Atlanta Symbol in Gone with the Wind

Throughout Gone with the Wind, Atlanta represents the South’s resilience during and after the Civil War. In the years before the war breaks out and in the first few years of the war, Atlanta expands dramatically. Despite being such a new city, its strength becomes quickly clear: while other cities still thrive on agriculture, Atlanta rapidly modernizes and supports the Confederate war effort by becoming the manufacturing hub of the South. In this way, Atlanta represents the South’s ability to adapt and find new ways to preserve its prewar culture.

Near the end of the Civil War, as the Yankees surround Atlanta and eventually take the city, Atlanta again demonstrates its resilience. During Reconstruction, Atlanta recovers from the destruction wrought by the Yankees and briefly becomes an entirely new city where free Blacks live and work, and where formerly upper-class white Southerners, like Scarlett and Mrs. Merriweather, can reinvent themselves and even thrive in the changed postwar world. Mrs. Merriweather’s son-in-law, for instance, begins selling pies out of a pie wagon for her, while Scarlett becomes a wildly successful businesswoman who runs two lumber mills. But while Atlanta adapts in some ways, the Old South ultimately regains its ground in Atlanta. Although the town is by this time flooded with Carpetbaggers, Scallawags, free Blacks, and Republicans, all of whom change the city to more resemble the North, the Old Guard never relinquishes the city completely. Democratic groups and the Ku Klux Klan resist Reconstruction and, by the end of the story, a Democratic governor replaces Republican Governor Bullock. So though Atlanta has changed and adapted to the new world in many ways, the city’s eventual shift to favor the Democrats highlights the South’s resiliency and its unwillingness to change entirely.

Atlanta Quotes in Gone with the Wind

The Gone with the Wind quotes below all refer to the symbol of Atlanta. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

The Civil War and Reconstruction Theme Icon

“Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything, for ‘tis the only thing in the world that lasts.”

Related Characters: Gerald O’Hara (speaker), Scarlett O’Hara , Ashley Wilkes

Related Symbols: Atlanta, Tara

Page Number and Citation: 55

Explanation and Analysis:

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There was something exciting about this town with its narrow muddy streets, lying among rolling red hills, something raw and crude that appealed to the rawness and crudeness underlying the fine veneer that Ellen and Mammy had given her. She suddenly felt that this was where she belonged, not in serene and quiet old cities, flat beside yellow waters.

Related Characters: Scarlett O’Hara , Mammy , Ellen O’Hara

Related Symbols: Atlanta, Tara

Page Number and Citation: 159

Explanation and Analysis:

What a little while since she and everyone else had thought that Atlanta could never fall, that Georgia could never be invaded. But the small cloud that appeared in the northwest four months ago had blown up into a mighty storm and then into a screaming tornado, sweeping away her world, whirling her out of her sheltered life, and dropping her down in the midst of this still, haunted desolation.

Was Tara still standing? Or was Tara also gone with the wind that had swept through Georgia?

Related Characters: Scarlett O’Hara

Related Symbols: Atlanta, Tara

Page Number and Citation: 380

Explanation and Analysis:

She came to the end of the long road which had begun the night Atlanta fell. She had set her feet upon that road a spoiled, selfish and untried girl, full of youth, warm of emotion, easily bewildered by life. Now, at the end of the road, there was nothing left of that girl. Hunger and hard labor, fear and constant strain, the terrors of war and the terrors of Reconstruction had taken away all warmth and youth and softness.

Related Characters: Scarlett O’Hara

Related Symbols: Atlanta, The Curtain Dress

Page Number and Citation: 511

Explanation and Analysis:

Atlanta Symbol Timeline in Gone with the Wind

The timeline below shows where the symbol Atlanta appears in Gone with the Wind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...to tomorrow’s barbecue. Gerald mentions that Melanie Hamilton, that “sweet little thing,” is visiting from Atlanta. Crestfallen, Scarlett asks about Ashley. (full context)

...When Scarlett sees Ashley, Melanie makes him kiss her and invites Scarlett to visit in Atlanta. Then, Ashley leaves as well. For five weeks, letters come from Charles and then a... (full context)

Practicality, Tenacity, and Selfishness Theme Icon

...home from these visits thin and snappy, Ellen decided to send her and Wade to Atlanta. There, Melanie has been staying with her and Charles’s aunt, Miss Pittypat Hamilton. Scarlett hates... (full context)

Looking Forward vs. Looking Back Theme Icon

The train takes Scarlett north in May of 1862. Scarlett hopes that Atlanta will be less boring than Charleston or Savannah. Gerald has always told Scarlett that she... (full context)

When Scarlett arrives in Atlanta, rain has turned the streets into rivers of red mud. The traffic sends mud splashing... (full context)

