329-2012--Week 6 Questions/Comments

Historical Inaccuracies
Portrayal of African Americans

Where to begin when describing everything that is wrong with this movie… For starters, the material culture in this movie is terrible, despite the fact that they are probably using original accessories and firearms. The portrayal of slavery is also very terrible, portraying the slaves as simple minded and supporting the South. That is why they marched to the front lines out of their own free will to dig trenches to fight the Yankees. The list goes on and on. –Paige

'''One of the most memorable moments was when the black slaves were going to dig ditches for the Confederate soldiers and tell Scarlett that they're going to fight off the Yankees and she shouldn't worry. This is a romanticized notion of how southerners portrayed blacks/slaves in the South'''. Also, that the slaves had a special relationship with their owners. After the war, word usage changed from slaves to servants, which was probably true since they had nowhere else to go. - Hannah L

'''The handling of the character of Prissy was frustrating. She is cast as an incompetent, flighty and hysterical girl. What a shallow and stereotypical depiction of a slave from a antebellum white perspective''' --Ellen S.

I agree with Rachel T., and think thatBig Sam's character also emphasized the myth of the "happy slave". He shows an almost paternal concern for Scarlett in Atlanta. I also thought it was inaccurate the way Mammy stayed with the O'Haras after the war ended; we discussed how many former slaves left their old homes, but Mammy just stuck around like nothing had changed. --Carrie

'''Such PAINFUL stereotypes about slaves. Mammy, Prissy, Big Sam. '''Because Big Sam certainly would have been thrilled to dig ditches for the white southerners and they would have wanted to defeat the dreaded Yankees. And though this isn’t directly race-related, per se, the notion of an Irish-Catholic planter elite is off. Irish? Yes. Catholics? Yes. Planter Elite? Yes. But altogether, an unlikely union. – Sara G.

I thought the relationship shared between Mammy and the O'Haras, especially Scarlett, was very interesting. Like all of the other slaves, Mammy always appeared in the stereotype of the happy slave who truly appreciated her masters. However,''' the relationship Mammy had with the family is one of mutual respect and caring. Mammy was a mother figure to Scarlett and as such Scarlett seemed to take Mammy's advice to heart. This almost equal relationship helps to further the idea that slaves happily played integral role in the lives of their owners.''' -Rachel T.

'''Mammy was... well, yeah. She was the happy all the time, fierce and a strong... anyway. It wasn't accurate as we have seen in the past with films like this.''' These filmmakers present the idea that slaves were the happiest people alive making people say things like, "Slaves were soooo happy." Bollocks, they were not. It was not like this. And this is why films should not be blatantly inaccurate. -Jeremy

The film portrays many african americans as being blessed for their position in white society. Many of the black characters are sarcastic and allow for comedic relief. In the first act Mammy is portrayed as almost being Scarlett's mother at times. At one point, Mammy even yells at Scarlett to stop acting like "white trash" and start acting respectable "like ladies". -- Sam R.

The roles of the slaves in the movies were not portrayed as we have learned. They were either happy or had a civil relationship with their owners. Most slaves during the time were not given presents, like the red petticoats, by their masters or have a relationship where they would save them from attackers away from the plantation. - Emily

This is what probably frustrated me the most. Along with the constant reminder of the idea of paternalism, with the reoccurring stereotypical slave characters. The thing that seemed odd was that knowing that a number of slaves during this time had run away, and there was only a slight mention of it, and it was never brought up again. pmccloy

A CRITIQUE OF THE CRITIQUE

'''We can’t criticize this movie for being inaccurate though. This movie wasn’t based on history; it was based on romantic fiction—not just the book itself, but also based on the memory of the south.''' While we can sit here and criticize the movie for its poor representations of racial relations, sit back for a second. Hattie McDaniel, “Mammy” in GWTW, was the first African-American to win an Academy Award. Like woah guys. That’s pretty damn big. I also think that many of the African-American characters in this film are smarter and more sensible than many of the whites—and I think that’s on purpose (Melanie is the only one with a brain). I also want to bring up something that I read in a Catherine Clinton book once while doing research for another project. She points out that we have this character of “Mammy” around us all the time (Aunt Jemima pancake mix, Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup), and maybe we haven’t gotten as far as we like to think. -- Brooke

