A White Heron Character Analysis

Starting of with “A White Heron”, the story starts with a mellow, quiet mood. Sylvia is walking in the woods with her companion, her cow. Jewett includes words and phrases such as “childish patience” and “the little girl” that makes the reader grasp the idea of Sylvia being a child. The fact that Sylvia hears the whistle of the stranger and hides also show the idea of her being a young child. The first day meeting the stranger, Sylvia seems reserved and not paying much attention to him talking about the white heron, even when he confesses to pay ten dollar for anyone who helps him find it. Soon enough, Sylvia develops a crush on the hunter. She does go in the woods with him for his needs to find the white heron but she does not disclose where the bird could be, it seemed as if she just wanted to enjoy his company. When Sylvia goes on her

Although Jig and Sheri were both dealing with the same issue of not wanting to have an abortion, they both interacted with their partners differently. While the American spoke with Jig over some alcohol, he downplayed the seriousness of the procedure. Jig was easily influenced by what the American was telling her and she even said, “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me” (Hemingway 637). While Jig did not want to have the procedure done, the way she interacted with her partner shows she cares more about his approval than she cares about herself. Also, it shows that when Jig interacts with her boyfriend, she is not willing to communicate her true feelings. Unlike Jig, Sheri is sure of herself and was not seeking her boyfriend’s approval. While Sheri did not speak in the short story, Lane had a vision of her saying, “This is her own decision and obliges him to nothing” (Wallace 258). Lane’s vision of their interaction shows that Sheri is not afraid to

“Perfectly simple” is restated a couple of times in the conversation which tells us that out of the two only one wants the child and the other doesn’t want the child (Hemingway). The American man thoughts are not more important than Jig’s. Even if the American man is supporting her to get an abortion it’s still Jigs decision. His opinion does matter to her because she wants his thoughts about what’s best for them and their unborn child. Jig is torn between remaining reckless and carefree and making a family with the man she loves. “‘Because I don’t care about me’” states that she is willing to do almost anything for the American man but is blocked by her mother instinct to protect her child (Hemingway). Jig is indecisive in what she wants because she questions herself and the American man what if questions. “‘I realize…can’t we maybe stop talking’” this tells us Jig finally realizes that by asking a lot of rhetorical questions to the American man she has the answer she needs even if it’s not the answer that she wants (Hemingway).

There are several instances in the story that “the American” reiterates “Jig’s” options for her future. Although he expresses that he would support and love her no matter what the ultimate choice is, she feels conflicted and her pain, which builds throughout the story and as the conversation progresses, becomes more obvious. What is most interesting is, as his second thoughts about the unspoken abortion spike, her resistance to discuss the topic any further grows in tandem. Although the two heroes’ love for one another is evident, there is the aching uncertainty between them: Is there room for a child in their relationship built of travelling, drinking, and discovery?

Childhood is arguably the most exciting time of a person’s life. One has few responsibilities or cares, and the smallest events can seem monumentally thrilling. Often, people reflect on the memories of their youth with fondness and appreciation for the lessons they learned. Sarah Orne Jewett captures this essence perfectly in the excerpt from “A White Heron.” Jewett uses many literary devices, including diction, imagery, narrative pace, and point of view to immerse the reader in familiar feelings of nostalgia and wonder, and dramatize the plot.

?Sylvia still watched the young man with loving admiration. She had never seen anybody so charming and delightful, the woman?s heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love.? As the symbol of masculinity, the hunter is an aggressor although he is described to be kind, handsome, friendly and sympathetic. When first met Sylvia in the woods, he ?called out in a very cheerful and persuasive tone? and spoke to her in a courteous way. In fact, he takes advantages of Sylvia because he is in need of home and food. When he needs Sylvia?s help, he proves he cares for her so much, ?He listened eagerly to the old woman?s quaint talk, he watched Sylvia?s pale face and shining gray eyes with ever growing enthusiasm.? ?He told her many things about the birds and what they knew and where they lived and what they did with themselves. And he gave her a jack-knife, which she thought as great a treasure as if she were a desert-islander.? However, he is cruel and merciless to nature, his gun is a convention which is to destroy the nature. ?I have been hunting for some birds?. At the end, he goes away and does not help her family when she refuses to tell him about the heron?s nest.

The ending of the story is rather ambiguous as it is not completely obvious what decision the two end up making. The man could have talked the girl into undergoing the procedure, or not. At one point toward the end, Jig tells him to “please please please please please please please stop talking”, and when he doesn’t she threatens to scream. This probably means that she had made up her mind, but it could be in either direction. In the end, she smiles at him, and he asks her if she feels better; she says that she feels fine. That could mean that she had made peace with the decision to abort their child or that she was proud of herself for finally standing up to him and making her choice not to abort final. Either way, making this choice is harder on her as she would be the one to undergo the operation, and she very well knows that he most likely will not stay with her if she decides to keep the child. No matter what she chooses, however, their relationship will never be the same.

Jig was concerned that the relationship she had the American would end if she did not go through with the abortion. She knew that he had not been happy since

Throughout the history Fiction has been used by many writers to emphasize on environment and the importance it has in our lives. "A White Heron", is a great example of how an article can effectively grip the attention of the reader and delivering a vital message at the same time. On the other hand fact based articles are based on truth, research and years of hard work but unfortunately most of the time they fail to capture the common reader proving interesting to only subject area experts or environmentalists.

He tells her that she does not have to have the operation, but tells her it is the best thing to do. The girl begins to think, “And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be okay like they were and you'll love me” (Hemingway 107)? He reassures her that he loves her now. Jig is more realistic about the situation and the consequences in front of her. She knows that she is going to make the ultimate decision, although she is asking for reassurance from the American(Short Stories for Students). The girl also knows that regardless of her situation, their relationship might not work out anyway. The choice to abort or not abort the baby ultimately leaves her with the same consequence: life without the American.

One’s view on something often changes when you look at it from more than one point of view. Morality plays a significant role in any decision making process. It is hard to justify any decision that is not moral. Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron” has many elements of nature, and of the preservation of what Sylvia holds dearly. The thought provoking short story evokes emotions of caring, loving, and fear. All of these emotions are shown by different settings and characters in the story.

The week when working on the annotative bibliography I found it easy to identity the strongest research materials that I had collected over the past 7 weeks and use those resources first. I believe all of us had a few journals and/or books that really provided a wealth of information on our topics, which were the start of our annotative bibliography work.

Regardless of healthcare and medical advances, birth outcome disparities continue to exist in the United States. In 2014, 1 out of 10 infant births were premature, correlating to over 380,000 infants born prematurely (Health 2016). The current national average for infant births before 37 weeks is 9.6% (Services 2010). Premature birth is identified as a birth that occurs before the 37- week gestation. During the preterm period, infants are placed at a high risk of death and developing disabilities that may cause permanent handicap. Mothers that give birth preterm may partake in risky behaviors such as smoking and drug usage, lack proper nutrition, and are burdened financially. Maternal education intervention programs centered around the Health Belief Model may have a positive impact on maternal care and prevent premature birth.

“The Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story that is about an American man and a girl called Jig. They are sitting at a table outside a train station, waiting for a train to Madrid. While they wait they order drinks and have a heated ongoing conversation over whether or not Jig will have an operation that would be of great significance to their relationship. “The Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway has two important symbols in the story, the hills and the drinks both of which help to give us a better understanding of what is going on between the American and his girl.

The couple must choose a path to take and deal with the consequences of that choice. In this time period abortions were rarely heard of. Because of the lack of knowledge of abortions in this time period, the decision becomes much harder for the couple to make. Jig is afraid of what