Scarlett’s spirits rise as she looks around Atlanta. The town had grown rapidly into a “sprawling giant” in the last year since she... (full context)

Peter and Scarlett say goodbye to the Meades and continue on. Scarlett already feels that Atlanta is less boring and lonely than Tara. Atlanta excites her because it isn’t covered by... (full context)

...wanting to raise Charles’s son himself. Scarlett evades these invites until she’s sure she likes Atlanta. (full context)

...turns and recognizes Rhett Butler. She greets him warmly and asks what brings him to Atlanta. Rhett says he’s here on business. Melanie then realizes that he’s the famous Captain Butler,... (full context)

...with a man of ill-repute like Rhett Butler. Ellen says that Gerald will come to Atlanta the next day, speak to Rhett, and escort Scarlett back to Tara. Scarlett is frightened... (full context)

...pretty well, though people stop expecting the war to end any day. The hospitals in Atlanta are overflowing with sick and wounded soldiers. Confederate funds are low, which means food and... (full context)

...Carreen are caught up in their romances. Scarlett is always relieved to go back to Atlanta to have fun again. Ellen thinks Scarlett goes back to help the war effort, which... (full context)

...the rumors about him. After a few months, however, he starts to antagonize everyone in Atlanta by mocking their patriotism. He looks down on everyone and likes to make himself look... (full context)

Now, Miss Pittypat’s home is the only one in Atlanta to receive Rhett Butler. Pittypat knows it is a disgrace, but she doesn’t have the... (full context)

...In Missouri and Kentucky, the Yankees raid and burn homes, causing refugees to flee to Atlanta. The refugees want revenge in the form of Robert E. Lee burning Pennsylvania, but Lee... (full context)

...Southern line and take control of Tennessee. However, the South is still hopeful. Thanks to Atlanta’s railroads, the South celebrates one victory—but still, it’s impossible to ignore that the Yankees are... (full context)

...the richest planters—such as Gerald—become poor. Everyone hates speculators like Rhett Butler. Despite all this, Atlanta’s population increases, and it’s still the hub of the South. (full context)

...May 1864, the Yankees under General Sherman are in Dalton, Georgia, 100 miles north-west of Atlanta preparing for an attack on the Western and Atlantic railroad. However, Atlanta isn’t afraid of... (full context)

...about the war. Captain Ashburn, a wounded soldier, announces that he’d been granted transfer from Atlanta to Dalton. All the women look at him appreciatively. Dr. Meade says Sherman will never... (full context)

...retreats, marching south to meet the Yankees for another attack. This action irritates everyone in Atlanta. Why didn’t Johnston hold off the Yankees instead of yielding more and more of Georgia?... (full context)

...Johnston. Why didn’t he hold the Yankees instead of retreating? The Home Guard, safely in Atlanta, boasts that they could do a better job and draw up their own strategies. The... (full context)

...for bungling the fight. Rhett says Johnston’s strategy saved the railroad, and that everyone in Atlanta is mad at him for not doing the impossible. He says the Home Guard will... (full context)

...Sam says they were called in to dig ditches in case the soldiers retreat to Atlanta. Scarlett turns to Randall to ask why the army needs reinforcements in Atlanta. He starts... (full context)

...to resort to using “darkies.” Rhett says the army is preparing for a siege of Atlanta. Scarlett gasps. Wishing she hadn’t revealed she was afraid, she asks why Rhett’s here when... (full context)

Scarlett says the Yankees will never get to Atlanta. Rhett bets her they will; bonbons if she wins, a kiss if she loses. Scarlett... (full context)

The fighting is so close that people in Atlanta can hear gunshots. People try to ignore it and pretended not to be afraid. They... (full context)

The Confederates hold the Yankees at Kennesaw Mountain, making people in Atlanta hopeful. Refugees and wounded soldiers crowd the city, and young ladies from nearby towns come... (full context)

General Hood assaults the Yankees at Peachtree Creek. Atlanta listens to the cannons. By late afternoon, Confederate soldiers stumble into town, wounded and exhausted.... (full context)

The defeated army pours into Atlanta. Grandpa Merriwether and Uncle Henry return to Atlanta with the Home Guard, but Scarlett sees... (full context)

The ladies in Atlanta sit on the roofs watching the nearby fighting, but when bullets start to fall in... (full context)

The siege comes closer and closer to Atlanta. Wade and Prissy hide in the basement, but Melanie was told to stay in bed,... (full context)

...Scarlett cancels Wade’s trip. The siege continues, but Hood holds the Yankees out of the Atlanta. Slowly, Scarlett gets used to the gunfire and she becomes less afraid. Still, life feels... (full context)

In August, the siege of Atlanta stops suddenly. A sinister quiet falls over the town. News arrives by word of mouth,... (full context)

...weren’t for Melanie, she’d ride the train home immediately. She hates how still and quiet Atlanta is now. No one jokes about the war anymore because they knew that if the... (full context)

