Winter's Bone Thesis

Image courtesy of public records held by Arizona State.

In Winter's Bone, Woodrell gives an intimate view of a small rural community shrouded in secrecy and violence. In this tight-knit community lives Ree Dolly; a girl of just sixteen years forced to hunt down her absentee father in hopes of saving her home and family. While this relationship is one of some importance to the story, the real focus is set on Ree's relationship with her family as a unit. Through the entire story there is one theme that exists above all others, and that is Woodrell's depiction of kinship. This bond is all that keeps the story's protagonist going, and is the motivation for the entire story.