Initiation and coming of age narratives in literature

Sylvia's Coming of Age in "A White Heron"

Sylvia must separate herself from earlier illusions because she assumes that all people feel the same way that she does. We read that it was "her greatest pleasure to hide herself away among the huckleberry bushes" (Jewett 1) and she would not automatically know that all people might not feel this way. She assumes that the stranger loved animals as she did and probably could not fathom how anyone could stuff and preserve them. As a result, Sylvia loses faith in her fellow man because she realizes that there are some people that would rather kill animals than enjoy them the way she does. She must also separate herself from the influences she knew because she refused to comply with the stranger's wishes. She no doubt was expected to mind her manners and be nice to the stranger. In addition, she was expected to reveal where the heron lived. She must separate herself from the idea that the world is filled with people like her.

The initiation process is a success because Sylvia remains true to her beliefs. She is pulled in two directions and is forced to make a decision. She can do as her grandmother wishes and reveal the secret for a price, which she does not want to do or keep the secret. We read that she "does not speak after all, though the old grandmother fretfully rebukes her, and the young man's kind, appealing eyes are looking straight in her own" (10). She learns early at the age of nine the conflict that results when one must decide between one's own convictions and the desires of others. Because she listened to her gut, she will not feel as though she sold out for money and though she might not realize this for years to come, she made the right decision.