The Yearling

Penny wonders if he should have punished Jody for skipping his chores to play, but decides to let him enjoy his childhood. When Penny was a boy, he and his large family lived a hard life on a farm. His real name is Ezra, but a man named Lem Forrester teased him for being small and malnourished saying, “Why, you leetle ol’ penny-piece, you” (21). Penny grew up to be an honest man, once taking an injured horse back to town to return some extra change. After Penny married his wife Ora, he moved them into a scrub forest full of wild animals and lacking in fresh water, except for the area’s natural springs. He loved the peace of the wild landscape and didn’t fear the bears, panthers, and venomous snakes native to the area, finding humans far more fearsome. He built a cabin on what they call Baxter’s Island and hoped he and Ora would fill it with children.

Most of their children died shortly after birth, and Penny buried them all in a graveyard near their cabin, which grew so large that he had to build a fence around it. When Jody was born and thrived, they were overjoyed. When the boy was just two years old, Penny left to fight in the Civil War, and Ora and Jody lived with non-relative Grandma Hutto. After Penny returned from the war, he’d aged far past his years. Ora isn’t close with Jody, but Penny loves him and his wonder of nature.

Jody washes his face, looks into the mirror, and calls out to his mother that he’s ugly. He wishes he had dark hair and skin like the Forresters, but remembers Lem Forrester once pulled his ears and poked fun at his appearance. Ora says he inherited his fair hair and skin from the Baxters, but her side of the family is stouter. Penny finds their sow Betsy’s mangled body surrounded by bear tracks. The legendary bear, Old Slewfoot, has a missing toe; he killed Betsy but didn’t eat her, and Penny says he hates any creature, man or beast, that kills only for sport. Jody is thrilled by the prospect of hunting the bear later. Father and son carry the pig to their cabin to salvage what meat they can. Ora is distraught over Betsy and refuses to eat breakfast. Penny says they’re fortunate to have plenty of meat for a while and promises to get a sow from the Forresters. Ora says she wants to fight the bear, which makes Jody chuckle and Ora unamused. 

Penny and Jody set out to hunt Old Slewfoot, carrying leftover pancakes spread with jam and sweet potato pone; they also carry dried alligator meat for their dogs. Jody, who normally goes barefoot, borrows his father’s cowhide brogans. The dogs Julia, Rip, and Perk pick up the bear’s scent and lead Penny and Jody south through the large trees. Penny knows how large the bear is by the depth of its tracks, unlike deer who are light on their feet. Jody wonders if his father fears the bear, but Penny says, “Not lessen things goes mighty wrong. I’m fearful, always, for the pore dogs” (35). Julia is an experienced tracker, but Perk, their newest dog, is distracted and runs off into the woods. Jody knows his father is skilled at hunting, more than the Forresters, who kill more animals than they can eat. Penny says a person can’t outrun a bear, but they can outsmart it; Jody marvels at his father’s methodical approach to stalking game. Penny shows Jody where the bear has been eating fire plants, or what Penny calls their “spring tonic” (37), a bear’s first food after emerging from hibernation. Jody wants to see a bear feeding, and Penny says sometimes it’s good to only watch an animal. He doesn’t want Jody to grow up to be like the Forresters, who kill animals for sport.

Seeing evidence that Old Slewfoot is near, Penny loads his gun with powder and commands Julia to attack. The bear is in a thicket, and Julia and Rip charge. Penny aims his rifle but can’t get a clear shot past the dogs. The bear swats at the dogs, and Jody watches in horror as Julia takes a hit. Penny tries to shoot again, and the gun backfires as the injured Julia continues to fight. The former runs into the fray and jabs his gun into the bear’s ribs until it runs into the creek, dragging Julia and Rip along. Penny rushes to save Julia and is briefly caught in the current before emerging safely on the other side. He wraps Julia in his shirt and carries her on his back to the house, asserting that he must get a new gun. When Perk runs out of the woods, Jody shares his food with Rip but not Perk; Penny says some dogs are cut out for bear hunting, and some aren’t. At home, Penny sews up Julia’s wounds; Penny and Jody make her a place to sleep in Jody’s room so Penny can check on her throughout the night. Jody can’t sleep and lies with Penny in bed, talking about the fearsome bear, replaying the events of the day, and wishing they didn’t have to fight with wild animals who are trying to survive.

Julia has improved by morning, and Penny and Jody travel to the Forresters to trade Perk for a gun. Ora doesn’t like the Forresters, but Penny insists on defending themselves against another bear attack. Jody rushes his chores, anxious to visit his friend Fodder-wing, the Forresters’ youngest son. Penny and Jody ride their horse, Caesar, through the woods, following blazes on the trees marking the trails that Spanish conquistadors made when they colonized the territory long ago.

The weather is warm, and the beauty of spring is blooming. There is shouting coming from the Forresters’ cabin and when the door opens, Mrs. Forrester and several dogs fly out into the yard. Jody’s friend Fodder-wing has a disability and uses a cane to walk; he got his nickname because he once believed he could jump off a building and fly with hay attached to his arms as wings. Jody is enamored with Fodder-wing’s assortment of wild pets. The boys take Fodder-wing’s raccoon inside to feed it, as he explains that they were previously arguing over whose dog peed on the floor. 

