Though on page one, Gipson mentions Old Yeller’s fate, skip to the next paragraph if you would rather not read a “spoiler.” ………….One evening, a mad wolf with “hydrophobia” (rabies) gives Old Yeller his final battle. Old Yeller himself occasionally becomes the “thief” at neighboring farms – stealing food supplies and eggs until Travis cures him of that! Raccoons are not the only thieves here either. Yes, Old Yeller stumbles into many interesting battles throughout the novel and some of these battles are a bit more graphic and deadly. But, generally, when the fight was all over, the coon went one way and Old Yeller the other, both of them pretty well satisfied to call it quits.” “He’d be yelling and the coon would be squawling and they’d go wallowing and clawing and threshing though the corn, popping the stalks as they broke them off, making such an uproar in the night that it sounded like murder. Old Yeller would also fight off “thieving” raccoons: They develop a level of communication where the dog shows an innate understanding of what Travis needs in most situations – no matter if the situation means the formation of a hunting team or a simple completion of chores. Though initially, he saw Old Yeller as a pest, Travis comes to love and trust that faithful dog. On multiple occasions, loyal Old Yeller nearly gives his life while helping Travis ward off threats to the family. Outside all of his routine responsibilities, Travis also delves into the occasional life-and-death defense mode against wild animals and this is where Old Yeller, a stray dog that moves in with the family, helps. However, no matter the situation, Mama patiently allows Travis to state his intentions and then follow through – thereby enabling Travis to see the consequences of his own decisions and at the same time, to learn where to make corrections.
Readers may note in his mother the urge to make corrections.
Daily work for Travis includes cow milking, wood cutting, pig branding, hunting, and tending to the corn fields – that is only a portion of his day! Travis has such obvious pride in his work and responsibilities and in the honor of moving past boyhood and becoming a man. When my thirteen-year-old son told me this month that Old Yeller is “one of the best books” he has ever read, I knew I had to look at that classic work of fiction.įred Gipson sets this story in 1860s Texas where everyday surroundings still include snakes, wolves, bobcats, wild hogs, and raccoons, not to mention fighting bulls that walk freely from one farmstead to the next! Fourteen-year-old Travis now has charge of the family (of caring for “Mama and Little Arliss”) and farm while his “Papa” is on a cattle run to Kansas.
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