Learning Guide for Where the Red Fern Grows

Subjects: U.S. Depression/ Literature; Animals;

Social-Emotional Learning: Family, Caring, Loyalty, grieving;

Moral-Ethical Emphasis: Responsibility; Caring for Animals;

Age: 8+; MPAA Rating—PG; Drama; 2003 Color, 86 Minutes; Available from Amazon.com.

Adapted from the l961 novel , Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls, this film adheres soundly to the characters and issues presented in the literature. Considered an important part of elementary school reading curriculum all across the country, the film should not be shown until the students have read the book. Furthermore, the quality of the film does not justify its use other than as an accompaniment to the literature.

Description: Billy Coleman wants hunting dogs in the worst way. His “dog wanting disease” inspires him to work endless hours over a period of two years in order to earn the money it costs to purchase two redbone hounds. He trains his dogs to track and kill raccoons and they become so skilled at hunting that they eventually win a championship. In the training period, animosity between Billy and two local bullies results in a tragic outcome as does the final hunting experience he and his dogs share.

Benefits: Students will be able to appreciate the value of determination and the importance of a relationship between people and pets. They may also gain insight into the changes that have occurred in American culture in terms of hunting and killing animals for sport or for fashion. Assignments based upon backing up opinion with reference to the film or the novel can be helpful to students beginning to write formal persuasion essays.

Possible Problems: Students sensitive to the treatment of animals may have a difficult time accepting the casual killing of raccoons. The death of the dogs and the subsequent sentiment may be disturbing as well.

Parenting Points: Should your child be reading the novel as part of his class work, be sure to delay the viewing of the film until the book has been completed. Watch the film with your child and ask about any differences that he or she may see in comparing the film to the novel. For example, you may inquire as to how the personalities of the dog differ between book and film. Offer any necessary support should your child be distressed about the death of the dogs.

Cast: Joseph Ashton, Dabney Coleman, Ned Beatty;

Directors: Lyman Dayton, Sam Pillsbury.

Discussion Questions: In terms of artistic merit, the film is not worth the time lost should it be shown to students who have not read the book. The following questions and assignments focus on comparing the presentation of ideas as seen in the book and seek to provoke a deeper look into what Wilson Rawls intended to express in his writing. The questions also seek to provoke thought about how changes in culture might make the story obsolete.

1. In the novel, Billy cries often. He says his eyes fill with tears in several places, associated with his dogs, his family and in response to various experiences. This sentiment is largely absent from the film. What is lost or gained in this apparent shift in characterization? Suggested response: Answers will vary: Students should be directed toward expressing their attitudes about the expression, “Big boys don’t cry.” Students may reflect on changes in the expected behaviors of young people, concerning such cultural imperatives as expression of feeling, that have occurred in society since the 1930s when the story is set.

2. Billy’s willingness to work hard in order to earn the money needed to buy the dogs reflects self- interest. He shows no interest in working as hard to help his father purchase a mule he needs for farming. What events in the film mitigate this apparent self-interest? Suggested response: When Billy goes into town to pick up his puppies, he uses the left-over money to buy gifts for his family. Billy helps his family earn money with the raccoon skins he and his dogs have brought home from their hunts. The money he is awarded for his actions in the competition helps his family move away from the farm and into the town. It is clear that he is willing to share the rewards of his labor with his family.

3. The Pritchard boys in the book are portrayed similarly to the bullies in the film. In each case, the death of one of the brothers can be seen as retribution for being mean. Do you think the feeling that the boy deserves to die is an appropriate response to the event? Suggested response: Answers may vary. Some students may believe the boy got what he deserved. Others will not. The important value to be discussed here is the concept of just rewards. Since Billy had no responsibility for Rubin’s death, revenge is not an issue.

4. Billy clearly loves his dogs. He is growing up at a time and in a place where walking the dog or playing catch with it is not a function of a relationship with a pet. The concept of “pet” does not seem to apply in this story; a more appropriate term might be “partner.” In what sense are Billy, Dan and Ann partners? Suggested response: Billy, Dan and Ann are virtually equals in the hunting experience. Billy would not be able to capture and kill the raccoons alone and the dogs are skilled hunters because of the training they have gotten from Billy. In society today, hunting dogs, or show dogs, are not pets; they are products. Students should be encouraged to share their experiences with the pets that have been a part of their families.

