A White Heron Analysis

This week I really enjoyed reading “A White Heron”. I am an avid animal lover and animal activist, so give me a story about a girl looking for her family cow and I’m in! I grew up in the country on a farm, I never had a “neighborhood gang” or neighbors in general. My sister was younger than me, so when it came to play mates I just had the wild animals I could find. We had a pond and now and then we had our own white heron that would wade in the waters. This was the first story I read, and I’m glad I chose to read this first. The little girl, from her scarred demeanor in the beginning to her fearless climbing, she was me when I was little. Both my parents worked, so most of my time spent was with my Ma. Yet another reason I associate with Sylvia.

When Sylvia begins to climb the tree is when the story really caught my interest. Each time she reached up for the next branch, then each branch got smaller and smaller. My adrenaline started to flare up because I know exactly what that feels like. There was a giant tree adjacent to this small forest. I would spend my time climbing those trees as high as I could go. When it would rain, a little stream would flow between the different tree trunks. The sound of the stream combined with the “bob-white” whistle of the quail-these are some of my most memorable childhood memories. After the young man offers her the 10 dollars, I was really hoping she wouldn’t sell out. In the end Sylvia did the right thing and kept the heron’s nest a secret, she gave up her treats but she stayed true to herself.