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Critics have offered many interpretations of the seemingly simple story, “A White Heron.”
It has been described as “a lamentation over humankind’s estrangement from nature” (Atkinson).
Other critics view the story through a feminist lens that rejects the predatory nature of men, as embodied by the young hunter, who offers “knowledge, money, sexuality, and a vision of the world” to Sylvie (Zanger.)
It has similarly been characterized as “a young woman’s declaration of independence from a patriarchal society” that would see Sylvie “raped, killed, stuffed and put on display in a man’s house” (Brenzo). Some critics have gone so far as to read this story as the recounting of an actual rape.
A gentler vision of the story views the protagonist as a young woman who rejects “heterosexual institutions in favor of the natural realm of the mother” (Held). How do you interpret the central theme of this story?
Please be sure to include your section number at the end of your response. And please address comments to others by name.
72 thoughts on “Week 4 Discussion”
The story “The White Heron” follows a young girl, Sylvie, who has just moved from the city to the country to live with her grandmother, and meets a young traveler who hunts birds for sport and wishes for her to lead him to one. In my interpretation of the story, I see the central theme as pertaining primarily to the first quote, which details humanity’s estrangement from nature. Upon first read, I did not pick up so much on the themes related to patriarchy and sexuality, although these ideas are certainly present in the narrative. However, I personally interpreted Sylvie’s actions more through the lens of childhood than young womanhood. The sense of joy she feels when interacting with the world is specific to children, and lost on older people such as the hunter, who believes that money is fair compensation for the life of a rare and beautiful creature for whom Sylvie feels kinship and compassion. Sylvie’s eventual refusal to disclose the location of the heron demonstrates her choice to remain loyal to nature and beauty, rather than fall prey to the allure of material wealth.
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Hello Justine,
I agree with your interpretation of “The White Heron” that Sylvie is more of a country girl who feels more comfortable in nature rather than in the city around people. Also, your example of her interactions with the world is similar to children and she feels clueless around older people such as the hunter. She refuses the acceptance of money by the hunter who offered her to give up the location of the bird he is looking for. The theme is mainly about her feeling of nature rather than of sexuality.
Hello Gagandeep,
We always seem to be the first two! I’m glad you agree with my interpretation, but I’m curious about how you understand the themes of sexuality to play out in the story. As stated, I lean more toward the idea that the narrative focuses on the idea of human connection to nature, but upon reading it over again I found that interspersed in the text were glimpses of sexual overtones that may weigh into the narrative as a whole, adding complexity to the narrative’s tone and message. In one scene between the hunter and Sylvia, the narrator states that, “the woman’s heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love.” This shows that although Sylvia is too young to fully realize it, she feels a slight internal stirring because of the hunter. Do you have any further thoughts on what this might mean about the narrative?
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Justine and Gagandeep, it’s true that you are usually the groundbreakers here. Justine I have to say that I very much appreciate your considered thinking, as reflected in the quote you cite here. Yes, she is still a child, but it seems that the stirrings have begun. And maybe the act of discussing this with Gagandeep has caused you to wonder.
Justine, I think critics are all older men or woman with a different outlook on life. Perhaps they are more focused on issues such as sexuality and womanhood, as perhaps during their time those issues were very prominent. Perhaps stories of how a woman ran off with a charming man were commonplace, and that’s what led to their interpretation of this story. Nevertheless, I believe that people of different ages can find different inspiration from this story, like how we both tied it back to her love of nature rather than anything else.
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Justine, thank you for the very thoughtful response. It is interesting that Sylvia is on the cusp of adolescence, and in many ways she is still childish. I can see how you would view the story this way, and it’s a valid perspective. I actually like this view of the story, yet it makes me wonder about the power of her ultimate decision. Do you see that as child-like?
Justine, thanks for this very sensitive post. It’s so true what you write about the palpable sense of joy in nature conveyed in this story. Sylvia is quite lovable, isn’t she? And then she becomes quite admirable.
Justine I agree with your interpretation of the fact that the central theme is pertaining to that of the first quote and I also agree that Sylvie is not a young, woman as of yet but to me she is not a child either she is in that awkward stage of not yet a adult but not quite a child and its a confusing time for her because this the first time she has to deal with things such, as a crush she doesn’t understand so she doesn’t know how to deal with it so there is some of the theme is the second quote that is also there.
This story which is “The White Heron” starts off by introducing a young girl named Sylvie who currently lived in the city but moved away to the country and lived with her grandmother. She’s described as a “child of nature” since she was more comfortable in a natural environment like the farm instead of living in the city around folks. There, she meets a hunter who looks for birds for his stuffed bird collection and wishes for Sylvie to lead him to the white heron bird but she does not understand his reasoning’s to this. The central theme of the story is mostly about the idea of nature which is presented by Sylvie. However, the themes of sexuality that is claimed to be in this story by critics is also presented but the main theme of this story is how Sylvie avoids to fall prey to money or wealth that is being given to her by the hunter which she refuses to accept. She decides to stay loyal to her beliefs of nature.
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Hi Gagandeep, I never quite understood that there was a sense of sexuality in the story. To me, there were a simple attraction to the young boy that Sylvie met, but nothing more than that. Sexuality really didn’t quite matter here, as you said, because the main focus of the story was on something else. For one, it doesn’t matter whether Sylvie is a girl or a boy, just that she is a child who is free of the many things that disconnects us from nature. Staying loyal to her beliefs is a excellent thing.’
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Hi Gagabdeep,
I really agree with your perspective and wrote something similar because to me the ending highlighted the overall point or one of the main themes. Despite any circumstance she faced in the story, she remained intact with herself and what she felt was the right thing. She did have regrets at the end, which could argue against if she really wanted to stay loyal to her beliefs of nature as you said.
