What is the theme of the story where the red fern grows?
Where the Red Fern Grows has two main themes: determination and man's relationship to dogs. The two are closely related. After all, Old Dan, a dog, is perhaps the most determined character in the novel.
- The Lessons of a Dog's Love. At the heart of Where the Red Fern Grows is the beautiful relationship between a boy and his dogs. ...
- The Circle of Life and Coming of Age. ...
- Faith and Prayer. ...
- The Natural World. ...
- Masculinity and Emotion.
Lesson Summary
As a coming-of-age story, Where the Red Fern Grows deals with the classic theme of maturity as Billy learns to work hard, be a leader, and ultimately deal with the death. But the book also engages with other classic American themes including self-reliance and man's relationship to nature.
What does the red fern symbolize? Obviously, the red fern is a kind of memorial to the spirits of Billy's departed dogs. According to legend, an angel has to plant the seed of the red fern, and so wherever there is a red fern, it marks something very admirable and special.
The red fern, then, comes to symbolize the sanctity of the spirit and the possibility of rebirth and renewal in the face of death and loss.
down such large trees? hands to make a final attack on the tree. Billy is crying because the raccoon is in the tree and his muscles ache from chopping.
The setting of Where the Red Fern Grows informs the way characters interact and what they can do, and Billy's character arc is dependent on the time and place where he grows up.
Rainie continues pestering Billy, betting him that their blue tick hound can out-hunt both of Billy's dogs. As Rainie continues pressing Billy to bet $2 that his dogs can tree the famous “ghost coon,” a giant, old, and wily raccoon native to their part of the mountains, Grandpa becomes agitated.
Mood and Tone
The mood is It's inspirational, because ten-year-old Billy Coleman decides upon a dream [raising redbone coonhounds] and carries it through. happy, exciting, and sad.
- “If a man's word isn't any good, he's no good himself.” ...
- “My heart started acting like a drunk grasshopper.” ...
- “On my way home I didn't walk on the ground. ...
- “It was wonderful indeed how I could have heart-to-heart talks with my dogs and they always seemed to understand.
What was the main problem in Where the Red Fern Grows?
At the beginning of the book, one of the main conflicts is how badly Billy is struck by ''dog-wanting disease. '' Billy wants them so much, he has to fight against moping around because he cannot have them.
Billy and his family look at the fern in awe. They leave him, and while he is looking at the fern he makes peace with the fact that his dogs have died.
In the novel, Where the Red Fern Grows, the various dogs serve to show Billy loyalty, determination and the strong bond a person can have with a dog. In the beginning of the book, Billy lives in the suburbs and encounters a hound named Buddy. He sends Buddy on his way as he is a reminder of his beloved dead dogs.
Climax: After the contest, Billy and the dogs are hunting and come across a mountain lion. The dogs save Billy's life by fighting off the mountain lion, and Old Dan is very badly injured. Falling Action: Old Dan dies from his injuries, and Billy is devastated.
Billy Colman
The protagonist of Where the Red Fern Grows.
Billy and Papa go over to the tree and they realize that it is hollow—the raccoon must be hiding inside. Papa chops the tree down, and Billy is shocked when three raccoons scrabble out of it. Dan and Ann manage to chase down and kill two raccoons—but after a bloody brawl, one raccoon escapes.
Billy asks for his money back and he declares that he wants to go home—he doesn't want to stay and watch the raccoon die. Rubin becomes angry and he accuses Billy of going back on his bet. Billy reminds him that the bet only concerned treeing the raccoon—not killing it. Rainie begins calling for Rubin to beat Billy.
Papa excitedly agrees to go along on the hunt. One of Billy's little sisters declares that Old Dan and Little Ann will bring home the cup for sure. Billy begins to cry tears of happiness. He promises his little sister that if he wins the cup, he will give it to her as a gift.
Chapter 6: Billy and the Dogs Arrive Home
As Billy works his way back home with the puppies in a gunny sack, he brainstorms possible names for them. As he reaches a camping area, he sees the names Dan and Ann surrounded by a heart carved in a tree. He decides to name the male pup Old Dan and the female pup Little Ann.
Adult Billy closes by saying that although he hasn't returned to the Ozarks, he still dreams of visiting Old Dan and Little Ann's graves and seeing the red fern again one day.
What is the prayer in Where the Red Fern Grows?
All I have left are my dreams and memories, but if God is willing, some day I'd like to go back-back to those beautiful hills. I'd like to walk again on trails I walked in my boyhood days. […] I'm sure the red fern has grown and has completely covered the two little mounds.
Characters in Where the Red Fern Grows
Billy Colman - Billy is the protagonist and narrator of the novel as a fifty-year-old man. He tells the story in flashback narrative after witnessing a dogfight on his way home from work.
Where the Red Fern Grows is written from the first person limited point of view.
Billy Colman is the protagonist, narrator, and tells the story from his first-person perspective.
“There is a little good in all evil.” “I'm sure the red fern has grown and has completely covered the two little mounds. I know it is still there, hiding its secret beneath those long, red leaves, but it wouldn't be hidden from me for part of my life is buried there, too.
The dogs save Billy's life, and they manage to kill it, but not before it inflicts serious damage on Old Dan. He dies, and without him, Little Ann loses the will to live and dies a few days later.
Rubin. Any character who would be pleased to see Old Dan hurt is bad guy in our book. Combine this with him trying to take an ax to the dogs, and this puts it over the top. His death even forces Billy to reconsider hunting, which makes him a pretty clear antagonist—since he's working against the one thing Billy loves.
Climax: After the contest, Billy and the dogs are hunting and come across a mountain lion. The dogs save Billy's life by fighting off the mountain lion, and Old Dan is very badly injured. Falling Action: Old Dan dies from his injuries, and Billy is devastated.
Billy Colman
The protagonist of Where the Red Fern Grows. At the start of the novel he is ten years old. He has three younger sisters.
Billy's dogs do manage to tree the coon, but when Billy won't kill it, the Pritchards get violent. The conflict ends when Rubin accidently falls on Billy's axe and dies. Love and loyalty is the major theme throughout Where the Red Fern Grows, illustrated many times in the story.
What is the resolution of Where the Red Fern Grows?
At the end of Where the Red Fern Grows, Little Ann and Old Dan lose their lives protecting Billy.
Mood and Tone
The mood is It's inspirational, because ten-year-old Billy Coleman decides upon a dream [raising redbone coonhounds] and carries it through. happy, exciting, and sad.
