Dorothy Allison (Born 1949)Dorothy Allison was born in 1949 in Greenville, South Carolina. She was the first member of her family to graduate high school, and went on to study anthropology at Florida Presbyterian College. Dorothy says that she created Bastard Out of Carolina over the course of ten years, and her goal in the novel was to tell about the true events that happened to her in her life. Bastard Out of Carolina was her first novel, and was a huge hit, becoming the finalist for several year end book awards.(Dorothy Allison Website)
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Captivity of Bone
In Bastard out of Carolina, the character of Bone is the ultimate representation of captivity. Not only is this child kept in a home with an abusive parent, but due to her birth certificate being stamped as "illegitimate" she is held captive by the label of being a bastard child. This is a label that throughout the novel, she and her mother Anney both battle to overcome. As the novel progresses, the abuse that Bone receives only becomes worse and more violent until she is eventually raped. Bone is literally held captive because her mother refuses to leave Glen, even though she is made aware of the abuse taking place. The captivity goes even further though, because Bone will not tell anyone of the abuse because she wants to protect her mother's happiness. Because of this, Bone is forced to take physical abuse, and it becomes obvious as well that the mental abuse builds throughout the novel until Bone consistently describes her self hatred for the things that have happened to her.