Student Question
How would you describe Woodrell's writing style in Winter's Bone?
Quick answer:
Daniel Woodrell's style of writing in Winter's Bone is forceful and elaborate. His sentences are often as violent and visceral as the characters themselves. Even when describing Ree's red cheeks, Woodrell pivots to detailed violence.
We could go on about Daniel Woodrell's writing style for a long time. It wouldn't matter. What matters is your opinion of his style. What do you think about it? Why did you like it? Why didn't you like it? Writing style, like other kinds of style (hair styles, clothing styles, and so on) is subjective. It's a matter of personal opinion.
Perhaps we can help you better form an opinion about Woodrell's style. One trait we noted is how vivid it is. There are sounds. Look at the following sentence:
Walnuts were thumping in the night like stalking footsteps of some large thing that never quite came into view.
Can you hear the walnuts "thumping" and the footsteps "stalking"? We can. Not literally, of course, but in our imagination we can.
Woodrell doesn't like to mention a detail and then move along. He likes to expand and elaborate. It's...
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like he's creating an intricate stage or set and every piece has its own story. As his story is quite scary and eerie, the backdrop and pieces he includes are often frightful and suspenseful in themselves.
When Ree washes the dishes and looks out the window, what does she see? She sees "bare trees, looming rock ledges and a thin mud trail." These might seem like minor pieces. Yet think about how the bare trees and thin trail reflect the emaciated, impoverished character of the Ozarks. Think about how the "looming rock ledges" connect to the trouble that's coming Ree's way.
For us, Woodrell has a knack for making details stand out. Ree doesn't have "green eyes," she has "abrupt green eyes." Her cheeks aren't red, they're "reddening as if smacked and smacked again."
We could say Woodrell's style is rather intense and unrelenting. If you like forceful, ornate writing, perhaps you liked Winter's Bone. If you don't, perhaps Winter's Bone isn't for you. Either way, hopefully we've helped you form a more personal opinion about Woodrell's writing style for his chilling novel.