A White Heron

"A White Heron"
Short story by Sarah Orne Jewett
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Romance/Realism
Publication
Publisher	Houghton, Mifflin and Company
Media type	Print
Publication date	1886

"A White Heron" is a short story by Sarah Orne Jewett, first published by Houghton, Mifflin and Company in 1886. It is a story of a young city girl named Sylvia, who came to live with her grandmother in the country. She meets a young ornithologist hunter seeking to find a rare bird he has heard has been spotted in the area. As the story progresses Sylvia is challenged with whether or not she should tell the hunter she saw the bird. She also discovers her passion for country life and her love and values for the animals that inhabit it.

Plot summary

Nine-year-old Sylvia has come from the city to live in the New England woods with her grandmother, Mrs. Tilley. As the story begins, Sylvia has been living with her grandmother for nearly a year, learning to adapt to country ways. She helps the old woman by taking over some of the more physical chores, such as finding Mistress Moolly, the cow, each evening in the fields where she grazes and bringing her home. By means of this and other tasks, along with her explorations in the forest, Sylvia has become a country girl who dearly loves her new home. She has taken to it easily and immerses herself in her new life completely, as evidenced by the description of her journey home each evening with the cow: “..but their feet were familiar with the path, and it was no matter whether their eyes could see it or not.” One evening she is approached by a hunter, who is in the area looking for birds to shoot and preserve for his collection. This young man is searching in particular for the rare white heron and he is sure that it makes its nest in the vicinity. He accompanies Sylvia on her way with hopes of spending the night at her grandmother’s house. Once he has received this invitation, he makes himself at home, and after they eat, he says that he will give a sum of money to anyone who can lead him to the white heron. The next day Sylvia accompanies the hunter into the forest as he searches for the bird’s nest, but he does not find it. Early the following morning, the girl decides to go out and look for the bird by herself so that she can be sure of showing the hunter its exact location when he awakes. She decides to climb the tallest tree in the forest so that she can see the entire countryside, and she finds the heron, just as she had thought she would. But Sylvia is so affected by her tree-top observation of the heron and other wildlife that she cannot bring herself to disclose the heron's location to the hunter after all, despite his entreaties. Sylvia knows that she would be awarded much-needed money for directing him to the heron, but she decides that she can not play any part in bringing about the bird's death. The hunter eventually departs without his prize. As Sylvia grows older she is haunted by the idea of what she gave up that day, and in the last paragraph of the story, Jewett, as an omniscient observer, urges nature to reward her for her selflessness by offering her its secret.

Literary significance & criticism

There is a codsafnnection between Sylvia, her grandmother, and the cow. All three are female anhunter from the city to threaten their daily easy-going life style. This could possibly change their lives and upset the tranquility of nature.

Sylvia begins to understand what it means to haasdve maturity and to overcome her selfishness as a child. Her innocence in putting the heron first before taking money shows how, in a short time, Sylvia has grown. However, she continues with an innocent goal of placing more value on the adsdfasdfdsfadsfadfwe4fdfsda no wonderful bird than on money. The Power of nature proved to be much greater for her. Many people would have given away the location of the bird and taken the money. Also her relationship with nature was much stronger than any human connecshe could have received from the hunter.

White plays a big part in this story also, as a symbol of purity or virginity. The heron, and the cow's milk, all symbols of this pure, rural life, are all described as white. The hunter, meanwhile, is not described in such a way, and represents the intrusion of a non-innocent force into an innocent domain.

References

• "A White Heron." American Literature Volume 2, William E. Cain, 2004, page126, 127.
• "A White Heron, Sarah Orne Jewett: INTRODUCTION." Short Story Criticism. Ed. Justin Karr Editor. Vol. 44. Thomson Gale, 2001. eNotes.com. 2006. 29 Jul, 2007 <http://lit.enotes.com/short-story-criticism/white-heron-sarah-orne-jewett>
• "A White Heron," Sarah Orne Jewett Criticism and Essays, enotes.com