Symbolism in a white heron

It is easy to relate the author’s life to Sylvia’s. One could assume that the story of the heron is much about Jewett’s own life. Jewett was a sickly girl much like Sylvia. Jewett also chose never to be with a man, as she was never married. This relates greatly to Sylvia because in the short story, Sylvia chose nature over the presence of a man.

The reader learns about Sylvia not only from the narrator’s description but from what others say about her in the text. The reader learns that this young girl lived in the city and all her life there was sickly. It was said that “it seemed as if she never had been alive at all before she came to live at the farm.” Mrs. Tilley also stated that Sy

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Nothing in the paragraph is described as being disliked but it is described more in adoration.

The last large example of symbolism is the hunter. The young girl hides much like an animal would hide from a predator in the bushes. Also the tree splits in two, which represents the two paths that Sylvia can go down in her life. Sylvia was not in the right place when she lived in the noisy town and she proves her independence by moving away from her entire family. Tilley further describes how Sylvia feeds the birds and how they lounge near the house. She is courageous, full of strength, and outgoing in the forest. The hunter carries a gun and according to John J. This freedom is the young girl being unrestricted from the society of the city. It’s as if the game of hide and seek that they play is their way of relating towards each other. Even after Sylvia comes out of hiding to talk to the hunter, she is cautious of him and unwilling to let down her wall.

The second and most important instance of conflict is when Sylvia must decide whether or not to tell the secret of the white heron. The hunter to Sylvia, represents a life full of hope as she would not have to worry about money, or well being. This can be shown when it was stated that “small and hopeful Sylvia began with utmost bravery to mount to the top of it, with tingling, eager blood coursing the channels of her whole frame, with her bare feet and fingers that pinched and held like bird’s claws to the monstrous ladder reaching up, up, almost to the sky itself”.

Common topics in this essay:
White Heron, Afraid Folks, Mistress Molly, John Clayton, Sylvia Jewett, white heron, short story, city life, whistle hunter, sylvia short story, birds whistle, paragraph described, girl sylvia, tell secret, sylvia short, story sylvia,

Approximate Word count = 1462
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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