Gender Relations

Mr. O'Hara did not come off as the male authority in the house both before and after the war. In the opening scene, Mrs. O'Hara tells him to fire a man she did not approve of and Mr. O'Hara obeyed without much debate. After the war, he was ridden with grief and Scarlet had to take over the household. Even to his daughter, and his dead wife, Mr. O'Hara acted as second in command. -WD

At the beginning of the movie when Scarlett runs from the house when she hears that Ashley will marry someone else and mammy tells her "how dare you leave the house without your hair done and without your shawl... You can always tell how a woman is by the way she eats in public. This is not exactly gender relations, but it does show how women are supposed to carry themselves in public and in front of men. They must be proper, clean, and modest. --Aqsa Z.

While accurate in some aspects like the woman writing down the wounded man’s letter home, the nursing scenes didn’t match what we learned in class. Scarlett and other women are seen touching and aiding the soldiers. Impropriety seems pretty important in other scenes, like when the prostitute wants to give her money to the hospital or when Scarlett is supposed to be in mourning. So, obviously an upper class nurse touching wounded soldiers was considered acceptable behavior in the movie.--Brooke

It would have been fairly unusual for a woman in Scarlett's position to own the mill, run the mill and galavant around town by herself. --Mary O.

At least for the character of Scarlett, I thought it was funny how there always seemed to be eligible bachelors, and to be married three times. Wow. pmccloy

Costuming issues

The lack of period correct undergarments was appalling. While the women did wear fancy corsets in a few scenes, they were obviously missing under the fancy dresses. '''Corsets from this period create a very distinct and stiff torso shape and no effort was made to recreate this for the majority of the movie. Instead, the bodices of the dresses are carefully tailored to fit a 1930s style torso, which was the product of very different shape-wear.''' Also, the iconic image of Scarlett holding the bedpost while she is laced into a tiny corset is simply not the norm. During this period corsets functioned in much the same way as a modern bra, and although they could easily reduce a waist by a few inches, this was by no means their main purpose. Although many women had fairly small waists, the enormous skirts, strategic trimmings, and wide sleeves of the era helped to make waists look tiny by tricking the eye. ~ Laura-Michal

'''The famous corset/hanging on to the bedpost scene. Sigh. Extreme corset lacing was simply not the norm. At all. Lacing a corset tightly represented a very high-fashion ideal which many women did not practice on a daily basis because it was impractical. Furthermore, corsets, while still snug (don't get me wrong) were primarily a support garment which helped to shape a woman's figure as well as to carry the weight of her hoops, at least two petticoats, and her dress. In fairness/kindness, one could argue that Scarlett is after all part of the fashionable elite in the beginning of the movie and so might not have to worry about practicality, but this scene has really contributed to the misguided understanding that many modern audiences have about mid-nineteenth century clothing.''' While there are many technical inaccuracies in the rest of the women's costumes in the film, the filmmakers were clearly tring to convey characterizations in the clothing--Scarlett wears her hair down (length and style are very 1940's however) and short sleeved dresses to suggest her childishness in the beginning, but her style matures as the War wears on. In contrast, Melanie is shown from the beginning in much more somber colors and less fashionable, maybe a little dated, garments, illustrative of her much steadier character. --Mary Quinn

Other issues

I thought that the domestic slaves dialect was interesting. I thought that house servants were suppose to have a more “white” way of speaking since they were around the family more than slaves that worked in the field for example. All of the domestic slaves that were shown in the movie seemed to have picked up “the proper” way of speaking from working in the house, yet they still retained some of their own dialect, especially the nurse. ~Kayle P

Did the carpet baggers really show up a couple months after the war ended? - Hannah L

If you look closely in the scene in which Ashley is brought back wounded there was a mistake made. When Melanie grabs the lamp you can see the electrical cord that was attached to it. --NJenn

Comments on the readings versus the movie
'How does the movie compare with the experiences seen in the letters & memoirs of slaves? (including Harriet Jacobs's account)'

The movie does not really show the abuse that slave women took. '''Mammy was portrayed as a motherly figure who was respected by the whites in the family. She was also really well treated, as was Prissy (except for when Scarlet found out that she lied). This is drastically different from the experiences that many slave women experienced.''' They were often beaten and raped, which the film does not touch on at all. Also, '''it is interesting that neither of these women had any family. Many of the experiences written in the memoirs and letters involve children and the mother's desire to protect them.''' The film makes their black women single and devoted to their mistress, when in reality many slave women had a contemptuous relationship with their mistresses because they were a threat to the mistress's marriage. -Amanda

