The Lance Gets Literary: Where the Red Fern Grows

"Where the Red Fern Grows is not lacking culture; it is culture.

Two weeks ago, I reached out to the student body and surveyed them on their favorite standalone novels. The book chosen was Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, submitted by Robert Wheeler. 

Where the Red Fern Grows is the ultimate coming-of-age story set in the rural mountainous area of the Oklahoma Ozarks. Billy Coleman is 10 years old at the beginning of the novel. And it is he who guides us through his story about his two little coon hunting hounds. Billy provides the filtered and limited perspective of a country boy during the 1920s Great Depression era, and how the economic status of the United States impacted people living rurally. Written in the 1950s, the book does contain some language not typically considered socially acceptable; however, it does not include any overly explicit or offensive language.

Billy Coleman is easily one of the most endearing fictional characters and is written in a way that stays true to the mind of a 10-to 12-year-old. He is an interesting character written with depth, motivations, and a consistent, limited perspective. Billy is the narrator, and Rawls does an excellent job of capturing the mind of a child. Billy’s motivation and care for two hunting dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann, provide an easy-to-understand, entertaining, and driven plot. This book is suitable for all ages and does not lose its relevance as readers age. The book does deal with themes of death that I personally feel should not discourage anyone of any age from reading this story.  The descriptive language provides vivid imagery that allows readers to picture the scene in their heads as they read, and provides for a more entertaining read that anyone would enjoy. The scenery is wonderfully and simply described when Billy states, “to a ten-year-old country boy, it was the most beautiful place in the whole wide world, and I took advantage of it all. I roamed the hills and the river bottoms. I knew every game trail in the thick canebrakes, and every animal track that was pressed in the mud along the riverbanks”(Rawls 4). This is just one example of the alluring use of description found within the pages of Where the Red Fern Grows and features the world as Billy knows it.

This story does not require its readers to do any mental work beyond getting lost in the pages. The scenes envelop and surround the reader in a plethora of well-described sensations. Where the Red Fern Grows is also a social commentary on underestimating youth, while not choking one with unwanted allegories of social issues and historical context. Rawls does a wonderful job of writing a story to tell a story, not to prove a point, which is often the motivation behind much contemporary literature today.  The time period of Billy’s story provides a down-to-earth feeling, void of complex issues that would not be of worry to a 10-year-old boy living in rural Oklahoma. Billy is concerned with his simple life, his hunting dogs, his small family, and the rural farm from which their livelihood is cultivated. 

Some reviewers have some critiques that the story is not a culturally diverse story and could benefit from perspective. This is a valid point; however, when we consider Billy’s situation, the author's choice cannot be seen as overtly non-inclusive. Billy is a young boy of not yet 13 whose family’s mode of transportation is a mule; we can understand the reason for the sheltered life and diversely limited story. The story is told from the perspective of Billy, and we can only understand his life as he understands it, which comes with the limitation of a culturally less diverse story. Personally, I do not feel that the author can be critiqued on this point because the centralized perspective added to the story, as well as avoiding unnecessary complication and distraction from the plot. Where the Red Fern Grows is not lacking culture; it is culture. Living in the rural mountains of Oklahoma during the greatest economic hardship yet will never be an experience that we, teenagers of suburban Iowa, will ever understand without the perspective gained through literature. I implore you to explore the life of Billy Coleman and his little red hound dogs through the classic tale of Where the Red Fern Grows.  This was The Lance Gets Literary. Stay tuned for more literary opinion pieces.