Dec 10, 2009

The Yearling | Characters

The main characters in The Yearling are a lonely twelve-year-old boy, Jody Baxter, and his pet deer, Flag. For a year the two are inseparable, sharing adventures and hardships as they grow. But when Flag begins to eat the family's crops and must be shot, Jody panics and runs away from home.

Penny Baxter is Jody's honest and compassionate father. Understanding his son's pain and bitterness, he urges Jody to face his sorrow and go on with life "like a man." Life has not been easy for Penny, either. At one point in the novel he is nearly killed by a rattlesnake bite, and as a...