Gone with the Wind

 

This is the poster for the movie, Gone with the Wind

Rhett Butler is a very complex character in the film, Gone with the Wind. He displays both good and bad qualities. Rhett is open about his beliefs that the South will lose and discourages those around him to give up their pride for the South. He also becomes a blockade runner during the war to become rich and maintain his success. Still, he is considerate of those he cares about and helps them throughout the war.

This is an image of Rhett Butler from the movie, Gone with the Wind 

Before the war, Rhett is known to be more realistic rather than idealistic. The majority of the Southerners have great pride for the South and believe that they are destined to win the war. Meanwhile, Rhett knows of the North’s greater strengths in resources and economy and believes that the North will win. Rhett is very open about his opinions which causes other people to dislike him and believe that he is selfish for not putting his support in the South. This shows how smart Rhett is and how he is not blinded by bias unlike the others.

During the war, Rhett takes advantage of the battles and uses the war to become a blockade runner to become rich. While other people are struggling due to the war and lack of resources, Rhett’s wealth continuously increases as the war progresses. Although it seems barbaric, this is not an uncommon war practice. Business leaders tend to take advantage of wars in order to grow their wealth. Many people are torn between whether this is right and necessary for survival or wrong and take advantage of people’s suffering. This shows how Rhett can be compared to business leaders in real life and how they take advantages of wars.

Despite his selfish title and greed, Rhett is shown to be a caring person. He goes out of his way to help Scarlett O’Hara when she and her family are struggling. He also ends up joining the Confederate army to defend the South, even though he still believes they will lose. This shows how through Rhett’s worst characteristics, he is still a good man who cares for those around him.

This is an image from the movie that shows when Scarlett and Rhett first meet

Rhett Butler is a primary example of a complex character. He possesses great qualities while still holding poor characteristics. It makes the audience wonder if he is a good person or a bad person. The truth is that he is neither. He is like every one of us. We all possess good and bad qualities, but these qualities should not always define us. Our qualities should encourage us to look within ourselves and become the best person we can possibly be.