I agree with Amanda, according to the Harriet Jacobs reading, the life of Prissy and Mammy was almost a vacation compared to what poor Harriet when through. Harriet didn't speak about her rape and sexual abuse that she went through to her grandmother or to anyone. She did not deal with the family or the daughters, but she had to obey the master. '''The movie doesn't show more than one scene of slavery and abuse. That aspect was left out of the movie completely.''' The story of Mrs. James Steward is nothing at all like the stories of the slaves and blacks portrayed in the movie. According to Stewards story, every person in her family was punished and physically abused, whether it be whipped, starved, or put in isolation. --Aqsa Z.

How does the movie compare with the experiences seen in Mary Chesnut's Diary or Ella Gertude Clanton Thomas's Journal, or with George Fitzhugh's defense of slavery?

Not everyone in the South supported slavery. Mary Chestnut, in her diary, described it as a “monstrous system”. '''Not everyone in the South had slaves. However, in Gone with the Wind, everyone in the South has slaves; everyone in the South had wealthy plantations with cotton fields, no one thought twice about the institution of slavery.''' The readings that we read this week provide a greater insight to the views of slavery and even an inside look to the lives of the enslaved. Gone with the Wind ignores almost everything that was written and portrays slavery as an equitable institution and that African Americans are not good for anything else. This romanticizes the 1860s with little regard to historical fact. –Paige

What does the exchange between Atlanta Mayor James Calhoun and Gen William T. Sherman have to say about war and how does that perspective compare to the film's portrayal of the Battle for Atlanta?

How well does the movie reflect the accounts of Carl Schurz and Albion Tourgee reflect the post-war world seen in the film?

The movie as a primary source about the time/people who made it
'How does the Great Depression affect this film? How is it reflected in the film?'

The film was popular during the late 1930s and 1940s because of its connections to the Great Depression. '''In the film, Scarlet is rich and wealthy, then because of a war she becomes poor and must struggle to survive, finally regaining her wealth. People of the time could connect to this story.''' They might have been well-off before the Depression, then lost their wealth because of the stock market crash, and the film gives them hope that they might one day become sucessful again. '''People can also connect with the North as being the enemy. New York City and the North were the home of the stock market and corporations, and could therefore be blamed for the problems everyone faced during the Depression.''' Another reason for the popularity of the film is that it allowed people to escape into the Old South and pretend they were rich and able to take fun sleepover naps in the middle of the afternoon -Amanda

'''The movie has a couple of interesting parallels with the Great Depression. During the war the Union blockade dealt a tremendous blow to the Southern economy. Inflation was rampant, prices soared, and most people had debts to pay in some manner. It reminds me of my grandfather's stories about growing up during the Great Depression.''' There were times when they did not have enough to eat. However, one difference about my grandfather's experience with the Great Depression was that there were still some businesses which remained open. Lynchburg had been spared much of the destruction of the Civil War and had transitioned into a manufacturing center. Some people managed to find work at Glamorgan Pipe & Foundry, the Lynchburg Cotton Mill, Craddock-Terry Shoe Co., or at the Lynchburg Foundry. Still, many people went without and suffered many hardships. --NJenn

What role does land, capitalism, and debts play in the film and how might that be tied to its release date in 1939?

Though I must imagine him as something other than Irish-Catholic, Mr. O’Hara does a good job of summing up the priorities of the planter elite when he’s talking to Scarlett at the beginning of the movie. One Gerald O’Hara comment is particularly representative of these views:

"Do you mean to tell me, Katie Scarlett O'Hara, that Tara - that land doesn't mean anything to you? Why, land's the only thing in the world worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for, because it's the only thing that lasts” - Sara G.

How does the time period in which the film was made affect its version of history?

