- Information
- AI Chat
Was this document helpful?
Where-the-Red-Fern-Grows-Lit Chart 46
Course: Wika Kultura (FIL 289)
100 Documents
Students shared 100 documents in this course
University: Phinma-republican College
Was this document helpful?
The group trudges on through the sleet, slipping and falling as
they follow the intermittent sounds of Old Dan’s bawls.
Eventually, Papa suggests they stop. Billy asks Papa to shoot his
gun in hopes that the dogs will hear it and come running—after
a while, Little Ann approaches, but Old Dan is nowhere to be
found. Billy begs Ann to bring their group to Dan. She leads
them through the storm awhile, but has no luck finding Dan. As
Grandpa begins struggling to keep up, the judge suggests they
all turn back—no dog, he says, is worth the lives of three men.
Billy falls to his knees and he prays for Old Dan’s voice to make
itself heard. Sure enough, moments later, Dan howls loud and
clear. Billy follows the sound.
Even when things look dire, Billy is not willing to give up on his dogs.
He knows that Old Dan would never give up on him—and he doesn’t
intend to betray his dog’s loyalty by leaving him for dead. Billy
almost did that with Little Ann months ago but he’s realized that
there is always a way through—with enough faith and patience, he
believes he and his hounds can overcome anything.
Old Dan has a raccoon treed in a deep gully. Dan is covered in
ice and sleet, yet he refuses to move from the treed raccoon.
Soon, Papa and the judge catch up to Billy—but Grandpa is
nowhere to be found. Billy begins doubling back and calling for
Grandpa, but his shouts are no use. Little Ann, sensing Billy’s
distress, runs into the storm to search for Grandpa. Soon, her
mournful cry alerts Billy that she’s found him. Billy rushes
toward the sound of her voice—Grandpa is unconscious on the
ground in the sleet. His ankle is twisted, but he is alive. Billy
prays for God to save his Grandpa’s life.
The judge pointed out just moments ago that no hunt—and no
dog—is worth the life of a human being. In this passage, however,
Little Ann and Old Dan show that their devotion to Billy and to each
other has actually taught Billy a lot about reciprocating love and
loyalty. In the midst of his own hunt, he stops to help his
grandfather, repaying the loyalty of the person who’s been most
encouraging of his hunting career so far.
Papa, Billy, and the judge help carry Grandpa back to the gully
where Old Dan has treed the raccoon. There, they build a large
fire and tend to Grandpa’s swollen ankle. Grandpa insists the
men stop fussing over him—he assures them that he’s fine and
can’t feel a thing. The important thing to focus on, he tells them,
is getting the raccoon out of its tree. 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.
Though Grandpa has suffered an injury, he insists that he shouldn’t
be the center of attention. Grandpa is just thrilled to be along for the
ride—he knows that the priority must be winning the hunt. Sure
enough, when the others turn their focus back to Dan and Ann, it
becomes clear that their group has a unique opportunity to clinch
the cup by trapping all three raccoons that were hiding the hollow
tree.
When Billy and Papa return to the fire and tell the judge what
has happened, Billy makes the mistake of pointing at where the
third raccoon ran while illustrating the story. Dan and Ann
immediately turn and run up the bank in the direction Billy has
indicated. The judge marvels at how Dan and Ann have the
ability to seemingly read Billy’s mind. Papa agrees that Billy’s
dogs are “different” from any other dogs he’s seen in terms of
the level of devotion they show Billy.
Dan and Ann impress and surprise everyone around them when
they demonstrate how intuitive they are regarding Billy’s
needs—and how devoted they are to fulfilling the wishes he doesn’t
even verbally express. The connection between the boy and his dogs
is intense and palpable even to strangers.
Billy goes to sit with Grandpa. Grandpa can see that Billy is
distressed. Billy expresses his worry that the dogs will chase
the raccoon across the river and freeze to death or get into
some other kind of trouble. Grandpa tells Billy to focus on
skinning the raccoons they already have. Billy joins his grandpa
in working on the hides.
Grandpa doesn’t want Billy to get distracted from the hunt by
worrying over the dogs. The prize is nearly in their grasp—and
Grandpa knows that if Billy lets his emotions get out of control, it
could affect the dogs’ behavior and thus their chances of winning.
Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com
©2020 LitCharts LLC www.LitCharts.com Page 46
微信ｂｂｗｘｎｌｙ
