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Essay / Character Analysis of Winter's Bone
Daniel Woodrell creates a protagonist in his novel, Winter's Bone, who is proud, resilient, and would do anything to preserve his own parents and blood. Woodrell also allows the reader to see his weaknesses, making it easier to identify with his character. Ree Dolly faces challenges from a young age that most children her age could never handle. Her father, Jessup Dolly, disappears and leaves her as the head of the household to care for two younger brothers, Harold and Sonny, and a mentally absent mother. She eventually learns that her family will lose their home if her father. doesn't come back. Ree sets out on an adventure to find her father, and during her journey she demonstrates qualities, such as stubbornness, courage, pride, and independence, that make the reader aspire to her success. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Once the circumstances of her situation are revealed, Ree is a character a reader will instantly want to pity and admire at the same time. She is a sixteen-year-old girl who is immediately forced into adulthood by taking in an abandoned family of four. Ree dreams of leaving the world she was born into and saving herself, but throughout the novel she becomes a character who would sacrifice everything for her family, even though leaving them behind would rid her of the burdens they bring to her. At the end of her trip, Ree has a conversation with her younger brother where she states that she would never leave them alone: "Harold said, 'Does this mean you're leaving'?" “I’m not leaving you boys. Why do you think that?' » “'We heard you once talking about the army and places we wouldn't go. Do you want to leave us?' " " 'No. I would get lost without your weight on my back” (Woodrell 193). Although the situation is resolved and her family is not in danger of having their home taken away, Ree's loyalty and connection to her family prevents her from packing her bags and leaving them behind. Jessup escrows their family home and land, and leaves Ree, who is just a child, to clean up his mess. Ree handles her situation with strength and resilience, while remaining loyal to her family. She begins her journey, despite her fears, by going to hostile and intimidating family members who surprisingly lead her to her father after much perseverance. “She would start with Uncle Teardrop, even if Uncle Teardrop scared her” (Woodrell 20). Ree is part of a community of eccentric cooks and drug dealers who are difficult to reason with and who resort to violence and hostility before revealing secrets or knowing the whereabouts of anyone in their corner. Uncle Teardrop warns Ree against looking for her father when he tells her to never "'go down around Hawkfall asking people to shit on things they don't propose to talk about'" (Woodrell 25). Despite Teardrop's warnings, Ree's stubbornness pushes her to continue her journey. She bravely sets out towards Hawkfall, alone, entering territory no one else would ever set foot in. Although her motivation to put herself in dangerous situations is admirable and courageous, it is also a weakness that she presents. Ree finds herself at Thump Milton's door, begging for answers about her father. Thump Milton's wife warns him never to return, but Ree reappears later in the novel, desperate to find her father and save the family home. When Thump Milton's wife refuses to help him, her close ties to family and blood..