Monday, November 27, 2023

Ree's New Future

From the beginning of the novel, it is clear that Ree is more than willing to make sacrifices for her brothers. She spends her days doing their laundry, making their meals, and sending them to school, neglecting her own education and interests so that the boys can have what they need. On page eight it even says, “Ree’s grand hope was that these boys would not be dead to wonder by age twelve, dulled to life, empty of kindness, boiling with mean.” Although Ree loves her brothers, her ultimate goal is to leave her life of being a caretaker behind and join the army to pursue her dreams of freedom and traveling. By the end of the novel, however, Ree has abandoned this goal and chosen to stay behind with her family. At first, this seems like she’s making yet another sacrifice for her brothers. However, unlike other decisions she has made in the past, this one includes her own interests and dreams, she’s just choosing to fulfill them in a different way.

At the end of the novel, Uncle Teardrop tells Ree that, “‘We took our cut from the cash, and there’s this much left. That makes it yours.’” With this new way to provide for her family and with Teardrop’s assurance that she can continue to earn money outside of “crank,” a new door of possibility has opened for Ree. She now can pursue her dreams of freedom and traveling while continuing to take care of her brothers. It’s no longer necessary for her to join the army to realize her ambitions. Instead, she has enough money that she can buy transportation. When Sonny asks, “‘What’ll we do with all that money? Huh? What’s the first thing we’ll get?’” Ree responds, saying, “‘Wheels.’”

With these concluding events, Ree’s whole conception of the future has changed. She no longer has to choose between her family and her dreams, she can now have both. Even after the life altering and traumatic events of her journey and the death of her father, her future is much brighter than it was at the beginning. Therefore, her choice to give up her goal of joining the army wasn’t a sacrifice, it was a compromise that ensures she gets to pursue her dreams while still taking care of her family. 


1 comment:

  1. In addition to focusing on how Ree chooses to sacrifice her initial plan of enlisting in the army, it’s crucial to expand more on why she chooses to stay in Rathlin Valley based on what opportunities she is offered. After Mike Satterfield comes over to the Dolly’s house to give Ree the bag of cash, he mentions that although she isn’t old enough yet, “if [Ree] could get around, drive to town’n places, [he’d] sure use [her]” (192). Here, Woodrell sets the scene for the final line of his book, where Ree tells the boys that the first thing that they will buy with their new cash will be a car, or “wheels”. Ree assesses her situation and comes to the conclusion that because of this new financial support, she can use her determination and natural grit somewhere else besides the military. Before Satterfield gave Ree this money, she was talking with Gail about how her family would have to be split up because of her father’s absence. Ree has a strong feeling of responsibility for her brothers and Mom, so when given the slight chance of being able to grow in her innate skills while remaining close to home, she takes it. In conclusion, not only does this sacrifice of being in the army actually lead to a stable, connected family unit for Ree, but also an interesting work opportunity with Satterfield that is right up her alley.

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