Jody, in The Yearling, learns that maturity means accepting difficult choices and facing reality through losing his best friend, his pet fawn, and running away from home. The first challenge Jody Baxter faced was the death of his best friend Fodder-wing. After many years of wanting a pet Jody was able to keep a baby deer as a pet because his father had shot the fawn's mother. To put Flag, the fawn, out of his misery, Jody was forced to kill his pet because the pet ate the family's food. This was the worst thing that could have ever happened to Jody. Beside himself with grief, Jody ran away from home and learned how hard it was to provide food and shelter. Through these series of events, Rawlings demonstrates that pulling through tough times, especially loss, forces one to grow up.

Jody's one and only friend Fodder-wing died...