Throughout the novel, “Winter’s Bone”, drug trade and production act as the primary means both for making a living and coping with that life. In this poverty-stricken community, families are looking for any way that they can to simply survive, forcing many, predominantly men who act as the heads of these families, to involve themselves in a high-risk industry. As a result, the two, poverty and drugs, aid and imbed each other in a vicious cycle, trapping many and stifling any prospects of achieving freedom, a reality exemplified often throughout the novel.
Because of the prevalence of drugs in this impoverished community, everyone has a notable relationship with them; everyone is touched by their consequences. In fact, it is the community’s unique drug culture that acts as the primary catalyst for the plot's progression. Ree’s father’s betrayal is thus a symptom of the larger problem at hand. The Dolly family’s enduring poverty places them in a position of insecurity. As a result, cooking meth becomes a good option, a rational option almost, to pursue as a means for making a living. It will allow their family a degree of freedom that only money can afford them. However, it cannot provide them security; sooner or later, the law will catch them, as they did Ree’s dad. At that point, the primary breadwinner is indisposed, stuck in jail, or bailed out on a bond that is worth more than what little they may have, ultimately placing them in a worse position than they started. The stresses of this life, always teetering on homelessness or starvation, beats the soul down, which can most often only be revived temporarily by the relief of getting high. So people live their impossible lives finding shallow forms of escapism, which ultimately makes that life harder, placing them firmly exactly where they are with a life’s purpose of bitter survival and little hope for or even imagination of a better future.
The unique relationship between drugs and poverty is best exemplified by Teardrop’s character. He is a man with a fearsome reputation, not one to be trifled with, achieving this through years of cutthroat action, fueled by his dependence on “crank.” Drugs have given him an edge, allowing him to carry out confidently with the more violent side of the drug industry. While drugs have afforded Teardrop with a certain degree of power in this community, so too has it pinned him down. Throughout the novel, there are numerous mentions of the various bonds that Teardrop has been placed on, as well as a run in with the law that he manages to escape from only because of Ree’s presence. Not even the strong and implacable Teardrop is immune to the tyranny that is drugs and their consequences.
Your analysis on drugs and poverty and their relationship throughout the novel is spot on. There is this sense of freedom that drugs give the characters throughout the story, but there is also this restriction it gives them as well. The freedom is seemingly fleeting, whether it be a high, financial freedom, or power in the case of Teardrop. The restrictive nature of drugs in the novel is less fleeting and rather persistent. The premise of Ree’s father’s betrayal, putting their house up as collateral for bond and then disappearing, is one way this persistent restrictive nature is exemplified. Facing homelessness or starvation is persistent, is restrictive, and is a major theme of the book.
ReplyDeleteCooking meth as a good option and a rational option is one that brings freedom, but not security. Is there true freedom without security? Security is about being free from danger or threat. When dealing with drugs, there is no security from danger. Freedom is about not being imprisoned or enslaved or to be able to think without restraint. In one way, drugs give the characters freedom from the constraints of money, like it does the Dolly family. But it also brings a lack of security, like it does with Teardrop. Drugs allow him to bring out his violent side. So, to some extent, this is true, but to some extent it is impossible to have true freedom without security.
You make lots of good points here about the use of drugs in this novel! It's definitely reflective of situations that happen in real life even today, and I think that's one of the main things that makes the novel feel so relevant. I think it's a popular topic for people to be interested in fiction as well, with shows like Breaking Bad being so popular - the interest creates room for awareness about some of the serious issues surrounding drugs and poverty, and hopefully creates interest in making change to help people who are stuck in these types of situations. You're right about desperation as the reasoning behind why the Dolly family got involved in cooking meth. They turned to this as a last resort since they were able to make a lot of money from it, but it was a risky business to be in and like you said, Ree's dad was caught. It's unfortunate that a lot of people are forced into making drugs out of necessity, and then end up in a worse situation than they started in for themselves and their families. Your post explained this well and you made some points I hadn't thought of before, like at the end when you mentioned how not even the strongest people are immune to the consequences of being caught, even if they think they are.
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