The first 30 seconds of Gone with the Wind made me want to throw the TV remote at the TV. It is impossible to miss the views of the time embodied in the movie. The film screams “moonlight and magnolias”. '''In the very beginning of the film, the opening text portrayed the southern way of life with “cavaliers and cotton fields”, with “knights and their ladies fair, of master and slave”. As a way of life that was perfect before Southerners became victims and their lives were destroyed by the Civil War. This is also seen in the festivities that revolved around the 1939 premier in Georgia; there were Confederate flags, parades, and costume balls celebrating the south.' The release of Gone with the Wind'' was a venue for people in the South to celebrate their Confederate heritage and pride. –Paige

The war against northern aggression. '''Historians change how they view the Civil War depending on what time they write. 1939 was a time where most whites did not want blacks to have the same rights or privileges as them.''' It also represents the struggle coming out of the Great Depression paralleled to Reconstruction (for the South). - Hannah Laughlin

Northern aggression is extremely popular, and as a person who has spent most of his time in the North, I wasn't too keen on that idea. However '''it speaks to how the North was seen as history moves on. It's very clear that most Southerners did not like the North coming in and telling the what to do. As time moved on, this view of history changed. For the record, I have to mention that this film, does not have an happy ending. Many films had happy endings (and this is based off my movie watching experiences) this one didn't.''' That speaks to how revolutionary this film was. I really enjoyed it. I really did. And Rhett Butler was... slick. Furthermore, the film screams large sets and beautiful flowing sets that would make any set designer drool. Totally 1930s/40s. - Jeremy

While I agree that this movie says a lot about race relations during 1939, '''I also can't help but notice what it also says about the gender relations. Scarlett is a ruthless, money loving woman who defies traditional gender roles in that she does not depend on men, and when she does she manipulates them to get what she wants. Scarlett is not the docile image of the cult of true womanhood. She is not submissive, domestic, or pious.''' And what happens to her in the end? She loses everything and is miserable. So whats the moral of the story? If a woman does not fulfill her duties as a true woman she will end up miserable and alone. During the Great Depression women were expected to maintain their feminine roles while trying to make it in a world that made that near impossible. Most had to take jobs to help their families survive, emasculating their husbands as well as broadening their roles in society. I can't help but wonder if Gone with the Wind was also a cautionary tale to women not to get too comfortable outside the home, because if they do they'll end up bitter and alone like Scarlett. -Kendall

Why was it so popular in the 1930s and 1940s?

'''Gone With the Wind was made at a time when America needed an escape from reality. The new Technicolor blockbuster provided them with an opportunity to slip away into an enchanted land that never was. The Old South was America’s own Camelot.''' It is still much easier to imagine a land of grace and beauty, where the slaves loved their masters and cared for the white chirren as if they were their own instead of remembering the atrocities that were the antebellum South. Movie patrons found their escape in two beautiful actors with tremendous on-screen chemistry. For the times, the film was full of sex and scandal. Today’s audiences are still generally susceptible to being swept off our feet by the charismatic bad boy (think Han Solo), and an audience couldn’t ask for more charisma than Rhett. And in the end, everyone roots for an underdog. No matter what a manipulative, simpering brat Scarlett is, it’s hard not to fall for her pluck and courage as the audience follows her through the tribulations of reconstruction. – Sara G.

These sets are better than a lot of movies today, some shots are breathtakingly beautiful. Put in the context of the 1930s Depression's bleakness, its understandable why its the highest grossing film of all time. -- Zhen

Factoids of note about the Gone With the Wind:

• Gone With the Wind cost a record-breaking $4 million to make the film (That’s equivalent to $64.5 million in today’s market.)

• Its box office receipts were over $200 million, equivalent to $3.2 billion (yes, that’s with a “B”) in today’s dollars.

• Out of 13 Oscar nominations, it won 8 – more than any other film to date, a record it helds until 1959 when Ben Hur edged it out with 11.

• It came out in a year that produced some of the most historically acclaimed and long-lived movies like, The Wizard of Oz, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Wuthering Heights.

• Hattie McDaniel was the first African American actress to win an Oscar. She won best supporting actress for her performance as Mammy.

• In this 2006 footage of the dedication of her commemorative stamp, you can see her gracious and touching acceptance speech here at 07:25: &lt;/a&gt; [n]&lt;/a&gt;

- Sara G.