But I overall agree with you and her choices made me think about some of my core values. Everyone changes throughout their life in some way, but there really are habits or characteristics we’ve had since we were children. Like one of mine being that I’m really outspoken. Even as a kid, I always spoke my mind and it didn’t matter who I’ve met along my teenage years, going into adulthood. That is just something that is true to me. And for Sylvie, it seemed her loyalty or moral duty to nature is something true to her.
The simple story “The White Heron” is only that, a simple work of art. In it, a white heron is painted, and the girl who hides behind discovers the beauty of nature that morning, as the sun rose. The theme of the story should simply be the innate love of nature and the pure questioning of how twisted that love can be in everyone. For the young boy that Sylvie meets, a sense of this twisted love can be seen. As a young boy, who likely was once the same as Sylvie, with a naive and curious gaze towards nature, gradually changed to not appreciating nature and its constant changes, and to rather preferring that it be preserved forever at the cost of its lives. Sylvie, in the end, withstood temptation and authority, attraction to the boy and a promise of a better life, and would rather be guiltless that she didn’t warp her sense of appreciation for material gains.
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Kexin, I find your comments very interesting. You write that “A White Heron” is a simple work of art. Then you go on to rightly identify two themes of the story: love of nature and “how twisted that love can be in everyone.” Does that last part seem “simple” to anyone in the group?
Similar to Justine who addressed multiple points that I agree with, the first quote from the critics fit best to describe the theme of the story. I would say that the criticism from the others seems like a bit of a stretch when it comes to the meaning and theme of the story. After reading I didn’t pick up on the ideas of sexuality, woman’s declaration of independence, or rejecting heterosexualism. Just as Justine did, through my first read I pictured Sylvia as a child using her curiosity to learn more outside of what they already know about country life such as hunting animals for fun. Sylvia also growing a connection to nature through the heron was very touching and shows character development in her as she eventually dislikes the idea of hunting. The first quote from the critic best describes this relationship using the words “lamentation” and “estrangement” to reinforce their idea on human vs nature and how Sylvia was able to acknowledge the problem with the way humans and nature interact.
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Hey Brandon, I like how you say Sylvie is in touch with nature. So when she meets this strange man and slowly grows fond of him, it creates a division within herself. She questions her own character in a way. After she locates the bird, she cannot immediately decide what to do. Does she side with nature? Or will she side with the disguised cruelty known as mankind. Ultimately, Sylvie chooses to protect the bird and reject outside influences. This to me can be compared to a growing child who cannot accept the reality of adult life.
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Brandon,
I actually agree with your opinion on Sylvia growing a connection to nature and she dislikes the idea of hunting. In the story, it states that “Wondering over and over again what the stranger would say to her, and what he would think when she told him how to find his way straight to the heron’s nest…Sylvia cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away…”From this evidence, it shows Sylvia connects to nature and she does not like the idea of hunting because after Sylvia knows heron’s secret, she keeps thinking about what the stranger will think when she told him where is the heron’s nest. And she did not tell the heron’s secret and give heron’s life away to the stranger.
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In my opinion the central theme of the story is more along the lines of Sylvie growth from the innocence of a young child to the understanding of a more mature child who is now put in the situation to make an adult choice she can either help the hunter to get out her family out of poverty “when the great world for the first time puts out a hand to her, must she thrust it aside for a bird’s sake?” “He can make them rich with money; he has promised it, and they are poor now.” “No amount of thought, that night, could decide how many wished-for treasures the ten dollars, so lightly spoken of, would buy.” or she could not a keep the secret of where the herons nest is and save the bird from the hunter as she is the only one who knows where its nest is. This is something she struggles with because of one side she has her family that she loves and on the other nature which she also loves and shares a special connection with “as for Sylvia herself, it seemed as if she never had been alive at all before she came to live at the farm. She thought often with wistful compassion of a wretched geranium that belonged to a town neighbor.” “There ain’t a foot o’ ground she don’t know her way over, and the wild creaturs counts her one o’ themselves. Squer’ls she’ll tame to come an’ feed right out o’ her hands, and all sorts o’ birds. Last winter she got the jay-birds to bangeing here” and in the end she chose to stick to her morals that the bird should not be hunted just so it can be stuffed and kept as a prize rather than give into the greed of the hunter that wanted the prized bird so much that he chose to try and bribe a child with wealth that he knew her family needed she had made this choice after she shares a moment with the heron that changes her decision on helping the hunter “No, she must keep silence! What is it that suddenly forbids her and makes her dumb? Has she been nine years growing 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? The murmur of the pine’s green branches is in her ears, she remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together, and Sylvia cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away.” so this coincides with the second quote “Other critics view the story through a feminist lens that rejects the predatory nature of men, as embodied by the young hunter, who offers “knowledge, money, sexuality, and a vision of the world” to Sylvie (Zanger.)” . and also the first quote “It has been described as “a lamentation over humankind’s estrangement from nature” (Atkinson).” as the hunter had said that “I am making a collection of birds myself. I have been at it ever since I was a boy.” “There are two or three very rare ones I have been hunting for these five years. I mean to get them on my own ground if they can be found.” “Oh no, they’re stuffed and preserved, dozens and dozens of them,” The hunter doesn’t have a collection of birds rather he has a collection of trophies that few others have and even if he hunts the last of these rare birds down to extinction that would be ok because she would have a one of a kind trophy that he could shay he hunted himself and brag about and that’s still happening today many animals are being hunted to the edge of extinction for sport and are being specifically bred for sport hunting. 0503
Ariadna, thank you for this in-depth post. I’m struck by your use of quotes and how they point to the fierce strength of this young protagonist. She is such a young girl with a simple background, yet her personal moral code is so well developed. She has what many lack, which is an understanding of what truly matters in her life and the moral conviction to stand up for these things. I think most readers feel a deep sympathy and admiration for her. I appreciate your comments about excesses of hunting, as well. Maybe some of her moral strength and groundedness come from her life among the wild creatures in the woods. The element of sexuality is also at play with the subject of hunting. The boy is not hunting birds to eat them but to stuff them and keep them as trophies. From this comes the expression of “trophy wife,” the young and beautiful wife collected by an older man. Sylvia, though she is young, asks why the hunter can kill the very thing he loves.
