one of my favorite movies but...
Why doesn't she take the offer of selling timber on the property? Take the money and get your siblings and mom out of this hell hole.
sharecheribit» Why doesn't she take the offer of selling timber on the property? Take the money and get your siblings and mom out of this hell hole.
Although this film is basically about drug addiction, it is also about the type of culture in which one's inherited land has the same value as the family members who were alive and owned it in days gone by. This can be extended to the trees as well. It takes years to grow trees. Your daddy before you didn't see value in selling off the trees for lumber, why should you? In a way, you are making the land less valuable, at least in the short run. And in a very real way, they are correct.
However, what they don't realize is they don't own enough land and/or trees to make any lasting difference if the trees remain growing or are cut down. The value, or lack of, in selling the trees completely resides in the timing of the sale. Yes, it is true if you cut the trees this year you can't also count on being able to do that three years down the road. But also, they can't see that if the money was put to good use to help their lives move forward, not just to survive because no one wants to work, all their lives would improve.
To suggest she sells the trees so they can move is not understanding the culture at all. Even though drugs has turned the whole community into self centered idiots, they are taught from day one that it is the land that makes them who they are. Short of the house burning down or something similar, these people are not moving anywhere.
She could sell the timber and move the kids to a better environment. But it would have to be enough money to ensure the kids could stay away long enough to want another kind of life. A life without drugs. A life with goals, ambitions, and dreams. Otherwise she would just be throwing the money away. Money that might be better used years later for things like maybe a private high school. Or maybe moving for long enough so they can go to a good high school.
These two kids might go to college, but it isn't very likely. Possibly a community college would be a reasonable goal. They could always use that as a stepping stone if they really turned their lives around. However, that doesn't usually happen in one generation. Just stopping the mass marching over the cliff due to drug addiction would be a nice start. This is an uphill battle that is difficult to overcome. A lot of intervention will be needed for there to be a chance. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
The ability to sell the trees can offer options. But just selling the trees without any planning because of the reward of instant money would be a big mistake.
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