In the story of "Bastard Out of Carolina", Dorothy Allison gives a semi-autobiographical depiction of her childhood life. Allison portrays a dirt poor southern childhood in a family that is notorious for it's violent, hard-drinking men and women that are prone to trouble which is intensified by physical and sexual abuse. The main character of the story is Ruth Anne Boatwright. She is a young girl who grows up in a troubled home where her stepfather sexually and physically abused her. Ruth Anne, also known as Bone, finds comfort through various situations and individuals such as gospel music, revivals, and her aunts and uncles. This story shows the theme of how a child who is in a high-risk situation must find outlets to survive. These outlets provide a coping mechanism, which then sustains resilience in her adolescence.
             One of the major figures in Bones life is her stepfather, Daddy Glen. Daddy Glen came into Bones' life when she was a toddler. He was a man from a well to do family that owns a dairy. But, he has a troubled family. We find out that he has many issues due to how his father has treated him throughout his life. His father never treated him as an equal and tended to look down upon him. One example of this is when his father gave him a job at the dairy as driver but paid him less than other employees and gave him the worst routes. Daddy Glen tried to rationalize this to himself by believing that it was because his father did this because he didn't want the other employees to think his son was favored. His issues with his father caused serious psychological problems within himself. Some of his problems were lack of confidence, the need to feel loved, intense anger, and to be very possessive toward things he loved. He had a fierce temperament, which cost him many jobs.
             Daddy Glen becomes the one major risk in Bones' life. This begins at a very young age in her parents'
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