Danyelle Catoe- Would you survive a war?

When thinking about Ransom’s ability to adapt to new cultures, it makes me think about my own ability to adapt to cultures and changes around me. I recently finished reading Gone with the Wind, which is a story that takes place through the Civil War. The main characters of the book are Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. Through out the books, theses two characters (among others) are forced to change in order to adapt to their changing surroundings. Rhett takes to smuggling materials from Europe for who ever is able to pay the most, Scarlett completely disregards socially acceptable behaviors, and many of their neighbors who were former wealthy plantation owners are now forced to do manual labor. It is a radical change from the life they were used to.
This book caused me to evaluate my ability to change to adapt to my surroundings. In both books, the flexibility exemplified by the main character benefits them through out the plot of the book. Ransom is able to understand and appreciate the new cultures of the planets he visits, as well as learn valuable life lessons from the new creatures he comes into contact with. In Gone with the Wind, the characters that were able to adjust to their new situations were able to survive. People who were former wealthy plantation owners were now poor and forced to do their own farming. This was immensely degrading when one evaluates the culture they were used to. These people were forced to abandon the paradigms they had previously been influenced by and adopt a new way of life. Some clung to their Southern pride, while others abandoned all of their previously held loyalties in order to maintain their life of comfort. Either way, a person was forced to evaluate what they valued most: their identity as a Southerner, or their standard of living. In the book, Scarlett is willing to socialize with the villainous Yankees in order to maintain her wealth. Contrastingly, her former neighbors will not let go of their Southern pride and identity, even if it means being forced to scrounge the surrounding country for food and learn to grow their own meager garden.
This conflict forces me to evaluate my own loyalties. When it comes down to it, what is it that I value most? What would I be willing to sacrifice in order to survive? In Gone with the Wind, Scarlett is willing to sacrifice almost anything to maintain the comforts of her lifestyle. In Lewis’s space trilogy, Weston is not willing to sacrifice his need to be right in order to learn more about other cultures. Ransom, on the other hand, does not succumb to the desire to feel superior and conquer this new planet.
In the end, one must evaluate who they believe is the real winner. Is it Scarlett O’Hara, who sacrificed most of her values and loyalties, but was able to continue to live comfortably? Or is it Ransom, who though he may not have ruled powerfully, learned countless life lessons by humbling himself to be taught by new and unfamiliar creatures?