I agree with your opinion on how Sylvia seems to be exposed to her first adult decision, and I think that the hunter plays a role in how women have to stand up for what she believes in no matter what other people opinions are, and more so what men thought and perceived woman at that time, and realizing that the presence and mention of nature and birds in the story represents the innocence of a child reaching maturity.
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Juliana, please address comments to others by name so we can follow the conversation.
Reading “A White Heron”, the central theme I saw in this story was the protagonist Sylvia’s lack of trust in society and complete trust in nature. It seems that Sylvia had a bad experience with individuals while living with her mother in the city. When her grandmother Mrs. Tilley expressed “Afraid of Folks”, that statement did not make sense until the narrator said, “Suddenly this little woods-girl is horror-stricken to hear a clear whistle not very far away. Not a bird’s-whistle, which would have a sort of friendliness, but a boy’s whistle, determined, and somewhat aggressive”. Sylvia’s knowledge of telling the difference of a bird’s whistle and a man’s whistle it is clear she had a trauma. I would agree Sylvia did gains some trust for the ornithologist after the small expedition they had looking for the bird’s nest. However, she knew the location of the nest but chose not to give it up, because she could relate to the winged animal. The chase the young man has with the rare bird, is like her experience she had with “The great red-faced boy who used to chase and frighten her”. Although the young man’s money would have help her and Mrs. Tilley, I believe deep down she felt that the guilt of the bird’s death would have done much more damage than her still being poor. Sylvia’s trust in nature can also be sensed when she starts climbing the old oak and pine trees, it can be also seen as a symbol of her trust in nature to not let her fall while she makes her way up branch by branch to find the Heron’s nest.
I would have to agree with Zanger “Other critics view the story through a feminist lens that rejects the predatory nature of men, as embodied by the young hunter, who offers “knowledge, money, sexuality, and a vision of the world” to Sylvie”. I did sense the sexuality in her interaction with the young man, but it can also be adrenaline of the new knowledge she is gaining and appreciation of another individual.
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Hi Stephanie!
I couldn’t agree more with your observation on the central theme of the story. Sylvie and her actions are very symbolic when thinking about feminism and they actions against male predatory behavior. She is a creature who clearly trusts her instincts or gut more than she’s willing to trust a man’s word. I think that her connection to nature does a great job of symbolically referring to her ability to trust someone entirely or not. But yet, she does develop somewhat of a trust with the stranger. The story is very compelling and leaves you to think about this connection very deeply.
Initially, Sylvie is quite frightened by the mysterious stranger. She is reluctant to lead this young hunter to her home. However, as she gets to know the young man more she is fascinated by him. She is determined to help the hunter find the elusive White Heron. She climbs a great big pine tree to get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area and spots the beautiful white bird. Ultimately, Sylvie is reluctant to tell the hunter of the White Heron’s whereabouts. All of this is very symbolic to me. Telling the hunter where he could find the White Heron is the equivalence of Sylvie outgrowing her childhood. Sylvie knew the hunter would kill the bird and she could not bring herself to reveal the bird’s location. As children we are innocent and if Sylvie gave up the bird’s secrets, knowing that its life would be taken, for the sake of some young man’s admiration, she would lose that childish innocence.
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Syed, thanks for the interesting post. I do think we Sylvia moving from childhood in her completely self-determined decision regarding the bird. And yes, the story is laden with symbolism, some of it very beautiful. For example, when she climbs to the top of the pine tree, it is as if she were climbing the Tree of Knowledge. From this vantage point she can see the world she has never seen before. Some critics have taken this symbolism to an extreme, equating the climbing of the tree to sexual experience.
Thanks for the insight professor! I really did not interpret the giant pine tree as the equivalence of Yggdrasil, the tree of life. The tree was the center of all knowledge for Sylvie. You really blew my mind with that one. Also I definitely can see how some critics relate Sylvie’s climbing of the tree to a sexual experience because after climbing the tree she had grown more mature, much like how you feel after your first sexual experience.
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In this shirt story, “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett we see a girl named Sylvia who moved from the busy city to the wilderness where things are much more quiet and peaceful. This transition for someone would be alarming and almost impossible to deal with but she was able to make the adjustment. Her being in this new environment created an atmosphere of isolation and from this she was able to create her own serenity. In the beginning, where she was looking for the cow who was wandering around aimlessly, this activity was something that she enjoyed and made it her feel at peace. When she was alarmed by the gunman who hunted birds, she was almost terrified because imagine what he could have done to her, but the complete opposite happened. He was a nice person who just needed shelter. When he was around her and her grandmother, she was listening to his stories although she did not have much to say in return. There was one part of the story where the girl, was focused on a bull frog on a footpath and this could be translated into a form of symbolism because she could have her own ideas and thoughts. she is allowed to wander and be free. This shows a correlation with the white heron because that bird is usually by itself and away from its family representing a strong, pure, able, and violent creature. She represents this bird when she climbs to the tree top.
