The Chosen Clan

The story of Haslam, Fruit of Belief and his role as predecessor of the Dolly clan mimics the Old Testament story of Moses being instructed to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. The family folklore passed down builds upon a Biblical allusion, drawing a parallel between an important Biblical figure and their own founder. Woodrell’s use of this family mythology and Biblical reference causes time to become cyclical, and the family’s present actions to appear preordained.

            Haslam’s discovery of the area of the Ozarks that the Dolly clan now resides on draws upon the story of Moses being told of the Promised Land, Canaan. Just as Moses was given the Ten Commandments and instructed to go to Canaan, Haslam finds a fish with a “map etched tiny on the golden guts” and follows it “until he [hails] these lonely rugged hollows of tired rocky soil as a perfect garden spot, paradise as ordained by the map of guts sent to his eyes from the Fist of Gods” (65). The land is described as “tired” and yet is simultaneously viewed by Haslam as a sort of “paradise” that the Fist of Gods has only told him of. This mirrors God’s directing of Moses to the Promised Land, which was described as being only for the Israelites. Unknowingly, the Dolly clan is setting itself up with this story to be a “chosen people”; one of their own was picked to discover this land, inhabit it, and bear the land’s fruits. With this, Woodrell feeds into the idea of destiny in the novel. Just as this happened in the Bible, it is happening yet again with the Dolly family- they are destined to inhabit this land, and they have no control over this fact.

            Unlike the Old Testament story, the novel emphasizes the loss of religion in the clan. Although Ree states there is no definitive answer as to what happened in the falling out between the “Walking People” and God, she says that “all they ever said was there’d been a woman” (66). Aside from being a misogynistic claim that reveals the clan’s opinion on women, this lack of a definitive answer being available to Ree highlights the loss of religion in the Ozark community she lives in. She admits that she “did not know much about the religion or the ruining. The prophecies...reached her down the generations as hoarse godly mutterings of a big man spinning a braggish lie that made little sense and had no conclusion” (66). Ree views this tale as being not true, “a braggish lie” even, and harmful to the family today. She continues on to blame these traditions for her father’s death (66). The religion has been forgotten, but the remnants still stand and affect the daily life of the Dolly family.

From a theological perspective, the clan can be viewed as still being punished for their ancestors’ decision to disregard the God of their story. Woodrell is creating a cycle for the family to be stuck in. The very religion their clan was founded on is a retelling of an even older Biblical tale, which causes the family to be founded on the belief that they are the chosen people who must follow the traditions of yesterday, even now.