What is the main point of Where the Red Fern Grows?

Answer 1

Where The Red Fern Grows - A Novel By Wilson Rawls.

Where The Red Fern Grows is a novel written by the American writer, Wilson Rawls. It tells the fantastic tale of a boy and his two dogs which can be read as delightfully as reading a beautiful poem. They are a lovely threesome. Old Dan had physical strength, little Ann had intelligence and the boy, Billy trained them in coon- hunting as fur was one of the main revenues of the inhabitants of the Cherokee Nation in those times. They made the finest hunting team in that wild country. They even won coon-hunting championships. They will track the smell and footprints and tree a coon. The skillful coon will come down any day or time and they patiently will wait. Sometimes the clever coon will jump into the river, cross and recross and disappear, deceiving the team by leaving not a trace. Only intelligent dogs could coon-hunt and succeed. When the dogs sacrificed their lives for rescuing Billy from a Mountain Lion attack, Billy buried them in a sandstone ledge. A few months later when Billy along with his papa, mamma and two sisters were leaving the Ozarks village forever, he went to the sandstone ledge to pay his last homage. It was then that he saw that sight! 'There between the two graves, a beautiful red fern had grown from the rich mountain soil, fully two feet tall with it's long red leaves reaching out in rainbow arches, curving over the graves of his dogs'. Nature's homage to the unforgettable pair!

Red Ferns are very rare to grow and where one grows, that spot is sacred. Only an angel can plant the seeds of a red fern, and they never die. The aborigins and the Indians of the wild west had a legend that in Winter, a little Indian boy and a girl were lost in a blizzard and were frozen to death. In Spring when they were found, a beautiful red fern had grown up between their two bodies, embracing them.

To understand the spirit of the story, one has to know the background of Wilson Rawls. He was born and lived in the Ozarks Mountains of the Cherokee Nation, where he roamed the hills and valleys with his only companion-his dog. It is said that his first writings were done with his fingers in the dust of the country roads and the sands along the river and that his first stories were told to his dog, who never complained.He could get proper schooling and access to real books only after his family moved to Oklahoma.

Where The Red Fern Grows was first published in 1961 by the Curtis Publishing Company. Doubleday and Bantam have issued editions. It certainly is a book to read and is a modern classic. It has since been made into a beautiful motion picture.

Answer 2

Well good question because I'm actually reading it right now in my book club.

To me the main theme is about a very special bond and love from a young boy to his two coon hounds. So technically saying loyalty, love, and friendship.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

The theme of Where the Red Fern Grows is friendship and courage because Billy riskes his life for Little Ann and Old Dan and Little Ann and Old Dan riskes their life to save Billy. In fact, Little Ann and Old Dan sacrifice themselves for Billy at the end. Also, they are brave enough to do anything for others.

Answer 4

I think Billy's Ax stands for Death because the ax killed Rubin. The Lantern stand for Hope because if not for the lantern Little Ann would have froze to death. The "Big (Sycamore) Tree" stands for Billy's Youth. That is where he would sit and gaze up at it in wonder. He loved that tree. The Red Fern stands for love. It grows right in between Little Ann's and Old Dan's burial spots. Billy is at first outraged that a tree shoud grow there. It had no buisness there. Then he is filled with awe when he realizes what it is. The Red Fern helps Billy accept his dogs' death. The Trophies........I'm really not sure about that one. I thought that this one would be similar to the tree because at the beginning when Billy is staring at the trophies his boyhood unfolds. I'm positive about the Fern, Lantern, and the Ax but not so sure about the tree and the trophies. Guess that part is up to you.

Answer 5

its About a Boy named billy who has a desease called ''puppy love'' and all he wants r two hound dogs so he can hunt, when he finally gets enuff money he gets his dogs.... then at the end rubin dies and then billy enters a champion coon hunt and wins... then his dogs die and a red fern grew... Then his family moved to the city

Answer 6

The main point of "Where the Red Fern Grows" is the bond between a boy named Billy and his two hunting dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann, and the loyalty, love, and sacrifice that define their relationship as they work together to achieve a common goal. The novel also emphasizes the themes of perseverance, determination, and the power of childhood dreams.

Answer 7

it is about how billy enters his dogs in a contest .

Answer 8

Friendship and love! I