I chose to analyze the character of Ree Dolly in Winter’s Bone in the scene where she is
teaching Sonny and Ashlee how to hunt squirrels. I felt that this scene showed Ree’s character and the depth of
her love and commitment to her siblings.
The scene opens with a shot of the dark, dead woods. Ree, Sonny, and Ashlee are quietly sitting in
the woods waiting patiently for a squirrel to come by to shoot for food. Sonny says that he wants to hunt deer but Ree
tells him that it is not the time for deer.
Ashlee spots a squirrel and whispers to Ree. Ree asks her to help pull the trigger. When the hunting is over, they take the
squirrels back to a picnic table near the house to prepare them for
cooking.
She then begins to teach them as she skins and guts the
squirrels. Ree cuts the skin and asks
Sonny to pull hard to remove it. She
then tells him to, “Get in there and get them
guts out.” Sonny says, “I don’t want to.” Ree looks him in the eyes and says, “There’s a bunch of stuff that you
are going to have to get over being scared of.”
Sonny
says that he isn’t scared, he just doesn't
want to. Ree then takes his hands in
hers and says, “Come put your fingers in
there. Good.”
In the film, Ree’s love for the children is constant. She uses everyday activities as an
opportunity to teach them. Ree has a
strong sense of loyalty and devotion and treats the children with respect and
patience. For example, she takes Sonny’s hands to gently help him
get over his fears. She puts her siblings’ needs before her own.
I think that this scene shows Ree’s personality and how her
deep love and devotion for the children help her to overcome her own fears in
order to acquire the knowledge she needs to find her father. Ree will have to reach her own hand in to the
pond to pull out the hands of her dead father’s body.
In your entry I liked how you used the children’s learning through the eyes of Ree. It was a great way to show the perception of the kid’s growth and the growth of Ree as a person. I liked how you used the hunting scene as your example and the comparison of Sonny not wanting to gut the squirrel with Ree not wanting to reach in the pond to get her dead father’s hands. It was nice how you tied the two examples together with the quote, “There’s a bunch of stuff you are going to have to get over being scared of.” Also, your title was very catching and went extremely well with the content of your whole post.
ReplyDeleteYou point out some very good points. I like this part, because I am a big hunter and it shows the commitment on behalf of Ree. You give good examples on how Ree is willing to help her family, by showing them how to gut and skin a squirrel. This will lead to having food on the table, which means the family can eat for one more night. Maybe you could have talked about Rees personality shifting on this specific part from an introvert to possible an extrovert. I feel as this is the first time you really see Ree starting to step out of her convert zone.
ReplyDeleteWe all need support in times of need. In this case, the lesson to be learned was both physical and mental. Yes, Sonny needed to learn how to process an animal for survival, but more importantly, he needed to learn how to overcome fear. He did say "I'm not scared," but I find that hard to believe. Putting myself in his shoes, I definitely would be. Ree has shown she is mature well beyond her years. At only seventeen years old, she understands the importance of teaching soft skills to her young siblings.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t notice the connection between taking the guts out and taking her fathers hands out of the pond. That is a good foreshadow. I agree that in this scene, she shows how much cares about her siblings by showing them how to shoot so they can learn to defend themselves in some way. I also think it is good she tries to make them do things that make them scared, like she did for them.
ReplyDeleteI chose the same scene. You definitely went into more detail about the background which I think is fine. I'm more of analyzing the characters their feel of things. I liked that you talked about the nature a bit and kind of re-told the scene. I like that we had chosen the same scene because it's cool to see the differences as well as the similarities that we both saw.I definitely agree she loves those kids very much. Her family is her main drive and priority. Well written.
ReplyDelete