College: it don't matter much

When I started reading Gone With the Wind, I was shocked by how different the characters' values are from our own. The book opens with the Tarleton twins Brent and Stuart casually telling Scarlett (the main character) all about their latest expulsion from yet another university. The brothers almost brag about how they were kicked out of the University of Georgia, "...the fourth university that had thrown them out in two years..." (Mitchell 6) and treat it like a joke, as do most other people where they live. In fact, the majority of Clayton County describe the benefits of a classical education as being able to play poker, shoot straight, ride well, and hold down liquor "like a gentleman." My culture shock started here because most people in our time period put quite an emphasis on the importance of receiving a good education. I think the difference in our values lies in our lifestyles. Most 19th century Southerners worked on farms and rarely in factories, so I can understand that a college education wasn't as pressing as it is today, where work in any area could require a whole new set of skills. It felt silly to have to get over the culture shock I experienced during the first few pages reading, but I'm still surprised at how much life in the U.S. has changed.