Jaden, you present a good summary of “A White Heron,” but does your comment address the question posed for this forum?
The story of “The White Heron” can be interpreted as many things but for me, its a call for recognition and defying the “laws” that women were forced to follow in a society, the story starts pretty innocent with Sylvia, a young girl that has recently been living with her grandmother and finds entertainment and company from a cow, in one of the journeys from finding the cow she is greeted by a strange man that at first seems threatening since he is carrying a gun, and completely aggressive “but a boy’s whistle, determined, and somewhat aggressive”; even though Sylvia does not feel secure or comfortable with this mans company he seems to “force” her in a way to show him to his house, taking into consideration that he is a complete stranger she is in no position to deny him a goods night sleep and shelter. Her grandmother somehow shows interest in the simple fact that he is a man “whose long slumbering hospitality seemed to be easily awakened”. As the story develops we see that the central theme of the story is showing and proving that society has set up standards on how women should behave and how men destroy or corrupt the nature of beautiful things such as the white heron. Sylvia “revels” herself into not being able to physically tell the hunter where she saw the bird in order to keep it safe. The end of the story sets up a question for not only the reader of society which is the choice making on doing what’s right and what’s not and standing up for what she or he believes.
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Juliana, thank you for this excellent post. Yes, societal expectations are definitely woven into this story. We know that, even though Sylvia is still very young, she is facing a choice about her life decisions. If she is the kind of young woman who does not succumb to the seductive tactics of men, she is unlikely to end up with one, especially given the remoteness of her home. How many other young men will wander through these woods when this young hunter leaves? Yes, I think most readers feel good about her decision because it is a stand for her own beliefs and values.
Hi Juliana,
Thank you for your great interpretation of the story. You opened my eyes to how this story could be telling us about gender roles and expectations. Sylvia is so young and is put into a situation that society would expect her to act or react in a certain way but we see in the end, Sylvia defied expectations and made a decision from choosing right or wrong.
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Hi Juliana,
I strongly agree with your interpretation of the themes of this story. I believe this story questions women’s roles. We are constantly shown ways in which Sylvia is tempted to fall in order or defy set social standards for women. It was a bit of relief that in the end Sylvia pulls through and stood up for what she believed in. She did it for herself and did not allow anything corrupt her.
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I think the main theme of the story is about a test of integrity. Sylvia is presented as a young girl only eight years of age. Sylvia is young is inexperienced in life but feels a deep connection to the environment around her. The story states, “it seemed as if she never had been alive at all before she came to live at the farm” describes the importance of nature in her life. When the hunter arrives in the story and offers a reward for information of a white heron, Sylvia is presented with a choice of temptation. Sylvia is tempted by the money and things she could buy with it for information that she already had. It felt like a simple question with an obvious answer. As a result of Sylvia’s excitement, she climbs a tall tree to locate the white heron before anyone else has woken. Sylvia is amazed by the view from the top of the tree and realizes if she chose temptation, she would be betraying the thing she has felt so deeply about. She chose loyalty and integrity. I think this is just one of many interpretations of this story. There were parts of this story that seem to symbolize sexuality. A reminder that Sylvia is only eight years old, she states, “the women’s heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love” could be interpreted as the lure and manipulation by a much older man. The description of the tree and the words used to describe how Sylvia was climbing it stood out, in an uncomfortable way. I think the author wrote the story in a way it could be interpreted in many different ways.
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Hey Kenny, i strongly agree with your comment, when you said that Sylvia choose LOYALTY and INTEGRITY, despite of the temptation of the money and the innocent attraction that she felt for this hunter, and also that he manipulated her to achieve his goals. I think she was to young to interpret this story with a tone of sexuality from her part i mean, and even from the hunter because if he wanted to do something to her such as raped her he would of, because he was alone with her when he meet her. I seen also the love for the nature.
Kenny, yes, there is a strong reference to the battle for personal integrity in this story. I’m always impressed at how brave and strong Sylvia is, despite temptations and curiosity. It’s true that she is very young, but remember that people grew up much faster in earlier times. This story was first published in an anthology in 1886. At that time it would not be unusual for a girl to marry while still a teenager. I’m glad you are aware that various themes can exist within the same story. A reader can feel that the central theme of “The White Heron” is about integrity while also noting the sexual and coming-of-age themes at play.
While reading the story, “The White Heron” I was reminded of stories I would read growing up. They are stories filled with innocence and comfort. I believe this is not exclusively because of my personal association, but because of the gentle language, the story uses to describe the innocence of nature and the freedom of youth. I found the central theme in the story to be Sylvia’s inner struggle to maintain her innocence. She had already moved away from the “noisy town”. She recalls “the thought of the great red-faced boy who used to chase and frighten her”, as her last association with a male. She is terrified when she first meets the man hunting birds. Even after she starts warming up to him, she still struggles with letting him into her innocent mind, “She would have liked him vastly better without his gun; she could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much.” The story ends with her ultimately choosing to maintain her own boundaries of innocence by not disclosing how to locate the heron by climbing the tree.
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Sima, I love your interpretation. this is the same understanding that I reached as well. She definitely is mistrustful of the male gender. Despite her “warming up to” the hunter, I think she was only fooling herself. often times when people feel uncomfortable, they keep it inside- not sure if it is all in their head or scared to speak up. She tries to convince herself that he is nice, tries not to feel threatened by his guns, etc. But I do not believe the uneasiness ever escapes her. This is largely the reason for her deciding to maintain her boundaries in the end, and not lead him to the White Heron. Maintaining her boundaries is the perfect way to put it! Do you think that the White Heron is a symbol for innocence? I am thinking it is. White is a color representing purity, and the bird is rare and largelly in pursuit. Leading the hunter to this elusive creature is about more than protecting it, it is about not losing something of herself.
