6 Degrees: Shop Girl to Gone With the Wind

It’s time for #6Degrees and it’s a cinch to play – please join in!

6 Degrees is a monthly meme hosted by Kate @ Books Are My Favorite and Best.

This month’s chain begins with Shop Girl by Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin). I have not read Shop Girl, but the synopsis leads so easily to the first association, I thought I’d play. The main character sells expensive evening gloves at an upscale department store in Beverly Hills. This reminded me of…

American Pastoral – where the main character, Swede Levov, owns and operates a glove manufacturing company. The title and the tragic plot leads me to…

An American Tragedy – the story of a Clyde Griffiths’ pursuit of the American Dream. As you might infer, Clyde is not successful, which reminded me of another young man chasing the American Dream in…

The Adventures of Augie March – in which the title character bounces from one largely unsuccessful enterprise to another. Augie is the epitome of a Picaresque Hero and reminds me of…

Vanity Fair – the anti-hero of Vanity Fair is Becky Sharp, who I think could be/should be described as a Picaresque Heroine. Becky, who is beautiful, charming, intrepid, manipulative, and dangerous, reminds me of…

Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind.

And that’s how Shop Girl leads to Gone With the Wind, which I guess puts Steve Martin in the same class with Margaret Mitchell.  :P

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