My biggest takeaway from this reading was the importance of family. This reading also gave me perspective on people less fortunate than me and the hardships they endure. Throughout the book, we see characters putting themselves in danger in order to help their family. Ree is one character that will do whatever it takes for her brothers and mother. She is willing to put herself into danger by getting involved with her violent uncle Teardrop, Thump Milton, Merab, and many other problematic characters. Another thing that was interesting was the way Ree taught her brothers everything about hunting, cooking, and shooting guns. It made me feel like Ree thought at any moment she could disappear and the kids would have to know how to do these things on their own. This was compelling because you could feel that Ree was prepared for all possibilities, including her death since the people she had in her life were so violent and dangerous. The fact that she was teaching her younger brothers how to survive demonstrated how much she cared about them. Ree gave me a new perspective on the way I view my family. I realized that I am fortunate enough to not have to take care of my siblings or my parents but there are some people that are not as fortunate, and who are in the same position as Ree. I never thought about what it would be like at my age to be unable to go to school and have to provide for my family and keep them safe. Ree is a reminder to the reader about the importance of family and how your family is supposed to help and protect you. This is best demonstrated in chapter 11 when Ree is begging to speak with Thump Milton. “Please--I am a Dolly! Some of our blood at least is the same. That’s s’posed to mean somethin’---ain’t that what is always said?” (Woodrell, 59). Ree is explaining that when it comes to family, you should always be there for them. Something that I found illuminating from this book was the role drugs played. It was interesting to see how Ree rejected drug use considering it played such a big role within her family. It was the source of their income and it was a way for them to escape their reality. It was interesting to see Ree turn to other escapes such as listening to her tapes rather than drugs. It made me realize that although I should not judge people for their addictions or situations, there is always an alternative, perhaps a healthier option. Ree is also struggling with her reality because her life is extremely dark and difficult. “Ree needed often to inject herself with pleasant sounds, stab those sounds past the constant screeching, squalling hubbub regular life raised inside her spirit” (Woodrell, 10). This passage demonstrates how listening to these tapes is dees escape from the constant chaos in her life.
I too found one of the most interesting aspects of the novel to be how the majority of the characters' lives were dependent on drugs, whether the creation or consumption of them. One thing that set Ree apart from her relatives and others in her community was her constant rejection of drugs throughout the novel. Many times throughout the novel, Ree is offered meth. Even though Ree is so young, her relatives see no problem in offering her meth to help ease her pain, like so many of them have come accustomed to. Crystal meth is a staple of Ree's community, representing its physical and moral decay. While this might never change in her community, Ree will not go down the same path as her father and so many of her relatives. Even in the final pages of the novel, Ree vows to never touch crank, establishing a different path that she will lead down in her future. When Teardrop tells Ree to learn how to earn around her, Ree responds, "I won't touch crank. Crank ain't for me. Nobody gets better from that shit" (Woodrell, 190). When many of Ree's relatives turned to crank, Ree looked for other solutions, even in the most difficult of situations.
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