Full
of meaning. There are so many opportunities to describe meaning in Winter's
Bone. I noticed that the beginning and the end of the film showed pictures of
the trees. The trees were tall and strong but they were also dark. I believe
this represents Ree. She is tall and strong in the movie. Unfortunately she is
also dark and hardened. The trees and land are the only stable thing that Ree has.
They define her. We don't know how old Ree actually is until she meets
with the army recruiter later in the movie. As a viewer you feel sorry for Ree
but when we learn her age of 17 it becomes even more disheartening. There isn't
a 17 year old in this world that deserves to live the life that Ree has to
live. Ree stands up to whatever she needs to in order to survive. Just like the
trees.... despite the cold winter they survive. Ree survives and doesn't give
up despite the beating she gets. I also notices that Ree goes to her father’s
closet more than once in the movie. She stares at his boots. I believe she is
thinking about how she does not want any part in following in her fathers'
footsteps or "filling his shoes". This is obvious when her uncle
offers her cocaine and asks her if she has a taste for it yet. She is
disgusted. Ree understands the need to hold her dead father’s arms while the
woman uses the chainsaw to cut them off. She needs to do this to survive; just
like she taught her brother to gut the squirrel in order to survive. She tells
her siblings that they shouldn't ask for help (with the deer meat, taking care
of the horse) but accept help if it given. This pays off for Ree in the end
because she gets to keep the bond money that an unknown person fronted for her
dad. At the end of the movie Ree's uncle brings over 2 chicks and this
symbolizes a new beginning for Ree and her family. Ree tries to her uncle
Jessep's banjo as a sign of her appreciation but he does not take it because he
is going to take care of the person who murdered Jessep. He knows that he may
go to jail or die defending his brother's death and may not be back. Ree's
little sister plays the banjo like Jessep did. As much as Ree had to go through
because of her father's lifestyle of chronic drug abuse she finds comfort in
hearing her sister play the banjo.
I like how you incorporated the trees into your writing. I never thought of the trees as darkening. Your input of the trees really changed my viewpoint of the film to how you viewed it. You said that looking at her uncle's boots reminded her to not follow in his footsteps. Could this moment in the film also mean that the boots brought up a memory where she wore them as a little girl when times were happy or home felt like a home? I agree that we should accept help when given, but I also believe that if we are in need of help, we should ask for it. The helping need doesn't make us weak. Do we really need to know Ree's age? What would be the symbolic meaning behind the banjo? I enjoyed reading your post. You included many visual examples to bring your points across.
ReplyDeleteI think the timing of the announcement of Rees age was important to me because as a viewer I felt so bad for all she had to do and the responsibility she had. In the beginning, she looked and acted a lot older than 17. It was part of a suspense factor for me.The banjo represented to me a final ending to her dad's life. I believe Ree found comfort in hearing Ashley play. It was a happy memory of their dad. I'm sure one of few, given his lifestyle.
DeleteI never understood her being comfortable and opening up to her mum in the woods until I read this. It does make sense of how the trees symbolize Ree. The woods are the only safe place where Ree can truly speak her mind about her doubt ("I don't know what to do.") and not have to worry about scaring Sonny and Ashlee. Everyone has their breaking point and I think that given the week's notice by the bond collector was Ree's breaking point, and she retreated to the woods with her mother to let it off her chest and finally give in to ask for emotional help. I was wondering if you understood why Ree could only take her father's hands and not the entire body? If Thump Milton's immediate family knew where he was, why couldn't they take the hands after taking him out of the lake? I also caught her reluctance to Teardrop's offer of cocaine. She obviously knows that that leads to bad consequences and will not help her family in anyway. Selling the substance would help with the money situation, but she would be just as bad as Thump Milton's family. Ree loves her dad but she did not want to end up like him by getting mixed into the cocaine making business.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ree goes to her father's closet, I saw it as her loving the man and trying to do what is right for her family by finding him but struggling to love the man who put her in that situation. I looked at the ending when Ashlee is playing the banjo as a sigh of relief almost for Ree. She had survived through the 'night' and it was finally 'dawn'. Things were looking up. They were going to keep their land and the house. They had some money to support them and she didn't have to give Sonny up. And though things still look bad with her mother still sick, her father now known as dead, and her uncle going off doing god knows what; she could see the end. She could see the light at the end of the tunnel. So she sat with her siblings and sighed with relief.
ReplyDeleteI think Ree definitely loved her dad too.
DeleteGood point with the trees. I never took that into consideration that it could be a symbol of something to do with her. I agree with people wanted to help her but if she wanted the help I believe she would have asked for it. When the uncle brought the 2 chicks over for her siblings, he might of wanted the two kids with like there was comfort there for them. I like how you explained how she felt when her sister played the banjo. You make a good point about her dads life. I enjoyed reading your post.
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