Hey Sima,
Reading your comment kinda helped me understand the story better, I completely agree with the central theme of struggling to keep her innocence because she’s starting to notice all things about nature and she encounters this tall young hunter who is trying to make conversation, she becomes stuck and reluctant to speak to a person she doesn’t know.
In the story “The White Heron”, we see a girl who moves from the city to the countryside and thinks that it is the most beautiful place and” she never should wish to go home.” One day walking one of the farm cows heard a whistle which scared her, but soon she realized it was a young man. He was a young hunter who was lost and could not find his way to his destination. The young man asks Sylvia if he can spend the night at her house because he was tired. Upon returning home Sylvia’s grandmother agreed that the young man would stay. When sitting at the table the young hunter lets know his true intention of walking through these lands. It is here where history begins to take an unexpected turn. The young hunter was looking to hunt ‘The White Heron’. Everyone was surprised to learn that the hunter was offering money for this bird. Sylvia was confused because she apparently felt a special attraction to this young hunter, at the same time she had seen the bird but she didn’t know whether to say it or not. In my interpretation of the story i think the young hunter used the young girl to achieve her goal of hunting the bird he was looking for so much. But despite the innocent attraction that Sylvia felt for the hunter, neither the offer of money or her feminism made her tell her where she had seen the bird.At the same time I can say that Sylvia was afraid that they would kill the bird, or perhaps destroy what was part of the beauty she saw from above the tree.
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Virgen, this is a good summary of “A White Heron,” but have you addressed the question I posed about themes in the story?
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In this story “The White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett, it starts with introducing a young girl who is nine years old name is Sylvia lives on a farm with her grandmother and meets a young stranger who is brid collection and hunting bird. I think the central theme of this story is a struggle between the expose the place where the heron was to make young boy happy and saving the life of heron and preserve nature. In the story, it states that “He can make them rich with money; he has promised it, and they are poor now. He is so well worth making happy, and he waits to hear the story she can tell…she remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together, and Sylvia cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away.” This evidence shows that the protagonist is struggling about expose the place where the heron was to make young boy happy and get money from him or saving the life of heron and preserve nature. Sylvia can not randomly make a decision between a young boy and nature because she does not want to destroy the beautiful nature that she loved and Sylvia might attracted to a young boy.
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In “The White Heron” when Sylvie first meets the hunter she is fearful of him. Once she notices that her grandmother has taken a liking to him, and she gets to interact with him, she becomes a bit more comfortable. She begings describing him as the most charming, kind, delightful, and sympathetic person she has ever met. She even ventures out with him on a hunting trip while he searches for a white Heron. She feels very special to be accompanying him on the trip. In regard to the excursion, Sylvie says “…he did not once make her troubled or afraid except when he brought down some unsuspecting singing creature from its bough”. This is not the only time she expresses disdain toward his hunting. She does not like the idea of him killing birds or stuffing them. However, it is like she is ignoring all of this. She is struggling with the fact that he makes her uneasy and uncomfortable, that he does things she does not like, but he acts so nice. She does not know what to make of it. Young women often struggle to make sense of their gut feelings when they are contradicted by real actions. She is only 8 years old. She cannot speak up for herself. Her body and brain are not able to put these contradicting emotions together, and seem to confuse it for the inklings of love or sexual attraction. Of course, she is not able to make sense of this either.
Because of his “kindness”, she feels a need/ obligation to help the hunter and reveal to him the location of the White Heron. She is interpreted his actions (talking to her, talking about himself, joking with the grandma, taking her along with him) to mean that he has some kind of interest in her. Now she is seeking his approval. This reminds me of Araby when the young boy was not able to read the situation with his friend’s sister clearly. Anyway, she ultimately decides to keep the White Heron to herself. She cant imagine him killing it. I was really impressed with Sylvie at the end! She stuck to what she felt was right all along though her sense of reality had been somewhat hijacked. I think this coming of age story is really about learning to trust your gut instincts and not being swayed/mislead by others. Especially not men. She knew all along that something was off with this guy. He cornered her in an isolated desolate field, made his way to her house, and just settled in. How entitled! Her gut feeling was silenced by his front. Interpretations mention Sylvie choosing nature over male power. I think she chose herself. This is something a lot of young women do not have the strength to do. Especially not at 8. Sylvie is so brave and awesome!
This passage was a bit difficult but I enjoyed reading your perspective of the theme. I understand your theme of “coming of age”. It helps me understand the passage more than before. I think we can say that Sylvie is wiser than her age.
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I can see why “White Heron” is a story about coming of age, Sylvia lived her life innocently; connected to nature and oblivious to the rest of the world outside of the forest, farmland that was part of the town she knew. But her encounter with the young man and his bribery with the money led me to my interpretation that people stick to what is familiar to them because change is scary. Sylvie was bribed with money, and also with love in a sense because she admired the young man that I personally don’t think she had tagged along with her (I can see why critics would think of the potentional dangers and consider it to be a recounting of an actual rape). But overall the story more reminded me of the way people could experience many things in life, yet stick to their core values or ones they carry from very early on in life. She did not give into his bribe, nor gave into the possible love that was there. She protected the bird and its location, and remained intact with what she knew and felt comfortable with which was her connection to nature.
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Hi Samantha I agree with you. I think the idea of the story having a theme of rape or anti patriarchy were a little too strong. I agree that Sylvia was a girl very in touch with nature and the man symbolized a test to her devotion to the natural world. Should she help him to find the white heron, accept the money, and surely his devotion to her, or should she remain true to herself and her love of the forest and all of the animals in it. To disclose the location of the white heron would be a betrayal to herself and what she loved, ultimately she chose the right thing and not the material money, even though it could help her and her grandma out alot to receive the ten dollars.
