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brookebear 's review for:
Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The book was very readable and easy to finish, but I wouldn't recommend it to anybody- it's a moral disaster saved only by the focus on goal-setting. Billy is condescending towards Mama and his sisters, never faces any actual suffering until the end of the book, and brutally murders countless raccoons for no morally sensible reason other than because he's bored and needs some semblance of adventure in his life. The book is written in a way that makes it seem like Billy's just being a normal, inspiring little boy, but I just really hated that little shit .
Billy is the only boy in his house. Papa's always on the farm fields, and Billy never hangs out with his sisters (none of whom are ever named) or Mama. Billy wants two hound dogs to hunt with, so he saves up all the money for it by setting traps and hunting little animals himself. His grandpa helps him send in the money to purchase two dogs, Little Ann and Old Dan. Billy trains the dogs, hunts with them, etc etc. Billy tells bigheaded stories about his adventures to the men in Grandpa's shop, and Grandpa eventually puts Billy on to do a bet with 2 troublesome neighbor boys. That bet ends withone boy getting gutted on Billy's axe and literally dying. Grandpa later enters Billy in a coon hunting competition, and of course Billy wins not one but two trophies, because God forbid the author ever let Billy actually lose a day in his life. At the end, Old Dan dies from hunting injuries , then Little Ann dies from "heartbreak" . The family uses the money Billy won in the hunting competition to move into the city, and red ferns grow over the dogs' graves which ties back to a legend about red ferns that grow on graves.
Billy is a bigheaded, one-track-minded, selfish, ignorant brat spoiled by the plot. He was a good caretaker for his dogs, and I'm glad the three of them had fun hunting- but weren't there any less bloodthirsty hobbies he could have chosen from? He could have at least taken up fishing instead, something where he actually killed for sustenance. Instead, he kills raccoon after raccoon, cuts their hides off, then leaves their carcasses to rot in the woods. I'm glad thedogs died in the end so Billy could finally get a sense of reality.
The good thing about the book is it is nice to see the process of Billy getting an idea for a goal, deciding to pursue it, making a plan, sticking to that plan, then finishing it. Over and over again, Billy sets goals and works to achieve them: acquiring the dogs, killing raccoons, winning the competition, etc. I don't like Billy or his goals, but I do like the book's emphasis on goal-setting.
Billy is the only boy in his house. Papa's always on the farm fields, and Billy never hangs out with his sisters (none of whom are ever named) or Mama. Billy wants two hound dogs to hunt with, so he saves up all the money for it by setting traps and hunting little animals himself. His grandpa helps him send in the money to purchase two dogs, Little Ann and Old Dan. Billy trains the dogs, hunts with them, etc etc. Billy tells bigheaded stories about his adventures to the men in Grandpa's shop, and Grandpa eventually puts Billy on to do a bet with 2 troublesome neighbor boys. That bet ends with
Billy is a bigheaded, one-track-minded, selfish, ignorant brat spoiled by the plot. He was a good caretaker for his dogs, and I'm glad the three of them had fun hunting- but weren't there any less bloodthirsty hobbies he could have chosen from? He could have at least taken up fishing instead, something where he actually killed for sustenance. Instead, he kills raccoon after raccoon, cuts their hides off, then leaves their carcasses to rot in the woods. I'm glad the
The good thing about the book is it is nice to see the process of Billy getting an idea for a goal, deciding to pursue it, making a plan, sticking to that plan, then finishing it. Over and over again, Billy sets goals and works to achieve them: acquiring the dogs, killing raccoons, winning the competition, etc. I don't like Billy or his goals, but I do like the book's emphasis on goal-setting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Gore
Routinely, Billy and his dogs will hunt, kill, and skin raccoons. In the middle of the book, a neighbor boy falls on Billy's axe, gets impaled in the stomach, and bleeds to death . At the end of the book, Old Dan gets disemboweled from a hunting accident. Billy shoves the entrails back in the wound, then at home, Mama pulls them back out to wash them with soap and water(???). Old Dan obviously dies anyway. I had to put the book down and stare at a wall in shock for a while after reading that part.