanding, people who may remain silent, but  who will believe, who will understand. As many people as there are in the world, those many opinions exist, blindly following what has been fed through centuries, never questioning how bad someone who had been declared bad. Is the villain really wrong? is the hero that virtuous? it just shows lack of belief in your own analytical powers. people who follow can never be leaders. People need numbers when they have no personal convictions.

Today I wanted to write about Scarlett O'Hara, about Gone With the Wind, I guess I haven't done justice to it, but thank you Margret Mitchel for the heroine you've given us. I will try again, another day.... for tomorrow is another day... as for public opinions.... need I quote Rhett Butler yet again???





2 comments:

  1. neat! quite a tragedy of a love story, though. not that tragedies are bad.

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  2. history is a collection of Opinions and perspectives of a very few . Religion is a set of rules and interpretations thereof . FACT of one is the HYPOTHESIS of the other . LOVE, FAITH, COURAGE & FATE has different approaches and no one can judge the other on the path he/she chooses. The fact that imposing a thought process and a way of life on a group of people, basing on a text or a person's life is not right. open mindedness in one's approach to life is aptly described in the prose piece above... very eloquently put :)

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