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Hi Samantha I completely I agree with how she was technically lured by the young man with his money and love. Although she technically didn’t know what love was because she lived such an innocent life and never thought about the rest of the world. I like the way you described how people no matter what stick to their values and never give up even if they carry i8t early on from life.
Hi Samantha,
The way you describe Sylvia makes her all the more likable and admirable. In the story though, I believe it does mention that Sylvia did once have contact with the outside world, but she disliked it very much. She thinks to herself at one point, how she wishes she could stay in her country farm life forever. I feel like sticking to your comfort zone can often have a negative correlation. However, this story shows how when we stick to our gut and respect our own values we will feel internally comfortable and calm with our connection to the world.
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I don’t agree with the themes presented for the story of patriarchy or sexuality I feel those are too strong. The White Heron does explore the theme of innocence of a young girl in touch with nature. She is described early on in the story as having a relationship with the cow that acts as her companion walking through the forest. Also the description of her feeding the animals directly out of her hand shows her connection with the creatures of the woods. The introduction of the man is the conflict in the story that tests her devotion to nature because he ultimately wants to kill the elusive white heron and hang it on his wall with his other trophy birds. At first the girl wants to help the man because she becomes very fond of him. She commits a very dangerous act to achieve this goal by climbing to the very top of the pine tree, but ultimately she decides against disclosing the location of the white heron to the man because she has an epiphany and realizes the thing that truly makes her happy is her connection with nature. This is similar to the boy at the end of Araby when he has his epiphany and realizes how obsessed he has become with the girl and feels great shame for his actions. I think in The White Heron the girl feels a sense of pride in the end because she does what she feels is right and stays true to herself.
Giulia Cester ENG 201-0505
Hello Cester, it was interesting reading your interpretation of the story. I do agree that some critics has taken too far as to raped, killed, stuffed and put on display. But I did see some hinting in regards to sexuality. The beginning of the story, Sylvia was classified as “Afraid of folks”, but later, “Sylvia smiled with pleasure,” when she was walking with the hunter in the wood. A second proof with quotation, “Were the birds better friends than their hunter might have been, — who can tell? Whatever treasures were lost to her.” The word “treasures” were being used to describe the heron and more importantly, the hunter.
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“The White Heron”, is a story that follows a young girl called Sylvia who is on her way to live with her grandmother form the country, while she is on her way she takes notes of the nature around her and starts to question it. She meets a young tall hunter who hunts birds and wishes to find one. Throughout the story, Sylvia is described as being child-like and innocent, until the morning of when her grandmother finds Sylvia and the young hunter together in her bed. I think the central theme is innocence being tempted by the outside world when she encounters the young tall hunter, she starts to relate nature to slowly described the temptation she having but yet to process. But at the end of the story, she rather stays committed to her love for nature rather than exploring the possibility of having a relationship with the young man she met earlier.
My interpretation of “A White Heron” has Sylvie going through a sort of coming of age scenario. To say coming of age might not be the right words but maybe its a story about finding identity. Sylvie is confronted with the option to help this strange man hunt for this white heron that he desires so clearly. She helps him search and searches by herself and eventually finds where the heron would stay. With this new information she has to decide if she would protect the animals that she loves, that she shares experiences or give the heron’s home up to the hunter for him to find and kill it. This conflict of identity is strong because the money from the man would help her family but she knows that the animals have trusted and care for her as their own. She loves and is loved by these animals but she knows what his offer means in the real world. I believe this conflict from the final paragraphs is the main point of “A White Heron”
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Hi Justin,
This was quite a brief way of answering this week’s prompt, but it did a good job showing us what you thought about the reading and what theme jumped out at you. I do agree with your statements as the young Sylvie did face a tough decision which involved risking another being’s life in exchange for her own needs (which she definitely didn’t do); however, I do think that providing evidence would help strengthen your point here, as there were a couple of good ones towards the end of the story. Those end paragraphs in the story showed how strongly she felt conflicted about helping the man or the white heron, although she chooses to protect the majestic bird at the end.
After going over most of this week’s materials, I was convinced that the reading definitely could be looked at in several different ways. However, the theme that stood out to me was that of the young lady’s refusal to be tainted by corruption. In this story, Sylvie grew quite fond of the young hunter who appealed as a nice young fellow, with a twisted concept of love. Sylvie was quite puzzled about the man talking about his appreciation and admiration of these birds that he had to kill, stuff, and put them in display, “Sylvia would have liked him vastly better without his gun; she could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much” (Jewett par. 26). The young man offered to give her some money in exchange for the bird’s location to which Sylvie chooses not to speak, ” she cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away” (Jewett par. 39). In this sense, I do agree that Sylvia is quite a lovable character; such a pure soul that chooses to do what she thinks is right even if she doesn’t gain anything from it.
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Hey Gwyneth,
I think that no matter what Sylvie faced she remained true to herself and her love for nature. When you mentioned how she did not want to give the location and how she was a pure soul and did what she thought was right I agree with that thought. I feel like even though Sylvie watched the man with loving admiration she still did not want the birds to continuously get killed.
Section 0503: Hello Gwyneth, I believe that your view of the story is an interesting one and to me makes sense as well. Maybe because of her past and yes as you mentioned the forcefulness or just the fact of the hunter having a gun pushed her more to not give him the whereabouts of the bird. I do agree that if the hunter seemed in nature less aggressive Sylvia would have been more tempted and trusting towards him to show him or just speak to him more about where the nest of the bird was.
