Standards

National Council of Teachers of English

Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts.

Standard 5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Standard 9: Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

National Council for the Social Studies

II. Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ways human beings view themselves in and over time.

V. Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.

Materials

Suggested time period

One class period

Procedures

1. Ask how many students have read or watched the movie "Gone With the Wind." Ask their perceptions of the text or film in terms of plot, characterization, perspective, point of view. If they saw the movie, ask what they thought of the cinematography: what they liked, didn't like, use of costuming, casting of characters, etc.

2. After students read the CNNfyi.com article "'Gone With the Wind' parody draws challenges, supporters" ask the following questions:
   • Who is Alice Randall? Who is taking her to court, and why? What are the specific arguments of both parties? Who was Margaret Mitchell? Who is Mary Rose Taylor? Why does she think that Mitchell would applaud "The Wind Done Gone"?

   • What is a parody? Why do you think that Randall has written a parody of "Gone with the Wind"? What examples of parody of the novel are exemplified in the news article? What characteristics about "Gone with the Wind" lend themselves to parody?

   • Have you read or heard other parodies? Give examples. What purpose(s) do you think that parodies serve? Do you think that Randall's book should be published? Why or why not?

3. Discuss features of parody and review some examples with the class.

Assessment

For a homework assignment, ask students to select a poem or short story to parody. Have them explain why the work lends itself to parody as an introduction to their written parody. Time permitting, allow some students to share their work with the class the next day and discuss how they changed the original and to what effect.

Accommodation

Students can consider U.S. social beliefs and practices at the time of the Civil War in the United States and in the time period in which Margaret Mitchell lived. Ask them to write about these attitudes and how they shaped the conventions found in "Gone with the Wind." (If they are unfamiliar with the book, you might have students who have read the book or watched the movie recap it for them. Or you could challenge them to watch the film before writing their essay.) Then ask them to write about how contemporary American society is different and how it creates a reason for the parody of Alice Randall.

Challenge

Students can research U.S. copyright laws. Based on their findings, they can create a case for or against the publication of "The Wind Done Gone."

Shakespeare rap
April 13, 2000
Lesson plan: Parsing bad prose, poetry
June 23, 2000

U.S. Copyright Office Home Page

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