Winter’s Bone

• Genre: Fiction; rural noir
• Originally Published: 2006
• Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
• Structure/Length: 26 chapters; approximately 224 pages; approximately 4 hours, 53 minutes on audio
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: The central conflict in the story follows Ree Dolly, a young and resilient teenager living in the Ozarks, who must navigate the dangerous and secretive world of her family and their involvement in the illegal drug trade. Determined to keep her family together, Ree embarks on a perilous quest to locate her missing father, who has skipped bail and put their home at risk. The novel explores themes of poverty, family, and survival in a harsh rural landscape.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Drugs, violence, and poverty; sexual violence; depiction of a challenging rural environment

Daniel Woodrell, Author

• Bio: Born 1953; American author known for his works of rural crime fiction; grew up in the Ozarks, which serves as a backdrop for many of his stories; received critical acclaim for his writing, which often delves into the lives of marginalized individuals in rural settings; known for his gritty and realistic portrayals of characters and environments
• Other Works: Woe to Live On (1987); Give Us a Kiss (1996); Tomato Red (1998); The Death of Sweet Mister (2001); The Bayou Trilogy (2011); The Outlaw Album (2011); The Maid’s Version (2013)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• Nature/Environment  
• Escapism  
• The Perpetuation of Needs

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:

• Gain an increased understanding of the social and psychological contexts around poverty that impact the characters’ central conflicts.
• Discuss paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Nature/Environment, Escapism, and The Perpetuation of Needs.
• Plan, create, and present a stone wall artifact, based on textual details.
• Analyze and evaluate the plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding Teardrop’s code, the impact of the setting, and other topics.