What do you think is real about realism?
I find American literature is made harmonious in the reader's mind as they experience the familiar emotions and almost tangible moments of an author’s expression of realism. Realism is the experiential expression of reality through the written word, as articulated prolifically throughout Sarah Orne Jewett’s, “White Heron”.
“A White Heron”
“A White Heron” is a story that daintily woos the reader into the pure and precious mind of a reclusive young girl. The nostalgic setting of a child’s summer vacation provides Mrs. Jewett’s readers with the quintessence of the local color realism technique indicative for this era of American literature. She conceives a tranquil backdrop to be relished by those who have experienced the country living Mrs. Tilley and Sylvia possess. The quant woodland home, the forest that is routinely combed, and the treasure of tweeting birds from scattered foliage convey local color realism into this fine literary work. Mrs. Jewett writes,
“There was a stirring in the great boughs overhead. They were full of little birds
and beasts that seemed to be wide awake, and going about their world, or else
saying good-night to each other in sleepy twitters”(523).
It is through the portal of Sylvia’s heart that the reader is given a bird’s eye view of the sacrosanct setting colored beautifully by Mrs. Jewett’s writing. Particularly interesting, is the interaction between Sylvia and the young man. This man has a mysteriousness that cloaks his presence through the narrative. This truth is made evident through Jewett’s abstention of the handsome stranger’s name. Just as Sylvia initially finds herself unable to feel safe around t...
... middle of paper ...
...gh the narrative. This truth is made evident through Jewett’s abstention of the handsome stranger’s name. Just as Sylvia initially finds herself unable to feel safe around the young man, the reader understandably will also use caution in allowing the man to be trusted. Sylvia’s interactions with him are what enliven the words Jewett is sharing with her reader. One can find a comfortable place to recline in the warm heart of Sylvia, as she is slowly assuaged from the charm and kindness he has shown her. It is evident from reading “A White Heron” that Mrs. Jewett is ardently comfortable with using realism in her work.
Works Cited
Jewett, Sarah Orne. “A White Heron”. “Krupta, Reessman &. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W.W Norton & Company, 2007.520-528
Jewett, Sarah Orne. "A White Heron." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. 131-139.
In the trees the birds stopped singing, and gradually quietened down until silence had completely fallen over the hills. They sat in their nests, motionless, like small figures, lifeless. All could be heard was the wind, and the occasional tumble of leaves onto the rocky surface beneath.
...thern Literary Journal. Published by: University of North Carolina Press. Vol. 4, No. 2 (spring, 1972), pp. 128-132.
Kelly, Joseph. The Seagull Reader Poems Second Edition. New York: W.W Norton and Company, 2001.
Zanger, Jules. "Young Goodman Brown" and "A White Heron":Correspondences And illuminations. Papers on Language & Literature. Summer90, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p346, 12p.
During the 1840s and the 1910s began two writing movements in American Literature that made Americans view reality in a whole new way. Realism and naturalism played a huge role in that era. Each writer had a style that captivated the audience’s interest, and sparked up an image of the story’s idea. Main authors like Stephen Crane, Kate Chopin, Jack London, Mark Twain, and Ambrose Bierce could be classified as a realist or a naturalist, by how they explain their views in their stories.
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
Since its first appearance in the 1886 collection A White Heron and Other Stories, the short story A White Heron has become the most favorite and often anthologized of Sarah Orne Jewett. Like most of this regionalist writer's works, A White Heron was inspired by the people and landscapes in rural New England, where, as a little girl, she often accompanied her doctor father on his visiting patients. The story is about a nine-year-old girl who falls in love with a bird hunter but does not tell him the white heron's place because her love of nature is much greater. In this story, the author presents a conflict between femininity and masculinity by juxtaposing Sylvia, who has a peaceful life in country, to a hunter from town, which implies her discontent with the modernization?s threat to the nature. Unlike female and male, which can describe animals, femininity and masculinity are personal and human.
"Several changes of day and night passed, and the orb of night had greatly lessened, when I began to distinguish my sensations from each other. I gradually saw plainly the clear stream that supplied me with drink, and the trees that shaded me with their foliage. I was delighted when I first discovered that a pleasant sound, which often saluted my ears, proceeded from the throats of the little winged animals who had often intercepted the light from my eyes. I began also to observe, with greater accuracy, the forms that surrounded me, and the boundaries of the radient roof of light which canopied me. Sometimes I tried to imitate the pleasant sounds of the birds, but was unable. Sometimes I wished to express my sensations in my own mode, but the uncouth and inarticulate sounds which broke from me frightened me back into silence."
As the world around Americans changed, so did the characteristics of literature. For the first time in literary history, writers began to shun artificiality of society and seek nature as a refuge. Feelings and intuition began to override reason. Inspiration was found in myth, legend, and culture. Faith was put in inner experience and power of the imagination. Innocence was preferred over sophistication. Individual freedom and the individual were the utmost important. Nature’s beauty was a path to spiritual and moral development. Most stories were set in exotic locales, supernatural realms, and the inner world of imagination (Arpin 144). For the first time, ordinary and outcasts were glorified. Not only d...
...cular objects help the viewer feel at ease and safe when Marion is in the frame opposed to the angular monstrosity of Norman’s frame. On the other hand, the pheasant that is placed behind him on the drawer represent Norman’s timid and shy personality. These birds are very cautious of their surrounding and easily frighten when startled likewise, to how Norman is shy when he nervously converses with Marion. The birds of prey that represent his mother overshadow the pheasant. In short, each character reveals a different personality using the bird’s meaning paired with the way the characters are place and lit in the composition.
Greenblatt, Stephen, eds. The Norton Anthology English Literature. 9th ed. Crawfordsville: R.R. Donnelley & Sons, 2012. Print.
---. “Wild Swans.” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2002. 459-466. Print.
Two significant time periods in literature and art were the periods of Romanticism and Realism. Before Realism was really brought into literature, Romanticism was the style of choice. Authors of the Romanticism phase generally depicted their characters as heartfelt and full of intuition. These characters were most often known to follow their own hearts instead of their logic. Authors were responsible for building characters who “placed greater emphasis on the value of intuition and imagination than on objective reason” (Keenan.)
Following this the leaves are being described as sweeping across the room. The scene is made clearer by being compared to the way the leaves flew from the branches of the hemlocks of above, quickly down to the ground below. "Just as they flew from the boughs of the hemlocks." (Stevens 68) Once again a cry by the peacocks is heard. This time the reason for it is given. Their cry being caused by either the leaves, or a cry against the twilight. At this point is seems as though the reason would lie more within the twilight than simply the leaves falling and moving about. At this point it may begin to be considered as a period of uncertainty, or decline in some form, before the following day is on its way.