Where the Red Fern Grows

Billy Colman is the protagonist, narrator, and tells the story from his first-person perspective. He paints himself as being a born hunter: “I was a hunter from the time I could walk. I caught lizards on the rail fences, rats in the corncrib, and frogs in the little creek that ran through the fields. I was a young Daniel Boone” (9).

Billy knows the forest well, from a hunter’s perspective, and has an empathetic connection with nature, as evidenced by his hesitance to cut down a sycamore and his merciful treatment of the ghost coon. Billy is tenacious, hardworking, intuitive, and tough. It takes him two years to save up for his hounds, not an easy feat for a young child.

Out on the hunt, Billy proves himself to have excellent judgement and a keen understanding of his dogs (and vice versa). During the hunting competition, Billy’s decisions always turn out to be the correct ones, despite often being in opposition to the adult men’s opinions.

Among other people, Billy is compassionate and sensitive, with a good grasp on his self-control. He fights in town only to defend his dogs, and he takes on a bet with the Pritchard boys only because it’s what his grandpa wanted.