Sarah Jewett's Short Story 'A White Heron'

The short story theory is applied when a piece of literature, a short story, presents to the audience a short list of characters and centers its intention in a single occurring event with intent to expose the true nature of a character through his or her actions (483-484).
Sarah Jewett’s short story, “A White Heron,” is essentially about a choice; most importantly, the choice of one young girl to maintain her innocence while facing the challenge of having to possibly give it up due to a young man’s love and trust. This short story begins with a quote that might make the audience feel as though something negative is occurring, “The woods were already filled with shadows one June evening” (848). The way the author chooses to begin this story,

with a negative atmosphere, doesn't appear to influence Sylvia, in any respect, who is naively leading her cow home. Her youth and innocence are emphasized by her relaxed nature, “besides, Sylvia had all the time there was, and very little use to make of it” (848).
In the beginning of the short story, Sylvia gives us the impression that she encompasses a cherished and beloved relationship with the natural world. This is often confirmed throughout the story with the short story theory, where we are exposed to her true nature by her actions. Sylvia spends the first couple years of her life “in a crowded manufacturing town,” (849). However, she moves to a homestead where she now feels “as if she never had been alive at all before she came to live at the farm” (849), where her only contact with the outside world is her single and lonely grandmother, Mrs. Tilley. Sylvia is represented within the short story as “afraid of folks” (523), however, does not mind living in isolation. The cow that Sylvia must always search to find is also “a valued companion for all that” (848).
Sylvia feels more at home with her natural society than she does with folks. As a result, once she hears “a boy’s whistle, determined, and somewhat aggressive” (849), she is “horror-stricken” (849); but the young man is able to gain her trust and accompanies her to her grandmother’s farm. Having spent the day hunting, he seeks food and shelter for the night at their farm, where he is allowed to stay. Sylvia and young man have one factor in common: they are very intrigued by birds. The young man however, does not intend to only observe them and their beauty, but he also wants to kill, stuff, and preserve them. Significantly, he's fascinated by the white heron. He tries convincing Sylvia to provide him with the location of such bird and even tries to bribe her by saying he "would give ten dollars to anybody who could show it to him" (852).
The following day she keeps the young man company as they hover about the woods, and as the day draws to an end, she eventually begins to look at the young man "with loving admiration” and her "woman’s heart, asleep in the child," is "vaguely thrilled by a dream of love"(852).

From here we start to get the impression that Sylvia is becoming attached to the young man, where now she may be able to overcome her fear of mankind. However, to do so would be a sin, as she would betray the natural world she so much loves. Sylvia must make in important and life changing decision by choosing between her home and the young

man.
While Sylvia is attempting to search out an answer of deciding what’s best for her, she spots a great old pine tree that stands high above the rest of the forest and "made a landmark for sea and shore miles and miles away"(852).This description goes beyond Sylvia’s usual experience with nature because Sylvia "always believed that whoever climbed to the top of it could see the ocean” (852). In other words, while she's busy trying to locate the white herons nest to reveal the location to the young man, there is also a subconscious act at work trying to create a different type of view for her so that she can resist the young man’s command to help him find the bird. As she reaches the top, she finally spots the white heron which "rises, and comes close at last, and goes by the landmark pine with steady sweep of wing and outstretched slender neck and crested head" (854).
She then returns to her homestead where she is seen as “paler than ever, and her worn old frock is torn and tattered, and smeared with pine pitch” (855).

Then, “She remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together” (855), she cannot bring herself to “tell the heron’s secret and give its life away” (855). It is possible that Sylvia sees that she cannot become a part of his life, as once she left her previous home, she left without regrets. Although part of her wishes to make the young man happy, she chooses to protect the bird instead. She had two choices she could have made, she could have fallen in love, or, as she did, remains innocent, however she remained true to herself and made the right choice, the choice to conceal the heron’s secret instead of receiving the young man’s friendship and

money.