A White Heron Essay
A rite of passage is a ritual or ceremonial act associated with a change of status for an individual. During a rite of passage a person goes through three stages. The first stage is separation. In this stage, the person is taken away from their home and familiar surroundings this symbolizes the death of childhood. The second stage is the transition. This stage is a period of testing physically, mentally, or morally. This is to make sure the character is ready to enter into adulthood. The third and final stage is reincorporation. This is the stage where the character returns to their home with all of the privileges and responsibilities of an adult. In the story, A White Heron, the main character, Sylvia, goes through a rite of passage. She finds herself choosing between money and the trust of
The purpose of the rite of passage is to make sure a child is ready to enter into adulthood. Her priorities have changed because of what is considered valuable in the different communities. The way she felt about this test was described in this passage, "The way was harder than she thought; she must reach far and hold fast. That night she sat with the heron and together they watched the sun come up. Sylvia has learned that she won't always have people telling her what she should do and that she needs to make her own decisions even if that means she has to do the opposite of what her friends and family ask her to do. The first test she takes is a physical test where she needs to climb a tree and then jump to another one to see if she can spot the heron. The next day Sylvia goes into the woods with the hunter in search of the bird. She holds him very close to her being the only friend she's ever known. Her grandmother also asks for her help because the hunter is willing to pay ten dollars if she finds the bird. Sylvia looked beyond that and thought about what would be morally right. She found the heron and was about to face her final test: whether she would tell the hunter or not.
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