Fern's Coming Back When She Quotes

In the novel Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, the protagonist Rill Foss’s journey is a noble pursuit. She and her four siblings are taken away from their parents and brought to the Tennessee Children's Home Society, an orphanage that kidnapped children and illegally adopted them out to wealthy families in the 1930s and 1940s. Rill’s journey is a noble pursuit because she is a brave, strong person who puts others first, is forced to take on a motherly role for her siblings when she is only 12 years old, and even in hard times she is determined to do what is best for her family, showing commitment to them throughout her life. Throughout her journey, Rill continuously puts the wellbeing of others, specifically her siblings, before her own,

At this point, her sister Fern has been adopted but is miserable without Rill. Fern’s adoptive parents can’t handle it and plan on giving her back to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society the next day. Rill refuses to leave without her sister, the only piece of her family that she still has. She says, “‘I can’t leave yet. Fern’s coming back.’”(204) This demonstrates her selflessness and bravery because she went through terrible abuse at the orphanage and is willing to continue to be victim to this mistreatment to help her sister, even when offered a way out. Another example is when Rill is conflicted about going back to her adoptive parents’ home with Fern or living on the river with her friend Silas. She says that she loves Silas and she loves the river, but “I loved Fern first. She’s all I’ve got left of my family.” (309) Rill is choosing the needs of her sister over her own wants because of how important her sister is to her. These actions demonstrate her selfless nature and willingness to sacrifice her own well-being for the people she loves, something that very few people would