Things the movie got right
Elite white characterizations

'''The movie did a fairly good job of portraying the feeling of the whites that their slaves were for the most part happy. Unfortunately, they actually depicted the slaves this way, making no effort to portray the abuse and oppression slaves were under.''' ~ Laura-Michal

I was also waiting for the moment when Scarlett threatens Prissy. Scarlett slaps Prissy and threatens to sell her further south. The racial relations weren’t the best—no. However, they could have left that moment out if they were trying to make it seem like a lovely relationship. I think this is an overall accurate portrayal of the south’s memory of this time—how they wanted it to be and also how they legit believed it to be. They believed that the African Americans would stay and fight for the south. They believed that the relationship to home or their land was essential. So, really, points to Gone With the Wind for representing the southern view. -- Brooke

The film did a good job depicting the conventionality, behavior and mannerisms of the Southern elite. Also accurately portrayed the treatment of upper class women and the way they were seen as frail and delicate and should be swooned over up on their pedastal. --Mary O.

Good representation of the southerners’ gross underestimation of the cost of war and the amount of time it would take to settle the conflict. Though it’s a bit over the top, this movie does a good job at capturing the ethereal spirit of the South that remains today. Though the actual portrayals were skewed, the movie does a good job at presenting the class divisions amongst whites in the South. – Sara G.

Relative accuracy of specific characters
 * 1) Gerald and Ellen O'Hara
 * 2) Scarlett O'Hara
 * 3) Rhett Butler
 * 4) Other characters?

Scarlett and Melanie portrayed the various roles of upper class white women during and after the war. During the war they worked as nurses and were a part of a women's group that made supplies and hosted benefits supporting the cause. Scarlett also had to take over the running of the household in the absence of her father and not having brothers. Following the war though she defied the norm in that she did not want to relinquish control over her destiny and married a pushover in Frank Kennedy and took over the running of his business. -Kendall

Scarlett remarrying (however may times) would have been accurate. A woman after the war that was in need of money would have tried to find a husband to support her. However, would women really have been as ruthless as she was, no matter how much they need a husband? ~Kayle P

'''Can I please just say how much Scarlett annoyed me? She was so rude and selfish.''' Poor Melanie not knowing this woman was after her husband the entire time. So sad. --Aqsa

'''Using Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable [was what the movie did right]. That was damn good casting. They basically are their respective characters''': crazy, manipulative, needy Scarlett and demanding, intimidating, but alluring Rhett. The details of the south, overall, were pretty spot on. We see Scarlett’s struggle to maintain her status. She definitely took that into her own hands—literally and figuratively. --Brooke

Wartime and postwar experiences of whites

There were several details that I noticed which gave the movie an authentic feel. I think this movie more than any that we have watched so far portrays the deadliness of disease during this time. In the movie several characters die from disease including Scarlett’s mother, Melanie, and Capt. Hamilton. I applaud the movie and or book for the way that Capt. Hamilton died it informs the audience that during the Civil War soldiers were just as likely to die from disease as they were from a bullet or bayonet. It was also very insightful to have Rhett discuss the limitations of the south before war broke out. He mentions the fact that the south does not have cannon factories and is not as industrialized as the north. Rhett in his speech even alludes to the Union’s Anaconda Plan which was the less violent solution of defeating the south by depriving them of trade and goods.

'''Honestly, I had no expectation of actually posting anything in this section, but the movie did get some details right, much to my surprise. Rhett makes a crack that Scarlett had better marry him as he's the only man over 16 and under 60 left in Atlanta, which wasn't too far off.'''--Carrie

I liked that Scarlet's sister was never married and always worried about becoming an old maid. It fit in with the lack of men in the South after the war, causing an imbalance in the female to male population. Although I am not sure how many women would steal their sister's fiance so they could get married and have the money instead. -Amanda

Also, Sue Ellen crying about having to work the fields at Tara was a good example of southern women wanting to maintain (or go back to) their antebellum roles/luxury. --Stefanie

'''"A world worse than death, a world where there is no place for me." Ashley has post-war depression, which he describes to Scarlett upon his return to Tara (and Melanie). She replies by throwing herself at him, which doesn't seem solve any of his problems vis a vis his career, home, financial security, masculinity.''' --Stefanie

The movie also portrayed the formation of white supremacist groups and the support women gave to them in the scene where the men go after the men who assaulted Scarlett. -Kendall

Costuming

Scarlett's wardrobe before, during and after the war provide a visual to ups and downs that accompanied southern life at the time. Before the war, Scarlett never wears the same dress twice and each one is just as elaborate as the next, but during the war she remains in the same dress the whole time. Using the drapes as the only source of material to make a new dress in order to impress Rhett (not as good as the Carol Burnett parody though) shows the desperation and complete lack of wealth that has stricken the O'Haras. After the war Scarlett marries Rhett and becomes wealthy enough to once again to obtain her over the top wardrobe. Her wardrobe alone depicts the extremes of how good and bad life was in the south. -Rachel T.

