Index IntroductionDiscussionAnalysis of the storyEvaluation of its meaningConclusionWorks CitedIntroduction"A White Heron" is a short story written by Sarah Orne Jewett and revolves around a young girl named Sylvia. He initially resided in the city with his parents, but is later seen to be living with his grandmother in the countryside to share her work at least to some extent. This piece of literature illustrates the challenges the young girl faced after meeting an ornithologist hunter, who in turn brought her into a situation where she discovered her passion for the newly inhabited country life. The critique of “A White Heron” would reveal Sylvia’s experiences regarding her current situation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Discussion It is important to state that this particular piece of literature can be criticized in the light of reader response criticism, which is one of the literary criticism theories to distinguish the details that remain involved in it. Through this theory, the question of whether the reader has adequately recognized the meaning of the text can be adequately addressed. On this basis it can be stated that the particular text (“A White Heron”) needs to be thoroughly evaluated to understand its real value. Analysis of the Story The story begins with the description of Sylvia who resides in the countryside with her grandmother for a year. She is seen trying to adapt to the various ways of the country, as she initially found herself living with her parents in a noisy city, very different from the serene countryside. Sylvia helps her grandmother with some manual labor, which involved finding the cow, Mistress Molly, and returning her home. This can be understood from some lines of the story, i.e. “A little girl was bringing home her cow, a tiring creature, dilatory, defiant in her behavior, but for all this a precious companion. They were moving away from the western light and deep into the dark woods, but their feet were familiar with the path” (Jewett 1). These lines illustrated not only Sylvia's duty but also the familiarity between both of them regarding their return home. Considering this aspect, it could be deduced that Silvia regularly carried out her task in this way and therefore knew the path that crossed the woods well. These forest explorations had thus transformed Sylvia into a country girl, who suddenly began to love her new home dearly. However, the story soon turns on the situation which somehow leads to situational complexes for Sylvia as on one of those evenings, when she took the same path, she had ended up meeting an ornithologist hunter, who shoots birds to preserve them in his collection. He had asked Sylvia for help stating: “Speak and tell me your name and if you think I can spend the night at your house and go out shooting early in the morning” (Jewett p.3). At this question Sylvia became alarmed and tried to imagine her grandmother's reaction when she sees Sylvia approaching their house with the stranger. This briefly illustrated the concern Sylvia had for her grandmother. It also meant the sudden fear that entered the mind when we first met the hunter in the woods, as he carried a gun with him. At the same time, at first she did not find him reliable but she still helped him by allowing him to accompany her and even staying at their home for the night. Soon after, when both Sylvia and the hunter reached her house, the grandmother allowed the hunter to spend a night. There the grandmother learned about thereason for the hunter's visit to the woods, which was precisely to identify an exceptional white heron, which resided in these woods so that it could be killed and added to his collection. He was also ready to offer ten dollars to anyone who would help him catch the heron. This made Sylvia dream all night about what nice things she could buy for herself and her grandmother if she could get hold of the money. Therefore, it means getting a glimpse of the financial obstacles that existed in their life. Therefore, the following morning, Sylvia accompanied the hunter into the woods but was unable to find him. During this situation, it was discovered that Sylvia admired the hunter as she had not seen anyone similar to him until today. However, he is also seen wondering what the real reason was as to why he killed the birds he knew so much about. Sylvia also trembled at every shot and thought it would be better if they both visited the woods without a gun. The next day Sylvia visited the woods alone to look for the heron's nest and surprise the hunter. After searching for a while, he reached the nest by overcoming all obstacles and after seeing the place, he began to think about the hunter's reaction when he learned of the surprise. However, after an hour, when he arrived home, he preferred to remain silent rather than answer the questions of his grandmother and the hunter. He didn't even say anything about the discovery he made an hour earlier. Sylvia remembered the time she and the white heron had seen the sunrise together. With his silence he demonstrated that he had already chosen life for the heron who remained the hunter's friend. Evaluating Its Meaning Here in this text, Jewett attempts to illustrate the heron as a symbolic element. The color white in fact represents purity and therefore reflects the virtuosity of nature, which remains distinct from any type of human interference. The end of the text, in which Sylvia spares the life of the white heron, simply suggests the fact that through this text Jewett establishes the intrinsic value associated with the preservation of nature. It also suggests that nature must be kept away from the reach of human intervention and violence. Nature must be held high and therefore humans must understand that in no foreseen situation it can be compromised. From the above analysis it can rightly be said that "A White Heron" is a type of story, where the protagonist is simply seen altering her actions and realizing her passion for the forest and its inhabitants with reasons that explain her meeting with a hunter. The theme that was illustrated in the text is that of self-discovery, in which Sylvia or the protagonist realizes the passion she possessed towards the country she had settled in just a year ago. In the text it is seen that he has a greater knowledge of birds and it was also evident in the last part of the text when he had also spotted the place where the heron lived. However, after realizing what he prefers, the life of a bird or friendship with a stranger, he immediately steps back and remains silent about his discovery. This directly suggests that Sylvia clearly understood her priorities and made the decision accordingly. Furthermore, it is important to state that the main conflict identified in this story is that between man and nature, in which it turns out that nature wins in the end. Therefore, the lesson that Jewett had attempted to portray through the text was successfully undertaken. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion Sarah Orne Jewett in "A White Heron" wonderfully describes how a conflict arises in front of the protagonist in choosing the. 1-3.