The Forresters have seven sons—Lem, Buck, Mill-wheel, Gabby, Pack, Arch, and Fodder-wing. Minus Fodder-wing, the six make money by trading, hunting, and selling moonshine. Penny eyes the impressive array of guns displayed on the Forresters’ wall while he explains to Lem that Perk is worthless despite having fought a bear. The family begs to hear about Old Slewfoot’s attack, but Ma Forrester says they must eat first and serves a feast. Mill-wheel fetches a container of moonshine, and everyone but Jody has a nip before dinner. Penny and Jody watch the sons fill their plates and devour the meal. Lem and Gabby start fighting, and Pa Forrester says he knows people think his boys are wild, but they’ve never been disrespectful to their mother at the table.

The Forrester boys help wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, get their pipes, and then gather around Penny for the bear story, while Buck tries to repair Penny’s gun. Penny recounts the story, embellishing certain details and omitting the part about Perk running away. The Forresters listen with rapt attention, and even Jody admits that the story “[…] was even better than the hunt” (65). Ma Forrester points out that Penny never mentioned Perk, and he only responds by reiterating that the dog is worthless. She says Perk doesn’t show signs of having been in a fight, but Penny remains silent. Lem wants the dog, and wants to be present when Old Slewfoot is eventually killed. He pulls a London Fine Twist double barrel shotgun off the wall and gives it to Penny, who reiterates that his dog is no good and wouldn’t make for a fair trade. Lem forces the deal, and Penny makes him promise not to come after him when Perk fails to hunt. Jody is amazed by his father’s swindling of the Forresters: “[…] [I]t had never occurred to him that one man could get the best of another by the simple expedient of telling him the truth” (67).

The Forresters begin sharing their own hunting stories until Ma and Pa fall asleep. Jody plans to stay the night, and Buck will take him home the next day on his way to Volusia. Penny admires his new gun, but Jody worries Lem will get angry when he discovers the truth about Perk. His father says it’s payback for Lem giving him his nickname long ago. Jody and Fodder-wing spend the rest of the day playing with Fodder-wing’s wild pets. The former helps Fodder-wing gather eggs from around the property, and is amazed at how efficiently the family’s work gets done with so many hands to help; he feels guilty for not completing his hoeing work back home. The family eats leftovers from their earlier meal, tells stories, and smokes before retiring to bed. Fodder-wing likes tall tales and says he’s seen the ghost of a Spaniard in the woods. Jody and Fodder-wing are awoken in the middle of the night by Ma and their dogs chasing a creature out of the house. Since everyone is awake, the naked brothers pull out their instruments and moonshine, and drink and play music until dawn. Lem says he wishes his sweetheart Twink Weatherby was present. Jody says she belongs to Grandma Hutto’s son Oliver Hutto, and Lem snaps at him to never say that again. After Buck takes Jody home, the latter can’t understand why his mother doesn’t like the Forresters, as they seem kind to him.

Penny is gutting a deer he shot on the way home with his new gun, and Jody is angry that his father didn’t wait for him to go hunting. The former assumed Jody was enjoying himself at the Forresters and if he brought home meat, Ora wouldn’t be angry that he left their son for the night. Jody has mixed feelings about hunting: He enjoys the thrill of the chase, but when he sees animals dead and bleeding, it makes him sick. However, when he eats meat, he’s grateful for the delicious food. At dinner, Jody says, “I’m so hungry, my belly thinks my throat is cut” (79), a phrase he learned from the Forresters. When Ora says the family are “lowlifes,” Jody rebukes her, telling her how they stayed up all night talking and singing.

Penny set a trap to catch whatever has been killing the family’s chickens and instead finds a dead albino raccoon. Jody wishes it could have been his pet, and Ora wonders if the pelt will sell for money; Penny says the pelt is worthless and decides to make a bag for Jody. Water collection for the family requires a daily trip to a sinkhole; Penny wishes he could build a well for Ora, but bricks are too expensive. Between their lack of money, the war, and their children’s deaths, he hasn’t found the time or resources to complete the job—but he knows Ora and Jody deserve better.

Jody feels guilty for not finishing his hoeing and offers to clean the water troughs at the sinkhole. He’s enchanted and slightly frightened by the sinkhole, since Fodder-wing once told him a bear scooped it out of the land with its paw. Penny engineered a system of troughs that filter and catch seepage from limestone. The lower troughs are used for watering the family’s animals and washing clothes, while the upper troughs collect drinking and cooking water. Jody uses his hoe to clear out the troughs’ leaves and debris, but becomes distracted and playfully laps the water like an animal until Penny catches him. Jody still longs for a pet, but Penny reminds him that Ora won’t allow another mouth to feed. Penny tells a story about a fox he found that ate from his hand. Jody wonders what makes some animals tamer than others, and Penny says one can tame just about any animal.

Jody is sick in bed after eating too many green berries, but Ora thinks he has measles and gives him a nauseating tonic to help sweat out the toxin. He revives and eats breakfast so he and Penny can go fishing. They see Minorcans, a group of displaced persons of Mediterranean descent, hunting for gophers near the water. After an exciting struggle, Jody catches a large bass and beams with pride over his conquest. He catches another fish for Ora, but Penny says it’s too small to eat and tells him to throw it back to grow. They hide in the grass and silently watch a group of cranes that appear to be dancing in the moonlight. Ora cooks the bass for dinner, but Penny and Jody eat silently, still in awe over the birds.