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 first meeting her clearly shows: "Put me anywhere you like,' he said. 'I must be off early in the morning, before day; but I am very hungry, indeed. You can give me some milk at any rate, that's plain'" (Jewett par. 12). In addition to this attitude and what it implies for his view and treatment of the heron, there are also other indicators regarding Sylvia's sexual awakening in the story. On her way home through the woods at the very beginning of the story, she recalls the "great red-faced boy who used to chase and frighten her" (Jewett par. 4). It is immediately thereafter that she hears the young man's whistle and tries to hide. Both of these incidents make her fear of the opposite sex quite plain. The next day, however, when she and the young man are walking the cow home through the woods together, "smiled with pleasure when they came to the place where she heard the whistle and was afraid only the night...
26). At this point in the story, Sylvia has already lost a part of her innocence, and though it has caused her no detriment experience shows that this is an irreversible trend. Growing used to the presence of the young man and even enjoying his company is a sign that Sylvia is coming out of the shell that she has built around herself in her childhood and is taking her first tentative steps towards becoming a woman.
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
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
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
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
Female Freedom The short stories "The White Heron" by Sarah Orne Jewett and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin focus on strong and sensitive heroines who seek to forge some sort of path of autonomy in a world of men. It is without question that men control the worlds that these characters find themselves in, and each protagonist struggles to find some sort of autonomy within those worlds. Both
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
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