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The hunter is kind to her but is not considerate of her feelings and is only thinking of his own desire to find the heron. He tries to use the appeal of money to achieve his purpose as he knows that both Sylvia and her grandmother would find it very useful and Sylvia thinks that "no amount of thought that night could decide how many wished-for treasures the ten dollars, so lightly spoken of, would buy"(Jewett). The conflict is clear in "she could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much"(Jewett) Sylvia is seen to become aware that the only thing that the man wanted from her was the achievement of his goal of finding the heron and he was not going to consider that she loved the animals and birds and she understands that he is not a kind man. Her independence is established when she does not disclose the location of the heron's nest after she climbs the...
Sylvia's conflict is clear in "and now, when the great world for the first time puts out a hand to her, must she thrust it aside for a bird's sake?" (Jewett).
Sylvia is not symbolically avoiding sexual maturity but avoiding becoming subservient to a man whom she does like but feels has not the same values as her and is only being considerate because of his need to achieve something that he believes she can give him. She is not remaining a little girl but rather growing up and maturing so that she knows that the material things are going to provide only a temporary satisfaction but her individuality will be compromised by becoming the hunter's friend and losing her real friends.
But when she gets back to her grandmother's house, and finds the young hunter and her grandmother waiting at the door, and questioning her, and when that "...splendid moment has come to speak of the dead hemlock tree" and the treasure it holds, she "...does not speak after all, though the old grandmother fretfully rebukes her." This man can make them "rich" with his ten-dollar reward, and they are
Sylvia develops a fondness for "The Stranger" as she spends more time with him, traveling through the bushes trying to find the elusive bird. "The Stranger" has offered $10 to Sylvia if she could give him any information regarding the whereabouts of the White Heron. Sylvia develops a great desire to please this new friend of hers, and concocts a secret plan, involving a tall pine tree, to locate the
Throughout her novels and short stories, Jewett uses the weakness or malicious of the male characters to allow her female characters more power and therefore independence. Many scholars also believe that Jewett was also commenting on the decreased importance of the old New England male image of fisherman and provider of the household. As New England itself became industrialized, the role of the sole provider as the male failed
He doesn't know how to enjoy the heron the way Sylvia does, and all he can think of to do with it is to kill it and stuff it -- to bend it to his will and make it something pretty for display, and a testament to his own prowess and skill. This is indicative of the way he treats the world, as his greeting of Sylvia's grandmother on
The Effect of Point of View in Literature How does point of view determine a story’s effect? “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett is told in the third person narration style, but the point of view that the narrator adopts is Sylvia’s—the little girl who feels connected with nature and enjoys the beauty, peace and harmony that she experiences in the outdoors. Her perspective allows the author to depict the
For instance, Sylvy could have decided to go with the man and leave her rural life. She could have left the life of poverty and gone back to the city. Had she made this choice she knew that she would never have to worry about money again. However, having come from the city originally, she also knew the personal freedom that she would be giving up. She felt that