Where The Red Fern Grows

Category: Fantasy, Novel

Last Updated: 18 Nov 2022

Pages: 3 Views: 214

Billy Coleman, the protagonist in the novel “Where the Red Fern Grows,” written by Wilson Rawls, shows immediate signs of strength of character, bravery and determination. The novel has many different underlying themes. However, the biggest theme in the novel is determination. The concept of determination is in everything that the protagonist, Billy, does. From the beginning of the novel, Billy is described as a young boy that is filled with puppy love. Billy’s family, however, is too poor to afford dogs for Billy. Billy almost immediately decided to do what he needs to do in order to receive his dogs. Billy starts to work hard by selling fruit and bait to fisherman. Billy is eventually able to save enough money for two “coon dogs.” Saving the money and putting in the effort to train them gives the readers their first examples of Billy’s determination. Billy trains his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann, day and night so that they can be ready once raccoon season starts.

Another example of the novels theme of determination is on the first night of coon season. Old Dan and Little Ann tree a coon in the biggest tree imaginable to Billy, who is 10 years old. Billy knows the tree will take several days to cut down, but Billy is determined to cut it down, because he told his dogs that if they could tree a coon he would take care of the rest “Why are you so determined to get this coon?” Papa asked. “Couldn’t you go somewhere else and tree one? Maybe the tree would be a smaller one.” “I thought about that, Papa,” I said, “but I made a bargain with my dogs. I told them that if they would put one in a tree, I’d do the rest. Well, they fulfilled their part of the bargain. Now it’s up to me to do my part, and I’m going to, Papa. I’m going to cut it down. I don’t care if it takes me a year.” (Rawls, 56) Billy does not leave the tree’s side until his grandfather teaches him how to make a scarecrow to keep the coon in the tree. At this time, Billy’s father realizes how much effort Billy is putting into catching this raccoon, and relieves him of family chores. Billy is eventually able to cut the tree down, and his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann, are able to kill the raccoon.

The last major example of determination in the novel would be near the end of the book where he made a bet that he could catch a legendary ghost raccoon that no one has ever came close to catching. During this challenge Billy shows many examples of determination such as during his challenge a snowstorm kicked up and Billy and his dogs fought against the lack of vision and extreme coldness. Billy also ran into a mountain lion, Billy’s dogs darted toward the lion and fought it. When Billy was aware that this was going on Billy knew he had to help save his dogs that he cared so deeply about but his dogs where the ones that saved him. When the dogs defeated the lion Billy and little Ann discovered that during the fight, old Dan got cut so bad his insides were completely outside of him and he had died. A couple days later little Ann died of a broken heart of old Dan and Billy was left very depressed about what had happened. In conclusion Billy and his dogs show a tremendous amount of examples of determination during his journey.

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