Winter's Bone Analysis

Words: 549
Pages: 3

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell, takes place in the rural Ozarks where a teenage girl, Ree, takes care of her two young brothers and their mentally ill mother. She lives in a very small town where most of the people who live there she is related to. Ree needs to find her father because he has not shown up in court and if he does not show up again, Ree and her mother and brothers will lose their house. Ree searches for her father which ultimately leads her to get beaten by her family because they are hiding him. The author shows Ree’s disturbed emotions through this time by describing the bleak environment of the Ozarks. The author presents a tone that mirrors Ree’s unstable emotions. Woodrell chose to compare Ree’s life to nature because society can be corruptive like the winter environment, which is desolate and cold. The tone mirrors Ree’s emotions because of how bare the environment is and how disturbed Ree’s emotions are. It is winter in the Ozarks and it is very cold and bleak with lots of snow. “Snow clouds had replaced the horizon, capped the valley darkly, and chafing wind blew so the hung meat twirled from jiggling branches” (Woodrell 3). Moreover, the tone of the Ozarks is harsh and stark. The tone reflects Ree’s emotions because Ree has had a hard life similar to the way nature is shown. Indeed, Ree has gone through a lot in her young life. She must take care of her family and act like a responsible parent to her brothers even though she is only sixteen. At the same time she wants to find her father just so she will have the house to take care of her brothers and mother. Some would describe Ree’s emotions at this time as unstable and deranged. “Ree needed often to inject herself …show more content…
Society effects Ree’s life and how she feels is compared to the bleak environment. Tone is a good indicator of how one feels. One is able to clearly see one’s emotions in the environment of how one