Where The Red Corn Grows Character Analysis

Two dogs, different appearances, same personality and attitude. Although they have different sizes, they practically act and think the same. Old Dan and Little Ann, two coonhounds in Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls, have differences in their appearance, however have similarities with their personality and what they do during conflict.
Old Dan and Little Ann have different builds. Old Dan is muscular and has a big form. As Billy describes, “He strutted around with a belligerent and tough attitude… his chest broad and thick. His legs were short, big, and solid. Muscles in his body were hard and knotty… when he walked, they would twist and jerk under the skin,” (Rawls, 102). Since he is belligerent and heavy, we can infer that he’s

For instance, Old Dan went to the river bottoms overnight to make sure a coon he treed wouldn’t escape. Billy tells his parents, “He wanted to make sure the coon stayed in the tree,” (92). To stay overnight and guard a tree in the cold shows a lot of determination for Old Dan. He also threw a fit at Billy when Billy returned to the sycamore tree. As Billy revealed, “Old Dan threw a fit,” (93). Old Dan was mad at Billy for not guarding the tree overnight because Old Dan didn’t know about the scarecrow. So he was determined that Billy catch the coon. Little Ann is as determined as Old Dan because she joined Billy when they went to guard the treed coon overnight. Billy remembers, “She too had gone along,” (92). Just like Old Dan, to stay overnight in the cold just to guard a treed coon takes a lot of determination. In addition to staying overnight to watch the coon, Little Ann is also determined during conflict when she opened up a hole for a muskrat den when Old Dan was trapped to make sure Billy could hear the trapped Old Dan. As Billy explains, “It was the voice of Old Dan. Little Ann had opened the hole up enough with her digging so his voice could be heard faintly. In some way he had gotten into that old muskrat den.” (107). Digging a hole into a muskrat den needs a lot of work, so it shows how she cares about Old Dan. This shows how Old Dan and Little Ann have the same mindset during