Where The Red Corn Grows Summary

Have you participated in a group activity? These group activities are environments where many unique people can share similarities with their peers. Old Dan and Little Ann, two of Billy’s dogs in Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, have different appearances and different ways of approaching conflict. Despite these differences, they both share loyal personalities.

First of all, Old Dan and Little Ann have very different appearances. Old Dan has a different color fur coat than Little Ann. Billy thinks “[Old Dan] was a deeper red in color.”(43). Billy was comparing Old Dan and Little Ann so Old Dan must be a different color than Little. Old Dan is also pretty muscular. Billy notices “[Old Dan’s] chest was broad and solid. His puppy muscles

Old Dan will not hunt without Billy or Little Ann by his side. The author writes “He would not hunt with another hound, other than Little Ann, or another hunter, not even my father.”(102). Obviously you must be very loyal to only hunt with one person and one dog, not anyone else. Old Dan also displays loyalty when he sacrifices himself for Billy. Protecting Billy, Old Dan fights “the devil cat of the Ozarks, the mountain lion.”(225) just to keep his caring owner safe. If you give up your life just to protect someone even if you didn’t need to, you must be loyal to them. Likewise, Little Ann is also very loyal. She stays with Old Dan the whole night just to keep a coon in a tree. The author writes “There, scratched deep in the soft leaves were two little beds … Old Dan hadn’t been alone when he had gone back to the tree. [Little Ann] too had gone along.”(42-43). This shows that Little Ann is so loyal to Old Dan, she slept with him for a night to keep him company. Little Ann also helps protect Billy from the mountain lion. She fights the feline predator with Old Dan just to save Billy. To be able to sacrifice your life for another person is a action of loyalty. Obviously, loyal Old Dan and Little Ann, both share loyalty towards each other and Billy.

Old Dan and Little Ann have a loyal personality in common. With this similarity, both dogs appear differently and have different ways of facing a