Big Red

“The red dog was not a hound—Danny knew vaguely that it was called an Irish setter—but never before had he seen any dog that revealed at first glance all the qualities a dog should have.”

Danny knows that Red is special as soon as he meets him at Mr. Haggin’s estate. Danny is familiar with dogs because of his wilderness background, his home life, and his upbringing. Red stands apart from the dogs that he’s known before, thus introducing Red as a key figure in Danny’s story. As Danny’s relationship with the dog develops, Red proves himself to be increasingly unique; his displays of affection and loyalty contribute to his distinct character and his unique bond with Danny, reflecting the theme of the Bonds Between Humans and Animals.

“Danny tried to stifle the panic that besieged him. It was no longer fear of Old Majesty, or of Mr. Haggin and anything that he might do, but he was afraid for Red.”

Danny’s relationship with Red changes how he sees his life, himself, his home, and his circumstances. When he loses track of Red in the forest one day, his fears mutate. Both the infamous Old Majesty and the expansive Wintapi wilderness suddenly seem less frightening. Danny has only known Red for a few days, but their deep interspecies bond has already begun to develop and to transform Danny’s character and perception, reflecting his Coming of Age and Personal Growth.

“Throughout my whole life I’ve seldom bet on anything but men, and I’ve seldom lost. I’m betting on you now.”

The way that Mr. Haggin sees Danny is revealing of Danny’s character. Danny is only a young boy, but Mr. Haggin trusts Danny. He gives Danny responsibility, because he sees something special in him. His decision to make Danny Red’s caretaker foreshadows the ways in which Danny will change as he comes of age. Mr. Haggin’s words also establish his character as a mentor to Danny.

“If only he was back in the Wintapi he would know exactly what to do and nobody could tell him that he was just an onlooker.”

Danny’s trip to New York ushers him towards adulthood. The unfamiliar setting presents Danny with new emotional challenges. Since the setting is overwhelming, Danny has a hard time knowing what to do when he sees Red behaving like a different dog. By way of contrast, Danny knows who he is and what he should do whenever he’s in the Wintapi, a setting he knows and feels he belongs to.

“Red came suddenly alive. Physically he was the dog that Robert Fraley had led into the ring. But there was something about him now that had not been there before.”

Danny proves himself courageous and determined when he intercedes on Red’s behalf at the dog show. Although Danny has promised Robert not to get involved at the show, Danny shows himself to Red to help Red win the show. He advocates for Red in this manner, proving himself both loyal and brave. Therefore, Danny is willing to risk his own comfort to help and support Red and to make Mr. Haggin proud.

“Red paced sedately beside him. But once in the woods, screwed by trees from prying eyes that might see and comment on any let-down in dignity, Danny broke into a wild run.”

The Wintapi wilderness allows both Red and Danny to be themselves. When they are in the city, they feel confined and restricted. As soon as they return to the woods, they are liberated from social expectations and cultural trappings. Their enthusiastic return to the woods in this scene conveys Danny and Red’s propensity for Respecting and Understanding Nature.

“He and his father had been so close for so long that they felt, and acted, and almost thought alike. Each was lost without the other, and now that they were together they could be happy again.”

Danny’s relationship with his father defines his life in the Wintapi. Since Danny’s mother died and he is an only child, he relies upon Ross Pickett for a sense of balance and security. The characters’ connection offers them belonging and comfort and bolsters them amidst their many financial and circumstantial challenges. These lines capture Danny’s reliance upon and respect for his father, too, but as the novel progresses, he will gradually learn how to differentiate himself from his father more.

“Red was no ordinary dog. He was sensitive, high-strung, and a whipping would only make him hate or fear the person who gave it to him.”

Danny and Ross’s disagreement over Red’s training incites narrative conflict. Danny and Ross rarely fight, because they have a keen understanding of one another. However, their relationship grows strained when Danny decides that he doesn’t want to train Red the way that Ross trained his other dogs, reflecting an important milestone in Danny’s Coming of Age and Personal Growth. At the same time, Danny’s gentleness towards Red illustrates his close bond with his new dog. He doesn’t see Red as his servant or submissive, but as his companion and friend. Therefore, he wants to build a loving, trusting relationship with Red through empathy and gentleness.

“You chase them little varmints because it’s fun, but at heart you’re a bird hunter. I sure wish Pappy’d understand. How we goin’ to make him?”

Danny’s conversations with Red convey his deep and growing bond with his dog. Whenever Danny and Red are alone, Danny verbally addresses Red. He doesn’t talk to him like a pet or an underling, but like an equal and a friend. In this scene, he is relating to Red, verifying his canine experience, and seeking his advice. This facet of their relationship conveys the transformative possibilities of interspecies connections, illustrating the Bonds Between Humans and Animals.

“A powerful magnet seemed to be pulling him toward Stoney Lonesome, where he could take Red and where Mr. Haggin and the quality woman couldn’t find him if he didn’t want to be found. But that wouldn’t be right. Red was Mr. Haggin’s dog.”

Danny’s sense of morality develops as he comes of age. When Danny fears that Mr. Haggin will send Red to Philadelphia with Katherine Grennan, he considers disappearing with Red. He is desperate to keep Red with him, but also knows that taking the dog would be wrong. His internal debate in this scene captures Danny’s personal growth: He is gradually defining his own sense of right and wrong, truth and goodness.

“The summer days faded like golden shadows one into the other, and the first frost came to leave its delicate traceries on the earth and a riot of color behind it.”

The vivid descriptions of the Wintapi capture Danny’s commitment to Respecting and Understanding Nature. Since the third-person narration is largely limited to Danny’s perspective, the way that the narrator renders nature indicates the way that Danny sees nature. The descriptive language and evocative imagery in a passage like this one enacts Danny’s respect for and understanding of his natural environment.

