Penny Baxter In The Yearling

In The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Penny Baxter is portrayed as a trustworthy person by his actions and the things that others say about him. Every character in the book that meets Penny Baxter knows him to be trustworthy man. Ora Baxter, Penny’s wife, knows that Penny would never tell a lie to save his life. She lets her husband try to trade their old dog for a gun, although she doesn’t think he’ll be able to do it. To say that she is surprised when he comes home with a gun and a buck is an understatement. “If it was anybody but an honest fool like you, I’d swear you’d been out thievin’”( 70 ). It is obvious that the Baxters are going through a hard time. In this situation, many people would have turned to thieving to make a …show more content…
However, Ora knows that Penny would never do this. Even though doing the right thing is often hard, Penny always makes the honest choices. Penny got his nickname by being trustworthy and honest. He goes and trades in Volusia, a long distance from his home. The storekeeper gave him an extra dollar in change. He walks the distance back to the store to return the dollar to the storekeeper. “’twa’n’t mine and I wouldn’t of wanted to die with it on me. Dead or alive, I only want what’s mine”(17). This honesty indicates that Penny Baxter is a man of his word. He could have gave the dollar back when he traded next at Volusia, but he walked all the way back for the sole purpose of returning a dolar. Many men would be tempted to lie in Penny Baxter’s situation, but Penny never gives into the temptations. Even if it would benefit him, Penny Baxter would not tell a lie. When he goes to the Forresters to trade for a gun, he could have lied about his dog to get a good deal. However, he only tells the truth. “Oh my, no…. I’d not cheat you, tradin’ him.”(60). This ethical response to the Forresters implies that Penny would not lie. He even tries to talk them out of trading for the dog because he knows that it has