Even in an environment where a formal education could be difficult to obtain, people still learn and excel.

It's a really nice piece of the story and I like how lightly and yet definitely it's underlined. Lowell's not cooking meth because he didn't know better, couldn't have made something better of himself. It's illegal and horrifically dangerous, but it's not stupid work. And it's the game there was in town. Along with the inferences of Sawyer's background, it does a lot to forestall the scary hillbilly stereotypes while still allowing the film to be set in an evocative corner of the country.