Ree is unafraid of the patriarchy when she passes on a message to Thump Milton, the patriarch of the Milton clan: "So, come the nut-cuttin', blood don't truly mean shit to him. Am I understandin' right? Blood don't truly count for diddly to the big man? Well, you can tell the big man for me I hope he has him a long, long life full of nothin' but hiccups'n the runs, hear? You tell him Ree Dolly said that" (63).
