1。2 Research Questions

From the above researches, it is true that Rhett does appear as a nasal in front of the crowds, nevertheless he still has some merits which remain to be further explored。 He is a donated admirer of Scarlett but always treats her in a mocking way, a man with great adaptive capacity to the society while finally reluctant to accept the tradition。 As such, seldom do people regard Rhett as a Southern Gentleman。 By studying the merits and demerits of Rhett Bulter, this paper seeks to examine his unity of the opposites as a Southern Gentleman, which on the other hand reflects the author’s complicated ideas about social changes。

2。 The Gentleman Spirit of the South in the Novel 论文网

“Gentleman Spirit” is originated from European Medieval chivalry, which worships the spirit of humility, honor, integrity, compassion and courage。 In the long-term infiltration of the European aristocracy, men there are well-dressed, humble and gentle, respecting women, which have a great influence among the world。 With the development of the Chivalry from Europe, the Americans find his own way to define it。 Especially in the South, Southern Gentleman Spirit is prominently reflected in the works ever since the appearance of American South Fiction。 (刘娟, 2014) And actually the gentleman spirit culture of the South is notably distinct from the North。 Men in the North are often called “Yankee” who are merely the product of a grasping, soulless world of business, while Rod Horton (1974) in his book Backgrounds of American Literary Thought once concludes that gentlemen in the American South consider themselves the inheritors of chivalric legacy which represents a spiritual belief of humility, integrity, compassion, courage, justice, sacrifice and honor, leading an idyllic life by emulating the British gentlemen’s, with the standard etiquette set by themselves。

 “Southern Gentleman”, is a word not only differentiating territory and gender, but also entailing a special characteristic or a positive spirit of the Southern culture。 The story takes place in the South of America and is told by a Southerner, greatly influenced by the Civil War, thus causing a unique southerner’s mental state, to interpret the history different from general。 In the mind of southerners, men are in charge of the whole family, controlling the plantation economy, on behalf of the authority of the society and his sociability especially in the commercial society is well-acknowledged by the public。 What is much more important of their concerns is not deficiency in the traditional culture and education, but behaving well, such as growing cotton of high quality, riding horses well, acting courteously in worshipping women, and dancing or drinking decently, to let themselves adjust behaviors along the direction of the social rules (Rod Horton, 1974)。 Moreover, as the master of a family, gentlemen with the high sense of the responsibility and honor, incessantly show their ardent love to their land and nostalgia to the tradition。 Faced with the war, they love the South without anyone flinching, even after the Civil War they are still eager to trace back to their peaceful life of plantation。 The gentleman spirit here is to keep their southern traditional values in their minds no matter what has happened。 (李杨, 2004) But with the time passing by, the definition of “Southern Gentleman” changes for the sake of the Civil War, then the gentlemen become such kind of people who know and try to change with the development of the society。 (刘娟, 2014) People gradually realize that the real gentleman is a man who can face “what is” in reality and know “what ought to be” in his mind as well as the awareness of his ability to change the condition。 Accordingly, the criterion of Gentleman Spirit in South can be concluded in a sociable, courteous and traditional, and realistic gentleman。文献综述