The Yearling

"Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened." -Anatole France

The Yearling is treasured classic about a young boy who finds true friendship with a stag. There are so many themes and characters to analze that I found this a perfect book to analyze.

The main character in the story, Jody, lives in the dense woods of Louisiana with his mother and father. He has no pets or siblings, but his friend Fodder-wing is constantly awakening a longing in Jody's heart by having bears, raccoons, birds, and dogs as friends. Jody dreams about having a pet for his own, and one day he finds a fawn. He and the fawn become close friends but have to suffer through several hardships. In the end, the fawn and the boy do not live happily ever after together. This first quote describes the woods where Jody rambles and wanders in often. The author describes the scene so well that you can almost feel the fine mist from the rain, how soft the sand is, and how shady and cool it is underneath the green leaves. But at the same time, you can feel a certain omnious mood, as if the author is hinting something important is coming, something bad.

"When he awakened, he thought he was in a place other than the branch bed. He was in another world, so that for an instant he thought he might still be dreaming. The sun was gone, and all the light and shadow. There were no black holes of live oaks, no glossy green of magnolia leaves, no patterns of gold lace where the sun had sifted through the branches of the wild cherry. The world was all a gentle gray, and he lay in a mist as fine as spray from a waterfall...A deer had come to the spring while he was sleeping. The fresh tracks came down the east bank and stopped at the water's edge..." (Rawlings 8).

I was transported into another world when I read this quote. Majorie Kinnan Rawlings is such a master at using descriptive words and sensory details. The novel is a very sad but beautiful book, and this quote really shows me that although the woods are gorgeous, they are hiding very dark secrets that can tear apart the bond between a boy and his deer. The text is explicitly stating that the woods had changed from being a beautiful and peaceful place to an entirely different world. Especially when it says: "The sun was gone, and all the light and shadow." This line takes away the serene feeling of relaxing in the woods and instead creates a very foreboding feeling. The deer tracks hint that Jody will soon find the fawn and befriend it, but their story will not end well.

"The sun was not far from its setting when the long-leaf pines around the Baxter clearing came into sight. They stood tall and dark against the red-gold west. He heard the chickens clucking and quarreling and knew they had just been fed. He turned into the clearing. The weathered gray of the split-rail fence was luminous in the rich spring light. Smoke curled thickly from the stick-and-clay chimney. Supper would be ready on the hearth and hot bread baking in the Dutch oven" (Rawlings 10).

Though this quote doesn't hold the quiet charm of the forest, the Baxter farm's homelike feel and warmth is very apparent through this description of the home. The way the author describes the home gives you a sense of peacefulness and stability, the safe haven from any danger. In the book, Jody is constantly bringing the fawn into the house during storms or wild animal attacks, so the house is a safe place for both Jody and his friend. The Baxter farm is the place where Jody grows up with the deer, and by just reading the quote I could tell that this was a place where he would have many fond memories with the fawn.

I could go on and on about Mrs. Rawling's masterful use of descriptive details. I could fill this page with excerpts from her novel to describe and analyze. Every quote has a hidden meaning behind it, so this is one of those books that you can really pick apart and digest thorougly.