Stereotypes In Winter's Bone By Daniel Woodrell

The novel, Winter’s Bone, conveys just how important the setting of a novel is; Daniel Woodrell uses the meth filled Ozarks to influence the characters and to develop the plot. The author displays this through the characters’ dialogue, gender roles, violence, and view of the law throughout the course of the novel. The dialogue establishes just how far out in the country the Ozarks is. The country accents exhibit how influential the setting is to the characters’ daily lives: "My name's Megan. And I knew Jessup when I seen him, too, but never did talk with him none"(Woodrell 51). Megan’s absence of proper grammar serves as an example of the common vernacular of the people in the Ozarks. This town in Missouri is filled with a significant amount
Woodrell illustrates the meth trade in the Ozarks to be mens’ work. Ree, the head of the household, does not have a man who can go around asking where her dad is; hence, she has to do it herself. The specific roles between genders developed by the setting displays to the reader how dangerous the situations are that Ree puts herself in. Men in the novel never have to explain themselves to women because the men believe it is not the women’s business to know what they are doing in the Ozarks. When Ree explains to Uncle Teardrop that she has to find her father to make him go to court, Uncle Teardrop explains to Ree, “That’s a man’s personal choice, little girl” (Woodrell 23). The use of the word “man” is an example of how distinctly separate the gender roles are in the Ozarks. Even though the choices of Ree’s father negatively affect her, it is none of her business because she is not a man. Woodrell has Teardrop describe Ree as a “little girl” to remind the reader that Ree is not only a woman, but also she is still just a child forced to be the head of the household due to the setting. Ree’s arrival to see Thump Milton is questioned by his wife because little girls do not just come to a house asking to speak to a meth dealer in the Ozarks. Milton’s wife asks Ree, “Ain’t you got no men could do this” (Woodrell 60). Here, Woodrell displays just how dangerous it
For instance, Uncle Teardrop uses an axe to vandalize a car, which is one example of the violence prevalent in the Ozarks (Woodrell 169). The man did not do anything to Teardrop; he just said a phrase to Teardrop that Teardrop did not enjoy. Teardrop uses this violence because he is simply not afraid of anything or anyone. The lack of fear in Teardrop’s character exhibits how being raised in the Ozarks influences the violent decisions the characters make. Furthermore, Ree’s beating outside the Thump Miltons house is another example of how dense the violence in the Ozarks is. She is “kicked into silence” by women who have already warned her once to not come around asking questions (Woodrell 130). In the Ozarks, a verbal warning is a big deal; Teardrop does not give any warning before he ruins that man’s car. Moreover, Woodrell further establishes the characters by making the use of guns a frequent occasion in the Ozarks. Once Teardrop appears at the Milton’s house, the Miltons all go into the house to grab their gun just incase a shoot out is necessary (Woodrell 135). The author makes the reader believe the need for guns is due to the violent setting. Violence seen by Ree throughout her journey to recover her dad explains why the setting of the novel develops the