In Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone, the role of family is disrupted by drugs. 16 year old Ree is left to raise two boys without a father and an absent mother. Ree’s mother, Connie, is mentally incapable of raising her sons, and her father has not shown up for his bond. Because her father does not show for his court date, Ree’s house and land will be taken as collateral. A 16 year old girl has the responsibility of taking care of two boys and finding out what happened to her father. This is no small task for a girl, but she is the most fit to raise the boys out of anyone. She does not do drugs or deal drugs like many of the other characters, including Teardrop and Blond Milton. She teaches Sonny and Harold to cook, skin animals, shoot, and many other survival skills. She also guides them not to start fights unless to protect each other or ward off bullies. She guides and raises the boys to survive and have reason. Ree constantly denies the use of drugs from people, allowing her to be in control of herself and her family. Despite being younger than the average parent, she is more mature and capable of raising the two boys than other people in the community. When Blond Milton offers to raise Sonny, Ree says, “Sonny’n Harold’ll die livin’ in a fuckin’ cave with me’n Mom before they’ll ever spend a single fuckin’ night with you” (59). Ree does not believe Blond Milton, Sonny’s biological father, is capable of raising Sonny. She would rather raise them in a cave than send them with Blond Milton. The drug trade has really destroyed the community. Ree’s father snitched to protect his family. Teardrop says to Ree, “He loved ya’ll. That’s where he went weak” (110). Ree’s father cared for his family, so he snitched to protect his family. Despite Jessup’s genuine love for his family, the drug trade ruins him and his family. The drug trade also affects Teardrop. He is always high, feeding his violent tendencies. Furthermore, Teardrop does not help Ree at first because he does not want to be involved with the daughter of a snitch. Ree is also afraid of him because of his violent demeanor and disfigurement from a meth lab explosion. However, his care for his niece overcomes his unwillingness to help. If the drug trade did not exist, it is possible that there would be more affection and care between family members. The drug trade perpetuates a cycle of drugs and violence because it disrupts family life. It creates families without capable parents, as shown with Ree’s parents, which leads to more drug users. However, because Ree acts like Sonny and Harold’s parents, she leads them into a better direction. She gives them skills to live and guides them how to act. She breaks the perpetual cycle of drugs. At the end, she will buy “wheels” (142) with the extra cash, symbolizing upward mobility.
You raised an interesting argument - drug dealing is the main problem in Ree's community. However, if the only way to get money in a community is to sell drugs, is that the wrong thing to do? We believe drug dealing is sinful because we have good educations and moral high grounds. If I am a member of such a community, I do not think I am doing anything wrong, especially when everyone around me is selling drugs to provide for their families.
ReplyDeleteThus, It is cruel to judge their wrongdoings without realizing we haven't been able to deliver aids and proper care to these communities. Ree's community is full of people who are "dead to wonder by age twelve, dulled to life, empty of kindness, boiling with mean" (8). Unfortunately, members of the community seem to be destined for this fate at birth for a long time. They had similar male names because it was "a tactic held over from the olden knacker ways, the ways that had been set aside during the time of Haslam... Let any sheriff or similar nabob try to keep official accounts on the Dolly men when so many were named Milton, Haslam, Arthur or Jessup" (62). Drug dealing is a result of the lack of access to proper jobs that leads to better lives. It is a part of the vicious cycle that deteriorates the community.
I agree that Ree helped play a motherly role in raising her brothers. All throughout the book, it is seen that drugs are the means of living for the families in the Ozarks. As seen in her family, the use of drugs are both beneficial and harmful. It can be seen that the family is shaped by the use of drugs, yet Ree is the backbone for the family. Even when her biological father offers to help raise Sonny, Ree continues to rejects the offer. From showing the boys how to skin animals to shooting, Ree is determined to help the show the boys survival tactics in order to prevent the drug cycle from continuing. In their family in particular, as you had mentioned, the drug cycle has prevailed in generations prior. The concept of family is broken as a result of the continuation of the drug cycle. Ree and her brothers are incapable of having a proper relationship with their mother, as a result of her illness, and additionally their biological father as a result of the continuing drug cycles.
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