Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell has two narratives: a young woman named Ree Dolly completing a quest to find her Dad and the story of how she shapes her internal desire to save her family. Typically, culture mediates desire in texts, but Winter’s Bone develops a protagonist that goes against societal oppression to fix a situation typical of her culture. The novel avoids the contrived “journey” story by presenting her desires through flashbacks. This narrative technique is chosen to emphasize connections between past and present events, surprise the reader and allow questions to arise while reading.
The Technique of Flashback in Selected Northern Sotho Literary Texts by M.J. Mojalefa and R.S. Phala distinguishes different types of flashbacks as narrative devices. …show more content…
For example, the narrator describes Ree’s female ancestors with “lonely eyes and homely yellow teeth” who have “a white dress for marrying, a black dress for burying” (Woodrell 29). Ree exists in a patriarchal society, but she does not let her culture control her desires. In fact, she has incredible morals compared to her role models and peers. Her part of the Ozarks is riddled with desires that only lead to dire consequences: cooking crank until Law arrests you, sleeping around until your mind is gone and having a one night stand that leaves you married at sixteen. In contrast, she desires to save her family home and prevent her brothers from becoming like the rest of the Dollys. Where do these desires come from since they are not directly prescribed from her culture? Through a series of flashbacks the discourse of the novel shows Ree’s struggles with the desires of her culture and how she overcomes them. The choice of flashback connects the present narrative to her past, adds an element of surprise and allows questions to arise while
The Technique of Flashback in Selected Northern Sotho Literary Texts by M.J. Mojalefa and R.S. Phala distinguishes different types of flashbacks as narrative devices. …show more content…
For example, the narrator describes Ree’s female ancestors with “lonely eyes and homely yellow teeth” who have “a white dress for marrying, a black dress for burying” (Woodrell 29). Ree exists in a patriarchal society, but she does not let her culture control her desires. In fact, she has incredible morals compared to her role models and peers. Her part of the Ozarks is riddled with desires that only lead to dire consequences: cooking crank until Law arrests you, sleeping around until your mind is gone and having a one night stand that leaves you married at sixteen. In contrast, she desires to save her family home and prevent her brothers from becoming like the rest of the Dollys. Where do these desires come from since they are not directly prescribed from her culture? Through a series of flashbacks the discourse of the novel shows Ree’s struggles with the desires of her culture and how she overcomes them. The choice of flashback connects the present narrative to her past, adds an element of surprise and allows questions to arise while