On September 1st, Scarlett wakes up afraid and goes to the window. Atlanta is deathly quiet. Suddenly, she hears distant cannons. She realizes the cannons are coming from... (full context)

...and men on horses gallop by. An enslaved man asks Scarlett why she hasn’t left Atlanta yet. She stops an officer who says General Hood lost the fight. The Confederates are... (full context)

...Scarlett tends to Melanie over the next several hours, she wonders if Sherman has reached Atlanta yet. Scarlett sends Prissy to get Mrs. Meade. Prissy returns alone: Phil is dead and... (full context)

Suddenly, Scarlett thinks of Rhett Butler. He insulted her, but he’s in Atlanta and he has a carriage. Scarlett tells Prissy to look for him, but Prissy is... (full context)

...everyone gone. Why did she even come here? It would’ve been better to die in Atlanta. But she promised Ashley she’s take care of Melanie. Where is Ashley now? Is he... (full context)

...after him. Whenever Scarlett yells at him, he remembers the time she spanked him when Atlanta was burning. Wade now avoids Scarlett and spends all his time with Melanie. Scarlett is... (full context)

Inside, Scarlett asks the Fontaine women for news from Atlanta. All they know is that Sherman captured it. They haven’t seen a newspaper in weeks,... (full context)

...doctor. Grandma Fontaine presses her further, and Scarlett tells the story of her escape from Atlanta, and how she’d thought if she could just get home, she could rest. But Ellen... (full context)

Frank tells the room that Sherman has taken Atlanta and had housed his men there. Many of the Atlanta residents have died because Sherman... (full context)

Frank says that many Atlanta residents such as Mrs. Merriwether and Mrs. Meade are returning to Atlanta, living in tents... (full context)

...the war ends, Tara has lots of visitors, as Confederate soldiers ride the railroad to Atlanta and make their way south on foot. For the most part, they aren’t bitter, and... (full context)

...all run to greet him. Peter starts scolding Melanie and Scarlett for not returning to Atlanta to keep Miss Pitty company. He says they should be ashamed. Melanie and Scarlett burst... (full context)

...praying for Ellen and for Brent, whom she got engaged to while Scarlett was in Atlanta. Scarlett had no idea. She insists Carreen will get over it, just like Scarlett got... (full context)

...a letter to Miss Pitty explaining again why she and Melanie can’t join her in Atlanta. It’s bitterly cold. Scarlett hears Will return from Jonesboro and calls him in. Inside, he... (full context)

...money is Rhett Butler. Scarlett had heard from Miss Pitty that Rhett is back in Atlanta and richer than ever. Scarlett calls Rhett a skunk and asks Ashley what will happen... (full context)

This evening, Scarlett comes to the end of the journey she’d begun the night Atlanta fell. She’s a hard woman now, not a youthful girl. Scarlett knows the old days... (full context)

...get the dress patterns. She’s making a dress from the curtains, since she’s going to Atlanta to borrow money and needs a nice dress. Scarlett and Mammy argue again—Mammy insists an... (full context)

...so brave, always taking life as it comes. He thinks she is “gallant,” heading to Atlanta in velvet curtains and rooster feathers. (full context)

The next afternoon, Scarlett and Mammy step from the train in Atlanta. The depot is a pile of ruins. Instinctively, Scarlett looks for Uncle Peter, but of... (full context)

Scarlett is dismayed to see how devastated Atlanta is. The warehouses and hotels are gone. The warehouse Charles left her must also be... (full context)

...crop at Tara and that Gerald has everything under control. She says she came to Atlanta because she’s bored and wants to have some dresses made. Rhett says she must have... (full context)

Scarlett doesn’t want to talk about Tara. She’s surprised to see Frank in Atlanta, but he explains that he lives in Atlanta and has a new store in Marietta;... (full context)

...explains that he made a thousand dollars and he plans to buy a sawmill in Atlanta. The town is rebuilding rapidly and needs lumber. By this time next year, Frank shouldn’t... (full context)

...to have a brain. Soon, he realizes that Scarlett deceived him when Tony Fontaine visits Atlanta and isn’t married to Suellen. Frank is too ashamed to write to Suellen and explain... (full context)

...Scarlett cries that Ashley loves her, but Rhett asks why Ashley let her come to Atlanta. She says Ashley didn’t know what she was planning. Rhett says that if Ashley didn’t... (full context)

...If Ashley had said one tender word in the orchard, she never would’ve come to Atlanta. Scarlett decides Rhett is just trying to ruin her love with Ashley. Rhett says Scarlett... (full context)

Despite Reconstruction, Atlanta is a booming town again. However, money and rights are in the “wrong” hands. The... (full context)