“Whoever hunted dangerous game with hounds was sure to have one killed once in a while. But Ross always grieved over such mishaps, and blamed himself for them.”

Ross’s relationships with his hound dogs convey his empathy and compassion. Ross doesn’t always show overt affection to his animals or his son. However, the way he responds to his hound dog’s death reveals his true heart. He takes responsibility for what happened to the dog, because he sees himself as his dogs’ protector and caretaker. He assumes these same roles in Danny’s life.

“It was him you heard, rustlin’ the leaves when he came towards you. If it hadn’t been for your dog…How you goin’ to make it up to him, Danny?”

Red’s character proves loyal and protective of Danny the longer that he and Danny are together. When Ross finds Danny pinned by the buck, he tells his son that he owes his life to Red because Red was keeping him safe. The moment helps Ross to see Red the way that Danny sees him, while also reiterating Danny and Red’s deep interspecies connection.

“Rather, it was as though Mr. Haggin had wearied of something, and come here to find peace. Money, Danny decided, could not buy everything.”

Danny’s regard for Mr. Haggin changes over time. When Mr. Haggin checks up on Danny after the buck incident in the woods, Danny begins to see his boss anew. He isn’t just a wealthy, powerful businessman, but a complicated, emotionally-complex individual. Danny’s evolving perception of Mr. Haggin reveals Danny’s Coming of Age and Personal Growth: The more he matures, the more empathy and grace he extends to others.

“Red wouldn’t help any. But he would be company, and certainly could do no harm.”

Red fulfills the role of Danny’s sidekick. Danny keeps Red by his side even when the dog will not be able to help him with his work. Danny doesn’t see Red as his underling, but as his constant companion and friend. He likes to have Red with him, simply because he and Red understand one another and enjoy each other’s company. Over time, their relationship changes how Danny sees himself, his life in the woods, and his future with Mr. Haggin, illustrating the power of the Bonds Between Humans and Animals.

“Ross was too good a woodsman to have such an accident. But, Danny admitted, nobody was too good at anything to guard against unforeseen accidents. It was just as well to face possibilities as to close his eyes to them. He must be ready for anything.”

Danny learns how to engage his logical mind when his father goes missing in a snowstorm. Although Danny is afraid that something terrible might have befallen Ross, he doesn’t let his emotions trump his reality. The way that he reasons with himself amidst this crisis conveys his personal growth and evolving understanding of the natural world.

“Ross had taught him long ago that a man who hoped to be a woodsman must read the sign of the woods, and the sign was very plain.”

Danny’s experiences with the buck, the doe, and the prisoner illustrate his growing maturity and strength. These events challenge Danny in new ways, but do not ultimately overcome him. Instead of cowering, Danny relies upon his knowledge of the woods and the natural world to guide him. His carefulness and wit in a harrowing situation convey his character evolution.

“Life in the beech woods might be hard, harsh, and dangerous. But only the strong survived there, and Danny felt a swelling pride as that fact was driven home to him.”

Danny feels proud whenever he proves himself to be strong and capable. When he brings the buck and the doe home after turning in the prisoner, Danny realizes that he is growing up. He is intimate with the Wintapi yet knows that not everyone can survive there. As he comes of age, he grows more attached to this setting, and thus most certain that this is where he belongs.

“Even bears feared wolverines, and if this one got into the cabin…But Ross had always said that if a man didn’t have what he needed, he could make out some way with what he had.”

The wolverine that Danny and Red chase in Chapter 9 foreshadows their encounter with Old Majesty in Chapter 12. The allusion to the bear in this passage underscores the relationship between the two wild creatures, and Danny’s interactions with each of them. This passage also reiterates Danny’s respect for, and connection with, his father. In a moment of duress, Danny recalls his father’s wisdom rather than panicking. Ross is a constant guide for Danny, even when he isn’t physically present.

“His brightest and most hopeful dreams were at last coming true; he was going to raise fine dogs. Maybe Sheilah MacGuire would bear a big litter, and all would be champions.”

Sheilah MacGuire’s arrival at the estate foreshadows Danny’s future as a dog breeder and trainer. Danny is thrilled by Sheilah, because she offers him and Red the chance at a new life. Therefore, her arrival ignites Danny’s hope and inspires his imaginative reverie.

“Long ago the colossal black bear had learned that man was an ineffective and puny thing at night.”

The third-person narrator inhabits Old Majesty’s perspective in the penultimate chapter. This formal shift grants access to the bear’s point of view and reiterates his symbolic significance (See: Symbols & Motifs). Old Majesty is a powerful force in the expansive Wintapi wilderness and sees humans as his only challenge. At the same time, this passage foreshadows Danny’s method of defeating the bear: fighting him at night.

“Danny knew that he must meet the big bear’s challenge, must go into the mountains and fight Old Majesty on his own grounds. This was not something that a man could forget or run from.”

Danny’s decision to fight Old Majesty conveys his courage, determination, and spirit. Facing, fighting, and killing the bear is Danny’s rite of passage in his Coming of Age and Personal Growth. The encounter is a symbolic threshold, which Danny must cross in order to transition from childhood into adulthood. As Danny anticipates the encounter, his courage and determination grow.

“Red was everything Danny had thought him and very much more. Beautiful, courageous, strong—and noble. He would fight to the death if need be, but would not molest or disgrace a fallen enemy.”

Red’s interaction with Old Majesty underscores his unique character traits. After Red faces the bear, Danny marvels at his dog’s spirit and bravery. He isn’t just impressed by Red’s ability to physically fight the bear; but by his dignity in avoiding marring the bear’s body after his death. Red’s respect teaches Danny respect for Old Majesty in turn, reflecting the importance of Respecting and Understanding Nature in the novel.