Nature is full of mystery, diversity, richness, it is a human dwelling, but one of the burning problems is the place of a human in nature. Nature gives life, nutrition and a wonderful world with different creatures. Has a human right to kill creatures made by nature, and is he responsible for his deeds while living in the world? These problems are raised by Sarah Orne Juwett in her story âA White Heronâ and revealed with help of two antagonist characters â Sylvia and an ornithologist.
Sylvia is a little girl, full of life and energy, helpful and honest. She prefers to live in nature, and every day she communicates with animals, birds, trees which bring her to light spirits. At home she had a lot of birds, and she loves them as they are. She never causes harm to creatures, and this is the main point of divergence with the ornithologist. The young man loves nature and birds too, but his love is much different. He kills and stuffs birds, enjoys watching them dead, and has lots of them. Nature in his mind looks like a cemetery of animals, Sylviaâs nature is alive. The ornithologistâs attitude to birds is restricted by obsession to have one more specimen in his collection. Sylvia wonders an abyss between his vast knowledge of birds and his mean desire to kill amounts of them. That is why to reveal heronâs nest means to betray nature and all wild creatures. The ornithologistâs points are just having a stuffed bird and âadmiringâ it all days long, as well as placing it somewhere in the museum, so that other people could admire it. But it is much more natural to see this bird in its environment, although it is not that easy. The heron showed itself to Sylvia, because she was an honest person with clear conscience and intentions. And to betray this bird and to show its nest is an unfair and impudent deed. Although Sylvia is very young, she has moral values and respects life and other creatures.
It is quite obvious that the author favors Sylviaâs point of view. And the descriptions of nature are the best evidence for it. Portraying Sylviaâs view of nature, the author uses vivid epithets and metaphors, even disobedient âdilatoryâ cow has a character and emotions, moreover is âa valued companionâ, as the author describes it (Sarah Orne Jewett 282). The old pine, the highest tree in the wood, is like a symbol of natureâs mysteries. They are not for everybody, but he, who goes up to the top, will get access to the unrivalled beauty and height of spirits. We see that this little girl is much higher in her spirits than the young man, who is sure to have university education and be an honorable person within a circle of his friends and colleagues. But here, in the wild, he is just another life, which has come to mother-nature for some goodwill. Despite the ornithologist was charming and âdelightfulâ, his gun frightened the girl off and prevented him from getting deep into nature.
The language is primarily emotional, and that can be easily proved. A lot of exclamatory and interrogative sentences, epithets, metaphors, comparisons make appeal to readerâs feelings. When we read thoughts of Sylvia, we sympathize with her decision to stay away from home, until the news leaves, and wish a white heron to stay alive.
In conclusion, it seems necessary to highlight that only Sylvia nature gives an opportunity to see this rare white heron so near. And only to her the secrets can be revealed. This lonely country child is living life to the fullest and has many friends in nature, which can be better than friends in cities.
Works Cited
Juwett, Sarah Orne. âA White Heronâ. Sarah Orne Jewett Text Projects. 2008. Web.