Some Things are Unforgettable.

Author’s Note: This is a piece explaining the main turning point and what had led up to it. The purpose is to explain the main cause/effect of Where the Red Fern Grows.

     Have you ever had something really tragic happen to you? Maybe your parents are having problems, or something bad happened at school, or some kid threatened to beat you up. Billy, in Where the Red Fern Grows, lost both of his dogs. This is something that changed his life. The main turning point of the story is when Billy's dogs get attacked by the mountain lion, because they are so injured that it's unfixable.

     When Billy was just a young 11 year old boy, he desperately wanted two dogs. He asked his parents over and over again, but every time, they told him that they could not afford it. He understood, but somehow felt the need to continue asking. Until one day, he decides to take matters into his own hands. He worked very, very hard over the next two years, and finally earned himself enough money to buy two dogs.

     He was so overjoyed to finally have the two dogs he had dreamed about, and so he put a lot of time and effort into training them for the upcoming hunting season. After training and feeling like he had taught them everything the needed to know, it was finally the time to show off what they had learned.

     Billy was so excited that without thinking, made a bargain with his dogs that was going to be a lot harder to accomplish than he thought. After that, every single time they went hunting, they always had some sort of problem. They just couldn't win. This pattern showed how obvious it was that sooner or later, something absolutely devastating would happen that they wouldn't recover from.

     The last time they got to go hunting was the worst thing that could've ever happened to Billy. While stalking their prey, they ran into a mountain lion. The mountain lion was not satisfied with their appearance, so he attacked them. This resulted in one of the dogs stomach cut open, guts spilling everywhere, and the other one badly bruised and sore. When they got home, Billy's parents did everything they could to revive the animals; but it was no use. One had died; and the other could not live without him, so out of loneliness, she ended up dying too.

     These dogs had meant everything to Billy; how hard he had worked, how long he had trained, and most importantly, how long he had waited.. It all just seemed to unreal for him. He felt as though it was a punishment from God, although he could not figure out what he had done wrong. This event is something that can't be recovered from, therefore shows why that is the turning point.