A White Heron (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Sarah Orne Jewett
- First Published: 1886
- Type of Plot: Realism, regional
- Time of Work: The late nineteenth century
- Setting: Rural Maine
- Principal Characters: Sylvia, Mrs. Tilley, A young hunter
- Genres: Realism, Short fiction
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Values, Sex or sexuality, Nature, Rural or country life, City life
- Locales: Maine
The Story
Sarah Orne Jewett's “A White Heron,” the most popular of her short stories, is a prime example of a “local color” story in its depiction of the life of a particular region—in this case, her native Maine. Jewett explores the internal conflict that a transplanted city girl experiences between her newly acquired love for nature and her natural and awakening interest in the opposite sex. Sylvia, who knows where the rare white heron has its nest, must decide between an allegiance to the things of nature and the gratitude and friendship of the young hunter who...
[The entire page is 1526 words long]
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