By Briana Berger Slowinski
In The Yearling by Marjorie Kannan Rawlings, the author portrays the experiences of life in backwoods Florida in the late 1800s. Here, life is simple, but survival is difficult. The roaming wildlife and lush landscape provides many adventures for a young boy, such as Jody Baxter. Along with the adventures, there are responsibilities. The novel illustrates how Jody’s sense of responsibilities helps him to resolve conflict between meeting his own need to raise the fawn, and meeting his family’s need for survival.
Jody enjoys raising the fawn. He often gives most if not all his milk to feed the fawn. Another example that shows Jody enjoy raising the fawn is every night he sneaks the fawn into bed with him. The final act that shows he enjoy the fawn is any time he has off he spends playing with the fawn. Jody’s favorite thing in his life so far is raising the fawn.
Survival in backwoods Florida is hard and Jody must work with his parents for this purpose. One of Jody’s more enjoyable task is to go hunting with his father. In spring Jody must help with the planting, so that he and his family would survive the winter. Year round Jody must keep the wood box stocked for cooking, warmth, and light. Jody contribution to his family’s survival helps them all to survive.
Jody’s sense of responsibility helps him deal with the fawn’s interference with his family’s survival. One example of the fawn’s interference is the fawn takes away Jody’s time to help his family. Another example is the fawn requires resources from the Baxters, which in turn takes away from what the Baxters already have. Finally, the fawn not only take up resources, it destroys the resources that the Baxters need to survive the winter. After the fawn makes the mess, Jody is always there and is more than willing to take responsibility over what the fawn did.
In the end, Jody’s sense of responsibility helps him resolve his conflict between meeting his own need and