Belle Watling is the most famous “madam” in Atlanta. She owns a new house that is furnished opulently. Everyone knows Belle couldn’t have afforded... (full context)

Scarlett puts all her hopes in the mill. Lumber is in high demand as Atlanta rapidly rebuilds. Scarlett oversees the operation of the mill and sells lumber in town. She... (full context)

It scandalizes Atlanta that Scarlett operates the sawmill and leaves her house during her pregnancy. But even worse,... (full context)

...robbed, and this would rile up the KKK and make the Yankees crack down on Atlanta. He tells Scarlett to keep a pistol with her offers to drive her when he’s... (full context)

...who should be here by now. He should’ve known she’d take the first train from Atlanta when she heard Gerald was dead. She’s wearing an ill-fitting mourning dress she borrowed from... (full context)

...her tomorrow at Gerald’s funeral. Will arrives in the same rickety wagon Scarlett had fled Atlanta in. She vows to burn the wagon as soon as possible. Will greets Scarlett like... (full context)

...clothes and a horse and carriage. She was jealous that Scarlett had a buggy in Atlanta, and she was hurt that Scarlett married Frank. That was a “scurvy trick” to play... (full context)

...Fontaine is insulting Ashley. Grandma says Ashley is so different from Scarlett, who went to Atlanta to scrounge money however she could. Scarlett says she’s wrong. Grandma says Scarlett is smart... (full context)

...realized he was acting like a woman instead of a man. If he goes to Atlanta to work for Scarlett, he’ll be “lost forever.” Scarlett worries that by “lost” he means... (full context)

...have died if it wasn’t for Scarlett. And she’d love to be back home in Atlanta; she only agreed to New York because she thought there was no work in Atlanta.... (full context)

...and Will marry and Carreen goes to the convent, Ashley, Melanie, and Beau move to Atlanta, bringing Dilcey with them. They move into a house with a backyard that connects to... (full context)

The old ladies of Atlanta say Melanie is a role model who will lead young people away from traitorous actions.... (full context)

...so well that she doesn’t want to fire him. Since the KKK lynching, ladies in Atlanta have been too nervous to go out on their own. Seeing Scarlett driving safely with... (full context)

...As he was riding over, he ran into Melanie. She told him they’d moved to Atlanta because Scarlett had graciously given Ashley a partnership in her mill. Rhett says that when... (full context)

Hatred of the Yankees is at a climax in Atlanta. For three years, Georgia had been “terrorized” by Reconstruction. But now Georgia realizes that bad... (full context)

...that Rhett would let Yankees handle his money. She suggests he buy property in downtown Atlanta, but he says that seems like a bad idea now that the Carpetbaggers have gotten... (full context)

...closer to her than a blood sister ever could be. Scarlett stayed with her in Atlanta, helped her give birth, saw her safely through the siege to Tara, cared for her,... (full context)

...Meanwhile, the Old Guard becomes even more patriotic, and the Lost Cause becomes a “fetish.” Atlanta is severely divided by class. The rich think nothing of the poor whites but do... (full context)

...a bad mother, but that Rhett cares for his children and so can’t be bad. Atlanta loves to see him walk around with Bonnie. Bonnie’s charm helps Rhett get back on... (full context)

...that her enemies are Melanie’s enemies too. Scarlett knows she has caused a divide in Atlanta that will last for generations. (full context)

...families apart and causes rifts everywhere. Everyone resents Scarlett for causing the first conflict between Atlanta’s most dignified families. (full context)

...a few people believe Scarlett is innocent. But if it weren’t for Melanie, everyone in Atlanta would hate Scarlett. (full context)

...to Tara a month after her fall. She feels she’ll suffocate if she stays in Atlanta any longer. She feels like a sick, lost child. Rhett watches the train leave bitterly... (full context)

...a small farm. Once she and Rhett are home, she asks what’s been happening in Atlanta. She hasn’t talked to Rhett alone since the day she fell. He’d been kind but... (full context)

In October, Bullock resigns amid accusations of corruption and misuse of public funds. Atlanta is proud and happy, ready to thank God for returning Georgia to its own people.... (full context)

...Melanie is ill. Leaving Wade and Ella with Prissy, Scarlett gets the first train to Atlanta. It moves painfully slowly through old Civil War sites that once upset Scarlett; now, she... (full context)

...of Beau like her own son. Once, Melanie had asked her the same thing while Atlanta was burning, and Scarlett had meanly hoped she would die. Scarlett thinks she’s killed Melanie,... (full context)

...her? She thinks of how he danced with her at the bazaar, helped her escape Atlanta, loaned her money—these were the actions of someone who loves a woman. She trembles as... (full context)

Gone with the Wind

Margaret Mitchell

Atlanta Symbol Analysis

Atlanta Quotes in Gone with the Wind

Atlanta Symbol Timeline in Gone with the Wind