A White Heron Analytical Essay

In Sarah Orne Jewett’s A White Heron, Jewett uses the main character Sylvia’s innocent, and considerably naive, point of view to defend the intangible power of beauty against the young bird hunter, who symbolizes the abuse of power through the destruction of the beauty in nature.
The first indication the reader receives that Sylvia is represented as a savior of the beauty in nature is through her connectedness with nature in the beginning of the story. There are several points in which Jewett is obviously pointing out the connection between Sylvia and nature but none are more obvious than when she states, “it seemed as if [Sylvia] had never been alive at all before she came to live at the farm” (414). Sylvia, from the beginning, is clearly

The story opens with Sylvia in the woods, as sun is setting. Although Sylvia could not see where she was going the text state, “their feet were familiar with the path, and it was no matter whether their eyes could see it or not” (413). Therefore, Jewett indicates from the first moment in the text that Sylvia has a deep, profound connection with nature to the point where she can navigate through nature without even being able to see. As the reader is further introduced to this scene, Sylvia’s relationship with her cow, Mistress Moolly, becomes clear. Jewett writes that Mistress Moolly enjoyed hiding from Sylvia in the forest as part of a game they played. The fact that Sylvia plays games with her cows is further indication of her connection to nature. However, the purity of the woods is soon disturbed as Sylvia hears a whistle. It is instantly clear that this whistle is separate

When the young sportsman explains why he is there he states that he is hunting for the white heron, and he says, “I can’t think of anything I should like so much as to find that heron’s nest… I would give ten dollars to anybody who could show it to me” (416). Having now given an incentive for Sylvia to give up the location, she reacts negatively, with her heart giving a “wild beat.” Sylvia instinctively understands that the white heron is representative of the beauty of nature, as it is a rare and beautiful bird, and that giving the young sportsman the birds location is wrong. However, she is faced within an internal conflict as she knows the ten dollars would be helpful to her family. Therefore, she doesn’t dismiss the idea instantly, but instead goes hunting with the young sportsman to see what he is like. As they’re hunting, Sylvia displays distaste for the young sportsman’s gun, stating, “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” (417). This highlights an important difference between the young sportsman and Sylvia. Since Sylvia loves nature, and birds, she assumes that the young sportsman is hunting because of a similar love for nature. However, the young sportsman represents an abuse of power, rather than a love for nature,