Where the Red Fern Grows
Theme: Determination
Have you ever read the book “Where the Red Fern Grows?” In the book, Billy and his two dogs show determination. Billy lives in 1930s Kansas during the Great Depression and dreams of hunting with two raccoon dogs. First, Billy works hard to save up money to buy two hunting dogs. Then, Billy walks many miles to pick up the puppies. Once he has the puppies, Billy teaches them how to hunt, and they eventually win a gold and silver raccoon hunting trophy.
Billy wants two raccoon pups so badly that he is obsessed with having one. Billy’s desire for dogs is so great that he will do anything at any cost to get them. “I’m sure no boy in the world had it worse than [Billy] did. It’s not easy for a young boy to want a dog but not be able to have one.” (2) He saves up money for two years during the Great Depression and, “all through the summer [he] work[s] like a beaver.” (22-23) Comparing Billy to a beaver shows how hard he works to earn enough money to buy his dogs. The author shows the degree to which Billy works hard to save up money. He picks blackberries, sells crops and “roasting ears,” and picks worms in the ground and sells them to fishermen. Billy had to work hard to earn fifty dollars so that he had enough money to buy his two dogs. Due to inflation, fifty dollars is $841.76 in today’s money!
Billy also shows determination by walking barefoot many miles to pick up his puppies. Billy’s grandfather tells him that his pups have to be picked up at a faraway town. Instead of waiting the next day for his dad to take him there, Billy goes off on a journey by himself. Billy is so eager that he packs up some food and supplies and leaves the house without telling his parents. He walks many miles for a few days to the town. It was about 30 miles away. (48) It takes a lot of effort and perseverance to do that. Once he picks up the dogs, he carries them in a knapsack all the way home, enduring the perils of a mountain lion along the way. When Billy arrives home, his parents forgive him for leaving without notice.
Then, Billy trains the dogs how to hunt for raccoons in preparation for the next hunting season, which will take place in the next year. He is determined to start the dogs’ hunting career. Billy trains them all by himself and drags a hide around to simulate a real raccoon. Billy, “did everything with that hide a coon would do and probably a lot of things a coon couldn’t do.” (75) Billy and his dog’s hard work finally pays off when Little Ann and Old Dan are able to hunt enough raccoons. His dogs also show determination when they work hard to win the raccoon hunting contest. During the hunt, Billy’s dogs did not give up and continued chasing the raccoon even when it kept on tricking them and running away. Because the dogs were trained well, they win the tournament and a gold and silver trophy along with it.
In this book, Billy achieves his goals by taking the initiative and going after what he desires. Billy did not wait around for his parents to give him the money, but instead, he earned it himself! Billy thinks of innovative ways to make money and works hard to save up enough money for two years to buy the dogs. After that, Billy spends a lot of time training his dogs to win a raccoon hunting contest. The lesson of the story is that working hard, showing determination, expressing eagerness, and showing the desire to do something can go a long way.
A time when I showed determination was when I competed in my first rated chess tournament. We had to play four consecutive games, which lasted for at least one hour. It was a long day, because the tournament started at 10:00 AM and ended around approximately 4:30 PM. I had to play with much older and experienced kids, handle the timer, and write down notations on each move we made. During that first tournament, I won only once, tied once, and lost twice. Thereafter, I prepared hard over the next nine months to improve my game. During the next tournament, I won all four games and tied for first place. But due to tiebreaker rules, I won a second place trophy. It was very challenging, but with a lot of practice, I eventually came out on top.
I’m sorry I have not posted in a while, but I try to put lots of thought and effort into my postings. So, expect around one posting a month. I apologize and will try to cut down the times in-between postings. . As you may or may not know, today is National Coffee day. Drink some coffee today to keep you awake!
