Ree and the Morning Squirrel: Resilience

“They were alarmed by every sound but not long alarmed by any. The dawn air held the cold of night but there was no breeze and squirrels soon lost their fear of the new day and moved out along the branches” (102). 

The squirrel and the setting of dawn break is a metaphor for Ree and the way she carries herself through her perpetual privation.  Just as the squirrel is “alarmed by every sound” Ree continuously faces recurring hardships; however, like the squirrel, Ree is “not long alarmed by any.” Ree’s ability to move on to the next task, while letting the past dissipate, exemplifies her resilience in the face of so many obstacles.  Although Ree still holds with her what she has learned about being a Dolly from searching from her father, just like the “ dawn air [holds] the cold of night,” she has to forget about her search and her discoveries the next day when parenting her brothers. Instead of carrying with her into parenting her brothers the hardships she faced searching for her dad, Ree suppresses that anger and teaches her brothers how to shoot rifles and skin squirrels.  Ree, like the squirrels, just continues to move “out along the branches.” Ree’s strength is prevalent in this metaphor as she is able to segregate the worries of her life so that she can be strong for her brothers while continuing the search for her father.