PULITZER PRIZES of the 1930s

The Good Earth
Pearl S. Buck

1932 Winner

The Good Earth follows the life of Wang Lung, from his beginnings as an impoverished peasant to his eventual position as a prosperous landowner. He is aided immeasurably by his equally humble wife, O-Lan, with whom he shares a devotion to the land, to duty, and to survival. This great modern classic depicts life in China at a time before the vast political and social upheavals transformed an essentially agrarian country into a world power. Buck combines descriptions of marriage, parenthood, and complex human emotions with depictions of Chinese reverence for the land and for a specific way of life.

Gone With the Wind
Margaret  Mitchell 

1937 Winner

A sweeping, romantic story about the American Civil War from the point of view of the Confederacy. In particular it is the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a headstrong Southern belle who survives the hardships of the war and afterwards manages to establish a successful business by capitalizing on the struggle to rebuild the South. Throughout the book she is motivated by her unfulfilled love for Ashley Wilkes, an honorable man who is happily married. After a series of marriages and failed relationships with other men, notably the dashing Rhett Butler, she has a change of heart and determines to win Rhett back.

You Can't Take it with You
Kaufman and Hart

1937 Winner

The play centers around the crazy Sycmore family, particularly focusing on the younger daughter, Alice.Alice is engaged to Tony Kirby, but fears the gap between his straight-laced roots and her outlandish upbringing will be to strong. In an effort to reassure her, Tony surprises her by bringing his parents to visit on the wrong night so they will get a more accurate idea of Alice's family. The night ends with the whole company being arrested for the illegal manufacture of fireworks. Alice plans to leave for the Adirondacks,but is stopped by Tony.  His father comes for him, but Mr. Kirby is brought around to the other side by Grandpa, who points out a very important fact:  the possessions you have in life are of no consequence; you can't take it with you when you die.

 1938 Winner