“All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today.”
– Ralph Ransom
Where the Red Fern Grows is a great middle-school level book for dealing with the idea of perseverance in the face of adversity. The main character, Billy, wants to buy some hunting dogs. However he’s poor, so the only way to get the dogs is to earn money and save up for them. He spends 2 years saving and working toward this goal by picking blackberries and trapping and selling animal furs, which he would not otherwise have had to do. That is an incredible demonstration of perseverance and I would like to ask students of his same age what they are willing to work toward and sacrifice for over a 2 year period! When Billy finally does get his dogs he has to take them through extensive training. This is time-consuming and it’s work. On his very first hunt he makes a promise to his dogs that if they tree a raccoon he will chop down that tree. This happens on his first hunt, but the tree is enormous and will take days to cut down. Rather than abandon the undertaking (who would know of his promise?), he works for almost 3 days to complete the task. The story ends with Billy tragically losing both dogs. The way he faces this loss and moves on again offers an example of how to deal with adversity head on and press forward.
Though the setting and characters do not offer what would today be considered "diversity," it does offer an interesting diversity of a kind. Set in the Ozark Mountains just before the Great Depression, it’s a historical fiction that gives a glimpse into the very simple, “bare essentials” way of life that belonged to the mountain people of that era.
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