Cameron is a young adolescent that has trouble fitting in with his age group, he doesn’t have any friends, just his brother Ruben. Cameron wonders why life was wasted on him, he constantly searches for answers to find and understand himself and this is when he starts to write notes about a dog, that represents himself, and what the dog goes through each day of his life and how he sees himself. He refers to the dog as a half scowling smiling underdog. Cameron has very low self-esteem since he gets picked on a lot, he doesn’t have the courage and bravery to stick up for his self But this all changes when Octavia comes into his life.…
The book Where the red fern grows by Wilson Rawles, portrays Billy's life in the Ozark Mountains. Billy remembers and talks about his past life, his determination in earning an amount of money to buy two puppies, his most difficult adventures with his dogs in earning a living and surviving natural hardships. The author's message (theme) in this book is to show how the relationship between the two dogs and the boy help each other in the most distressful situations. Even when there is tragedy, there is hope that goodness remains and continues because the dogs are like angels that have come to help the boy continue in his quest, since "angels are…
Times were very rough for the Native American Indians during the early 1900’s. Author Mary Crow Dog; a native American, tried to paint a vivid picture of some of the trials and tribulations that she underwent or heard about while she attended boarding school. Ms. Crow Dog tries to help readers better understand what she and many generations of Native Americans endured while attending St. Francis boarding school; which is located in South Dakota. She clearly stated that her mother and grandmother were not exempt from the harsh punishments given by the boarding school. Some of the same things that were going on at the school when Crow Dog was attending…
Do you remember your first dog? Also, do you remember the devastation you felt when this beloved animal died? Billy, an adolescent, in Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls saves up money for two years all in the hope of purchasing two coon hounds. After getting these dogs, Old Dan and Little Anne, he endures many exciting adventures with them but in the end Old Dan is killed by a vicious mountain lion. Soon after Dan’s death Anne dies along with him because she cannot bear the loss of her brother. In this book Billy learns the truth about life; that when having an important responsibility you gain a sense of maturity and adulthood.…
Some similarities are how Billy saves money to buy his coon hounds. He picks berries and does odd jobs. The legend is also true. A little Indian boy and girl died and in the spring a sacred red fern grew in between them.…
Christopher Boone is a teenaged boy with some behavioral difficulties. Christopher becomes a detective and author when his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, is murdered and he chronicles the events in his book. After discovering the truth about his parents, Christopher has to find balance in his life between home and…
A large Mastiff guard-dog named Keeper stalked Emily Brontë everywhere she went, acting like her second shadow. The affectionate duo had grown up together, and after her death, he howled in agony for numerous days, lamenting her departure. The importance canines had in her life parallels the significance of canines in her book. Throughout the novel Wuthering Heights, dogs function as symbols that reveal a character’s future.…
The chapter also highlights how Caitlin, similar to Billy, hates private school, and hates the routine that follows when she gets home to her parents. She also recognises that she has more that she really needs in her life and she just wants to spend time with Billy. This is shown in the quote “this big ugly five bedroom million dollar brick box that we live in.” This juxtaposes the feelings that Billy has, as he feels that he is very happy with the new simple life he now lives and this is expressed when he says “living in this carriage is special, its mine”; which links back to how Billy know feels that he belongs in this new environment.…
One of the skills he learned was to save money. When Billy was determined to purchase his hunting dogs, he trapped small animals and sold their furs as well as sold fishermen worms for fishing. Through these different jobs he was able to save fifty dollars which was needed to buy both dogs. Another thing he leaned was how to catch old smart raccoons. He did this by listening to his grandfather’s stories about his life of coon hunting and using his tricks and traps. The most important thing he learned was to never quit. The way he learned this was that one time he had to cut down a gigantic tree in order to get one coon, which he had promised his dogs.…
very complex dog, you have to have a lot of free time to care of he/she all the time. As for the…
Billy doesn’t get the satisfaction of love from his father as his father treats him in a disgusting manner this is why Billy leaves home and try and seek out father-love from another person. Belly experiences love from another character; he tries to get the satisfaction of father-love from ‘old Bill’. For billy to get close to old bill was not easy as the older aged man was troubled himself but billy had tried and got him to change and he got the satisfaction of love from…
George and Lennie’s dream to own a ranch during the Great Depression seemed like a typical, futile American Dream of the migrant workers. “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to. With us ain’t like that. We got a future.” But the closer Lennie and George came to achieving their dream, everything was suddenly lost – “the beak swallowed the little snake while its’ tail waved frantically”. This sentence shows us that things will suddenly change and the outcome of plans are not going to be what they were expected to be. The setting of the last and first chapters of the novel are exactly the same, but the sentence “the beak swallowed the little snake while its’ tail waved frantically” is seen as a warning by the reader that something unexpected is going to occur. “Suddenly Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he came as silently as a creeping bear moves.” This sentence indicates a change of Lennie’s behavior, which is shown using anthropomorphism, makes us think that something is going to happen and the tension starts to rise because Lennie usually moves and is described as a “calm, big bear”. Lennie’s actions make the reader imagine Lennie as being big, cute, cuddly and harmless – “he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his…
The 2014 John Newbery Honor was given to The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes. Billy Miller is seven-year-old boy who is determined to have his best year yet before he starts the second grade. However, Billy must first overcome obstacles that all children face while growing older. As Billy makes his way through second grade, he must learn how to deal with fear, his parents, and bullies.…
When one has a better understanding of themselves they can have occurrences that make up their individuality. Garnet is so lost in himself at the beginning after being taken away and moved around from home to home the only way he could survive alone in the streets was to adapt to the people around him, avoiding conflict at all costs. Combining his past likes with his present, gives Garnet a sense of balance between the old and the new. He discovers a sense of place when returning to White Dog. Garnet’s family gives him the love he did not know he needed until meeting them and connecting as one. Sharing and listening to stories keeps Garnet grounded. For once in his life, he has role models to look up to and learn from. Having his true family by his side allows for power and self-confidence. The Keeper guides Garnet on his journey, fills Garnet’s head with Ojibway culture and traditions which enables him to start paving his own road. Also, the material he learns from the Keeper gives Garnet the motivation to stray away from civilization and makes him aware of why his culture is important and why he must respect nature because of its power and resources. No longer scared of the future, he accepts who he is “More scared of not being enough one now. Not living up to what I learned, y’know?” (274). He gains a spiritual awakening and allows him to look forward to the future. Wagamese shines light on a positive journey of self-discovery and how it takes time to discover who you are. Wagamese informs the reader that it is not something that happens overnight. Garnet now knows what he wants in the world. From family, culture and nature Garnet discovers what it really means to be…
The young man in the story is constantly looking for reassurance. He asks his girlfriend quite frequently for compliments, and encouraging words to help boost his diminutive ego. The author shows the struggle taking place in the characters thoughts by his need for such words, making it obvious on how the character feels about himself. The author shows how the character is at a war with himself through not only the characters thoughts, but also with his words. However, the character is gifted enough to have such a loyal companion who sticks by him even when times are…