When reading the prompt for the first time I knew I had to read the story multiple time because this may be a simple story but with every reading you can depict it another way or look closer at the language itself. Through my first reading one theme stood out to me the most which was the clear fact that Sylvia is only thinking about one thing; her love for nature. “letting her bare feet cool themselves in the shoal water, while the great twilight moths struck softly against her” I see this quote as reinforcement of her love of nature as if she was becoming oine with it. Through my second go through of the story I find it interesting on how she strongly stood by her beliefs no matter what the hunter had offered. I found this interesting because in my opinion newer generations just think of the monetary value of these rather than the joy gained from it and to read about Sylvia’s joyfulness from nature is mind boggling. (ENG 201 0505) [11615].
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The story “The White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett, has a major influence on how we should view nature and as well the internal battle against society today. it begins with mentioning a youthful girl who is nine years old name who is named Sylvia residing on a farm with her grandmother and meets a young drifter who is proud of collecting and hunting birds. I think the primary theme of this short novel is a conflict within the air the place where the heron was to make young boys well and defending the life of heron and protect the environment it lives in. In the novel, it says, “He can make them rich with money; he has promised it, and they are poor now. He is so well worth making happy, and he waits to hear the story she can tell…she remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together, and Sylvia cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away.” This proof reveals that the heroine is struggling to expose the place where the heron makes young man happy and get money from him or saving the life of heron and preserve nature. Sylvia can not randomly decide between a young man and nature because she seems not wanting to damage the delicate life that she loves and Sylvia might sway to be with the young man.
The first time reading “The White Heron” I felt the burgeoning sexuality of our young Sylvia. “She had never seen anybody so charming and delightful; the woman’s heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love.” I recognize that Jewitt writes the love sort of dismissively while focusing on the “treasures ten dollars would buy.” And despite the writing to give it a forefront of mind; at nine years old, a young child in love with nature and turned off by the city life, Sylvia can not possibly appreciate ten dollars or even any amount of wealth as much as an adult would appreciate it. This makes me wonder why she talks about it and acts as if she is willing to find the Heron for the money, but I believe it isn’t the money, but a desire to be admired by the stranger. Similarly to how she admires him. When love or lust first enters into the mind of a young child (or teen) it isn’t ever fully understood and sort of drives to doing silly sometimes stupid things. Sylvia was willing to allow the stranger to shooting down the birds she admired so dearly because she didn’t want to protest in front of a man she was infatuated by.
After understanding that it was love or some sort of infatuation that drove Sylvia to find the Heron, it was her quest that changed her mindset. Similar to adventure and fantasy books, the protagonist at the beginning is naive, silly, bumbling, sometimes, an annoyance to the quest giver. It’s only through the quest and the challenges they face and overcome that they become enlighted and grow. I believe Sylvia experienced an enlightening when she made it to the top of the tree and witnessed the sunrise alongside the Heron. She realized she would NEVER be willing to trade a world that she loved and cared for so deeply for an infatuation that went against her moral compass. After all, it is nature and the animals that Sylvia was destined to care for and protect. She is the guardian of the earth.
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Hi Curtis, I completely agree with you in regards to Sylvia’s experience of enlightenment, once she reached the top if the tree line. Her making the choice to not tell the young hunter she admired about the Heron’s location, was the most adult decision she made. However, I do believe she did feel some type of attraction to the young man, not in a sexual or lust sense but in a intellectual form because of the knowledge he knew of all the birds he hunted.
I also the like the fact that you called her the guardian of the earth, I can see that as well.
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After reading “A White Heron,” I was left both inspired and relieved to know that a story like this is able to contradict the social stigmas surrounding the expectations of female behavior in today’s society. The protagonist, Sylvia, does an exceptional job of demonstrating independency and free-will, especially as a child, and the importance those character traits play in being a part of society. She brings a sense of humility and humbleness to the story, and I believe that this truly defends the point that whether you live in a fast paced environment (the city), or if you live a more simple lifestyle (the country), all that really matters is that a person is their most authentic self. The story also uses the roll of the stranger to test Sylvia’s genuineness by challenging her with being in a position to give up something considerably fragile in nature in exchange for materialism. Fortunately, Sylvia refrains from such and continues to preserve the safety and beauty of the heron’s nest. Her ability to stay true to something more meaningful rather than superficial really sheds a beautiful light on the character that is Sylvia. The last quote of the reading states, “Bring your gifts and grace and tell your secrets to this lonely country child!” I think this quote appropriately represents the trust and honesty that has been developed around the protagonist, based off of her actions and decisions. It is as if her loyalty to nature has given her the best type of credentials a human can have.
In the story, “A White Heron”, Sylvie is a young girl who “never had been alive at all before she came out to live at the farm” (Jewett). It seems as though Sylvie felt more comfortable at home than surrounded by other people. She liked/preferred being surrounded by nature then society. “It made her feel as if she were part of the gray shadows and the moving leaves” (Jewett) I believe that the theme is about how one can feel part of nature; the place where you call home or what you’re surrounded by is what changes a person. I noticed she was more comfortable around animals and nature rather than the man who approached her. When Jewett writes, “She could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much. But as the day waned, Sylvia still watched the young man with loving admiration.” I thought that even though she couldn’t understand why he would kill the thing he liked she still watched him. I believe the central theme of this story is about how a young girl is experiencing things she never experienced or seen before and how that changes her and how it allows her to grow up; no matter what she faces she always remained true to herself and her love for nature.