The use of corsets were accurate as well as the want of the women to have an 18.5" waist. - Emily

Sets

I thought the hospital scenes were very well done. The makeshift hospital consisted of beds that looked like they were donated furniture, and the conditions were crowded and there was a lack of medicine. I was very impressed with the scene with all the wounded soldiers laying outdoors waiting for treatment because it did a good job of capturing the large amount of injured and dying soldiers. The amputation scene was also very brutal and is a reminder of the suffering that occurred from war injuries and lack of medicine. -WD

They accurately depicted the horrors of sanitation in medicine during the war, like the amputation of the gangrenous leg with no choloroform and the conversion of all available buildings, like the church, to field hospitals. Though a bit hokey, they tried to accurately represent the panic and chaos that would have preceded Sherman’s siege of Atlanta. - Sara G.

Although the hospital sets were really well done, I thought the portrayal of the nurses during this time was well done. Although later on they seem to push the role a little too far away from the norm of the time. But '''the fact that they were there to console and help the wounded, rather then fix them. Like the older lady writing the wounded soldiers letter.''' pmccloy

The portrayal of the hundreds of dying men and shortages of medicine, doctors, and nurses was correctly portrayed. The church had whatever furniture they could find. I liked Scarlett's phrase, "the South is starving." - Hannah L

Going along with Hannah's comment about the portrayal of death, I think '''the camera shot that starts close in on Scarlett stepping over the wounded bodies of soldiers and then slowly zooms out and the Confederate flag comes into the audience's eye is a powerful one. What a testament to the death and destruction the Civil War caused.''' --Ellen S

Oh, and to maintain my standing as a geography nerd, I must note that they did a good job making a Culver City, CA set look like Georgia. And I suppose I have to make my weekly comments about the accents. I do not have significant complaints with the accents of most of the characters. Only Rhett. He does *not* have a typical (and not stereotypical - I mean *really* typical) Charleston accent. - Sara G.

There was a stained glass window depicting a medieval knight with a castle or something in the background on the staircase landing in the Butler mansion which I didn't notice until the closing scene of the movie. Probably is not a question of accuracy, but I thought it was a nice visual to further convey the Cavalier comparison that the film as been using for the Old South. --Mary Quinn

Other items

“Haven’t left much for the Yankees”—I liked that this line was in the move but it was not made to be overly important. It showed that it was the Confederate soldiers that burned Atlanta rather than Sherman but allowed the story to continue forward. ~ Kayle P

Rhett's explanation that the retreating confederate army was blowing up the ammunition in Atlanta to prevent the Federals from getting it was accurate. I hadn't seen this movie in years and was honestly expecting such a pro-Confederacy film to gloss over that fact, so that was a nice surprise. --Mary Quinn

Scarlett threatens to sell Prissy south when Melanie has her baby. And after Atlanta falls, there's a scene where Scarlett almost gets knocked off the sidewalk by two African Americans who refuse to let her have the right of way: it was a good nod to how after emancipation, former slaves stopped deferring to whites by tipping their hats or stepping off the sidewalk. I also liked that Scarlett wore a hair brooch with one of her mourning gowns, which was quite common during the Victorian era.-- Carrie

Though I must imagine him as something other than Irish-Catholic, Mr. O’Hara does a good job of summing up the priorities of the planter elite when he’s talking to Scarlett at the beginning of the movie. Two Gerald O’Hara comments come to mind as being particularly representative of these views:

"What difference does it make who you marry - so long as he's a Southerner and thinks like you?" and

“Do you mean to tell me, Katie Scarlett O'Hara, that Tara - that land doesn't mean anything to you? Why, land's the only thing in the world worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for, because it's the only thing that lasts” - Sara G.

I felt that the portrayal of the taking of Atlanta was pretty effective. The fires, the collapsed lines of transportation, the mobs in the street all conveyed the chaos of the situation. --Stefanie

It was a gentleman's war. Also, women did take naps in the afternoon. - Hannah L