Figurative Language In Winter's Bone By Daniel Woodrell

In Daniel Woodrell’s novel, Winter’s Bone, the bitter cold of a typical Ozark Winter highlights the harsh and bittersweet lives of the characters in the story. Ree’s quest to find her father interspersed with familial interactions are sharpened by Woodrell’s crafted imagery and descriptions of the merciless winter, and the phenomenal writing which included superb word choice, authentic dialect, and evocative figurative language. In fact, the book would not have the same emotional impact without them.

Throughout this finely crafted book, Daniel Woodrell transports the reader to the stark, bleak, and grim reality of the Ozark mountains where the people and the poverty are synonymous. By juxtaposing descriptions of the raw winter and the protagonist Ree Dolly’s bleak life, the reader feels a more intense understanding and connection to the heart-rending plight and events of the characters. Woodrell writes, “Ree Dolly stood at break of day on her cold front steps and smelled coming flurries and saw meat” (Woodrell 3). The opening sentence of the novel introduces the reader to the fact that it is winter, But i the inclusion of meat immediately hooks the reader. Questions drive the reader into the text as they wonder where and what is going on in this novel. As Ree is introduced with her “milk skin” and “abrupt green eyes” the reader is able to visualize the wind smacking her cheeks. In addition, the personification foreshadows the violence that encapsulates and defines the