Romanticism and Realism

The story has two opposing literary styles. The story has uses Romanticism and Realism. The story shares Romantic ideals, the importance of nature and the individual, yet its style, and use of details, realistic settings, and realistic people exemplifies Realism. Generally these two styles are not found together but rather are present is very different types of stories. However in this story the author does a very good job at using them both together to create an interesting and engaging stories.

Realism a theory of writing in which the ordinary, familiar, or mundane aspects of life are represented in a straightforward or matter-of-fact manner that is presumed to reflect life as it actually is. “She was quite ready to be milked now, and seldom stopped to browse. Sylvia wondered what her grandmother would say because they were so late. It was a great while since she had left home at half-past five o'clock, but everybody knew the difficulty of making this errand a short one”(Jewett). As highlighted by this passage the reader is presented with the everyday tasks of Sylvia. The realism in the story adds an interesting view to the story that allows us to visualize the world the author is creating. In conclusion the use of this style of writing allows the realer to visualize the story.

Romanticism is a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual. “Sylvia would have liked him vastly better without his gun; she could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much”(Jewett). This passage shows just how the writer uses romantic elements in the story focused on Sylvia as an individual and shows how she values nature and the lives of these birds. This is also highlighted by the conclusion of the story where she chooses to protect the Heron from the hunter. 

By: Cullan Whelan

Romanticism and Coming of Age - Michael D. Nguyen

Sarah Orne Jewett beautifully incorporates Romantic ideals as well as a coming of age experience within her short story, "A White Heron." The story introduces Sylvia, a nine year old girl who has relocated from a bustling city to the quiet woods of Maine with her grandmother, Mrs. Tilley. Sylvia feels at home in her new environment, despite coming from the city, and ultimately feels one with the nature. She spends the majority of her time in the forest and finds a spot at a tree's top where she feels she can be a heron and can "fly." Eventually, though, Sylvia is greeted by a young hunter in search of the elusive white heron for his collection. Sylvia is faced with a dilemma: she either shows the nest to the hunter or gains his affection and ten dollars, or she protects her way of living by preserving the peace of nature. Despite this dilemma and despite what the ten dollars could have done to change Sylvia and her grandmother's life, Sylvia decides to protect the spirituality and wonder of the woodlands and does not disclose the heron's location to the hunter. Sylvia justifies this by remembering that no amount of money can distract her from the elegance of nature. Jewett glorifies the emotions Sylvia feels when she is in the forest, and introduces the young and attractive hunter as a way of challenging her core values and morals. This brilliant blend of Romanticism and internal and external challenges makes for an exceptional coming of age story.

-Michael D. Nguyen

Nature and Wild Life

The involvement of wild life through "A White Heron" is prolific. From the first sentence to the last Sarah Orne Jewett gives a beautiful image of the vast wild life and nature that you would find through Maine. The isolated setting gives you a feeling of loneliness and contemplation. The forest reminds me of the city that Sylvia came from because although it is not filled with people it is filled with complex organisms and animals that create their own city with trees as skyscrapers and swamps as streets. Sylvia is so infatuated with the nature that she is surrounded with that she is thrown off when she stumbles into the young hunter. Sylvia understands the beauty of the forest and the White Heron that when she found out the young hunter was going try to hunt one she was unsettled. This makes it well known how much Sylvia cares about the forest. She says she will always remember the small apple tree that stood in a pasture in the white hills. A small apple tree is nothing impressive however Sylvia is so developed in nature that she chooses to remember something that would have no significance to others. The nature imagery in this story really goes along with the White Heron. It gives a beautiful background to a beautiful bird. It creates layers of elegance that shines throughout the story.

A White Heron and Realism

In the story a white heron, Sylvia is introduced, she's a young girl in her own world. Moved from a big busy city to a simple town life, where she gets to be away from folks. In the story Sylvia is always found playing outside. A young hunter comes in and searches for the White Heron bird, because he is a bird collector, Sylvia unsettled by this statement feels her heart jump, this adds an element of realism because, she sees the bird alive enjoying its life, and would do anything to protect it even if that means risking a ten dollar reward that her family needed. Sylvia felt that preserving the animal was more important. Realistically people tend to protect what they love no matter the cost and what Sylvia did shows that, her family could have used that money to support themselves, but Sylvia didn't get tempted and stayed protecting the heron. Many people would go to extremes protecting something that has spiritual meaning to them as she did. She didn't trust the hunter, and stated that she would have liked him better had he not been carrying a gun, which is understandable many people would be more comfortable around someone without a weapon. Nature is romanticized as a place where she feels she's free and that she belongs in a way its where she feels free. In addition he states that the birds are better friends than the hunter could ever be. The birds don't carry around  guns or threaten anyone they are free creatures, and she would have rather been free with her birds than have that ten dollar reward for giving up the birds location. She faced her fears and protected the birds.