They could have cut off the hands (they did) themselves and throw the bag on the porch? Also, why did Teardrop take Ree to the bar with him before the ax in windshield scene? She just sat in the truck.
...reifications are the shadows cast by the opacity of language
Several reasons:
1) Intimidation: This is what happened to your father. This is what will happen to you if you continue making trouble.
2) Complicity: By cutting off her father's hands, Ree is now part of the cover-up about his murder.
3) Right of passage: Ree has now proven herself in the eyes of her family as able to make hard choices and keep their secrets.
As for the late night drive, Teardrop is showing the damage done to his niece to the community, and justifying his anger and any actions that he will take as a result of her beating and his brother's disappearance.
Ouiser: Are you trying to confuse me, Clairee?
Clairee: No. I just want to expose us to a little more culture. And that's not easy to come by in this neck of the woods. -- Steel Magnolias
Perhaps 2 and 3 but 1 could have been accomplished by anonymously tossing bag on porch. Actually, by bringing her, 2 gives her evidence to drop a dime on them.
As for the bar trip: if he wanted to display her injuries, why'd he tell her to stay in the car where no one could see her. I thought maybe it was to be a lookout. Thanks for your insights.
...reifications are the shadows cast by the opacity of language
As for the bar trip: if he wanted to display her injuries, why'd he tell her to stay in the car where no one could see her.
I had a feeling there was something in the book that made sense of this. Thanks. Still don't get why they didn't just drop-off the hands on her porch rather than implicit themselves in the killing by taking her to his body.
...reifications are the shadows cast by the opacity of language
I'll add one more:
In the book Ree is almost certain a couple of times that the Dolly women are going to kill her and dump her body by her father's. If 1) Intimidation had not worked, they would have done it.
Ree's father had become an informant and the authorities would benefit by finding him, dead or alive. Now Ree was stirring things up in the community about his disappearance, so silencing Ree one way or the other was necessary.