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 her grandmother or innocence and purity.
             During Sylvia's separation she is sent away from her family to live with her grandmother. She leaves a big manufacturing town filled with factories and man-made buildings full of smog and pollution to the natural, green woods where life is flourishing. Her priorities have changed because of what is considered valuable in the different communities. She went from caring about money and material goods to caring about life and happiness.
             Sylvia's second stage to becoming an adult is her transition. When she meets a hunter he asks her to show him where the white heron lives so he can stuff it and add it to his collection of birds. Her grandmother also asks for her help because the hunter is willing to pay ten dollars if she finds the bird. The next day Sylvia goes into the woods with the hunter in search of the bird. She finds something in the hunter she's never had before, a friend. She holds him very close to her being the only friend she's ever known. The first test she takes is a physical test where she needs to climb a tree and th
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A White Heron Essay. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 12:32, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/80506.html