The Big Red, by Jim Kjelgard, is about a character named Danny and his Irish setter, Red. Danny becomes highly attached to Red, and they go on adventures including fighting a bear named Old Majesty. The specific setting of the story is a fictional place called the Wintapi Forest.

This fictional forest is supposed to be somewhere close to upstate New York. In the forest, there are mountain areas and specific trees such as pine or beech. Danny’s family survives in the forest by hunting many the different animals that live there. This shows to the reader that Wintapi Forrest is teeming with wildlife.

The forest is an isolated area since the setting takes place in the earlier part of the twentieth century. This means that it’s often difficult to get in contact with the outside world since there are fewer options in terms of technology.

Danny and his parents live in a one-room cabin in these woods. Also nearby is the Haggins’ mansion which has housing for sheep and horses, as well as an open area for cattle to graze. The setting serves the plot of Big Red since it makes it more plausible that a bear would be a threat given that they are in a forest over a hundred years ago and had limited resources and means of finding help.