5. Billy’s family is supportive, forgiving and loving. His parents allow him considerably more independence, in spite of several obvious dangers, than parents would be willing to allow their children today. What accounts for this change? Suggested response: Answers will vary. Students should be able to compare and contrast the dangers of hunting at night, facing a mountain lion and carrying an ax or a gun with the dangers a young person may face today, whether in a city or a rural area. Personal experience should be encouraged.

6. Billy never gives up when on a hunt although there are times when he contemplates the idea that he may have failed. What keeps him going? Suggested response: Billy seems to care deeply about his dogs and he does not want to disappoint them. Since they will never give up out of apparent devotion to him, he will never back down; his loyalty to his dogs drives him onward.

7. Some readers or viewers may feel that cutting down a big tree is wasteful and wrong when the intention is simply to kill a raccoon. Do you think Billy’s decision to spend hours hacking down the sycamore is justifiable? Suggested response: Answers will vary. Environmentalism has created a deeper respect for nature, trees in particular, and the act of killing the tree may no longer be an example of foolhardy and destructive determination rather than an expression of character and strength. Modern readers and viewers no longer see Paul Bunion as heroic.

8. When Dan and Ann tree the ghost coon, Billy climbs up, looks animal face to face and decides not to kill it. He had killed many coons before and will again. What could be the reason he lets this raccoon live? Suggested response: Answers will vary. Billy seems to feel that this coon’s death will come because of a bet rather than as a part of his personal intentions in hunting. Even though the Pritchard brothers see him as cowardly, he feels this coon shouldn’t die just to prove that his dogs are the best. This point is contradicted, however, when Billy enters his hounds in a hunting competition. Another possible answer may be that he does not feel the Pritchard brothers deserve the satisfaction of seeing the ghost coon die.

9. One difference between the novel and the film deals with the result of the competition. In the novel, Billy wins outright, yet in the film he is given the trophy by the true winner out of respect. What may the screen writers want the viewers to see in this shift from the novel? Suggested response: The screenwriters are trying to emphasize values. They show Billy having lost the championship because he took time out to rescue his grandfather, thus illustrating the value of family over victory. The actual winner of the competition shows not only respect but generosity and a sense of fair play. He seems to think that Billy would have won the competition had he not pulled his dogs to a greater cause than hunting coons.

10. What helps Billy move beyond his grief over the loss of his dogs? Suggested response: Billy believes that Dan died trying to protect him from the mountain lion and that Ann died out of loyalty and love for Dan. These beliefs mitigate the pain of loss. Billy’s father suggests that the dogs died to enable Billy to move with the family to the town where he will be able to get an education. His mother says that the dogs will go to heaven. Billy spends time alone giving him time to grieve and he hears the legend of the red fern, a rare plant which he sees growing in abundance between the graves of his two dogs. The legend adds a sacred feeling to their deaths.

Assignments: Narrative, descriptive writing and opinion essays flow easily from the story about Billy and his dogs and can be differentiated to suit the age and skill level of students. Students can select from the following list or topics or they may well be able to come up with subjects of their own: Narration:

1. Narrate an experience you have had with an animal. The best narrations are those that show an idea or a lesson. Try to think of an experience from which you learned something important.

2. Narrate an experience an experience that awakened you to animal rights or gave you a new way to look at animals.

3. Narrate an experience that required you to let go of an animal, either because the animal died, ran away or had to be given up. Be sure to show the feelings involved in the experience.

Description:

1. Describe, using as much detail as possible, an animal that you know or have known well. Be sure to describe not only the way the animal looks, but its personality. Write about something the animal has done that serves to show what it is like.

Opinion:

1. Animals should not be used for human entertainment in circuses, marine shows or zoos.

2. Animals should not be used for sports such as bullfighting, horse racing or rodeo competitions.

3. Pets should not be subjected to surgeries such as declawing, tail bobbing or ear trimming.