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In the story A White Heron a young girl named Sylvie who moves from the city to the country to live with her grandmother which means she wasn’t so use to the environment. She meets a young traveler who hunts like if is a sport. In my interpretation the theme of the story is the growth and realization Sylvie comes to once she is put in a scary and a adult situation. At first I didn’t quite understand the way they were describing the patriarchy in the story of how a man can have so much power over a women. In my opinion the white bird represents Slyvie’s women hood so her virginity. Throughout the story you see her growth and how much she comes to an understanding of how the real world is towards women. To me the theme here is the growth and understanding of a little girl becoming a women.
Hi Evelyn,
I found your comment rather interesting because not only did you bring it to an adult perspective but bring up the understanding of the changes that a girl makes to become a women. However, through my eyes the theme when reading your response would be hardship and growth because the main character Sylvie had to go through a difficult and adult time but realizing what is important to her was the change she made to become a strong woman.
Section 0503: Within the story A White Heron I believe the main theme has to do with the main character being in conflict with mind and body. When reading or going over the story I get the feeling that the main character may have or does have a problem with trusting others, especially males. Possibly because of where she used to live she has had experiences that have been unnerving and caused her to have these issues, though through the story she takes a liking to the male hunter I believe she is still a bit at war with herself whether she should trust him or not. Due to the fact that she likes just mail hunter she is constantly debating whether to show him where the bird is or not even though she does not understand why he kills the birds he says he loves as mentioned in the story. I believe because of the fact that she has these trust issues is why in the end of the story she came to the decision of not telling the hunter where the bird was.
The theme of the story ” The White Heron” is greed vs nature. Greed threatens the nature of the countryside because the man was promising her and grandma a fortune knowing they were poor. The little girl, Sylvia was considering his offer but after witnessing the heron from the top of the old pine tree, Sylvia decides to reject the hunter’s offer in order to conserve the life of the heron. Sylvia also gains moral insight from this experience. From this height, she can begin to see the perspective of birds, helping her to realize that they have independent lives and consciousnesses. In the end, Sylvia comes to recognize the beauty, knowledge, and freedom that make nature worth conserving.
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The story “The White Heron” is about a young girl,Sylvie, who has moved to the countryside for the summer. She spends her time exploring the land and following animals. One day she runs into a traveler who sparks instant fear with his gun. He asks her for shelter for the night and if she could lead him to a bird he has been hunting. I believe the central theme is about ” a lamentation over humankind’s estrangement from nature.” I see a young girl who is spending her summer innocently exploring the world around her. Not only exploring but appreciating the wilderness that she is in compared to the city. Then a stranger offers her money to lead him to an animal he has invested so much time in getting to know a great deal about. In the end, Sylvie starts questioning if she should conserve nature or exploit it. I think this line,”Sylvia would have liked him vastly better without his gun; she could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much,” is a perfect example of Sylvie feeling as though the traveler is estranged from nature.
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While I read this, it was rather innocent- where Sylvie, a young girl interested in nature meets a man who hunts birds who sparks her interest in a wider social life. I did not get the notes of patriarchy until I read the question. Once I re-read the text, I can totally see the influence patriarchy has on her. She fears the man at first- she does not speak until her grandmother prompts her to. After warming up to the man, she believes he is great, and interests her despite the fact that she is very young. Once she realizes the reality of the gun and that he kills these beautiful birds, she is once again afraid of him. She knows that she loves nature, but this man would ruin it for her. She does not trust him once again. This gun can be the metaphor for the predatory nature of men, in which he awakened her sexuality and sparks interest in him, knowledge, as she knows he is kind and can share many stories, and money, because of his skill and offer of 10$ for merely seeing the bird. All of this entices Silvie, but she breaks past this- understanding that the beautiful white bird should not be killed. She knows she has seen the bird, she meets it again, but she returns without telling the hunter. She stays true to herself in the end, despite wondering if she made the right choice in protecting the bird.
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In the setting of the story, Sylvia moved to the countryside to live with her grandmother, experiencing her childhood exploring the nature in the wood. The interaction between Sylvia and the young hunter seems to be forced, as old Mrs. Tilley once said, “Afraid of folks.” My interpretation of the simple story “A White Heron,” is about how a young child protects the wild from mankind. Sylvia has make her ultimate decision of keeping the heron’s location a secret after she climbed the great pine-tree, she came to a realization of her love to the nature. She stood by her own beliefs of protecting the wood and the wild life.
I could see why critics has linked the story to sexuality. “Wondering over and over again what the stranger would say to her, and what he would think when she told him how to find his way straight to the heron’s nest”, in this quotation, it leads the reader questioning whether or not if Sylvia is seeking for the hunter’s approval, it’s foreshadowing a punishment or reward regarding to Sylvia’s decision. At the end of the story, “Were the birds better friends than their hunter might have been…”, it explains the opportunity cost of Sylvia unrevealing the heron’s location is losing her potential lover.
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“The White Heron” is about a young girl named Sylvia. Sylvia comes from a “crowded manufacturing town”. She moves from here to live with her grandmother at the farm. Sylvia comes to adore the countryside and nature. In the county, Sylvia meets a young hunter. This is when we are presented with the many themes of the story including greed, temptation, and “coming-of-age”. Sylvia is promised money from the hunter in exchange for her knowledge and finding of the white heron. Sylvia feels almost forced to do such a task due to the greed of her grandmother for the money. With this brings the temptation of giving up her innocent, nature loving self and succumbing to the financial gain proposed by the hunter. Sylvia is faced with a decision to either give into the temptation and greed or to preserve her innocents and love of nature. Sylvia comes to the moral decision to not give in. Instead, she appreciates nature and all it has to offer. With this, we see the “coming-of-age” theme. Sylvia does not aspire to follow the order, but to be herself.
“A White Heron” *