Sylvia is startled by a ‘boy’s whistle’, then approached by a ‘stranger’. He is a hunter who shoots birds for his collection. He is looking for a place to stay while he tries to locate a white heron. Sylvia reluctantly takes him to her grandmother, harbouring a sense of foreboding at his presence.…
In Sarah Orne Jewett’s short story, “A White Heron”, the main character Sylvia moves from a manufacturing town to live with her grandmother on her farm near the woods. Sylvia also meets a young sportsman that was hunting for birds, particularly a white heron. The woods provide protection to the birds, but also represents protection for Sylvia’s childhood as well. The woods are a canvas, shelter and full of life. It also can hide the innocence of the creatures that dwell in it, including the white heron.…
A story is like a flower it can be ordinary or become something extraordinary. Even every day encounters like eating dinner can become sensational adventures, depending on if the author describes it in an exciting way. In the short story, “A White Heron”, the author Sarah Orne Jewett makes an ordinary event into an extraordinary adventure, by telling the story in an exciting way. Jewett describes a young girl named Sylvia, who climbs what is described as a massive tree half a mile away from her home, in the middle of the woods, yet this every day encounter becomes a thrilling voyage. As Jewett describes the grandeur of the tree, creates a challenging climb, and shows Sylvia’s joy and success of reaching the top, this ordinary event turns into an extraordinary adventure.…
Arina sat on her usual tree stump, dipping her bare feet into the water and watching the ripples of movement. She often came here when she was bored. Nothing ever felt better than feeling the cold water around her bruised feet. She sighed as she placed her basket filled to the rim with fresh flowers onto the fresh grass and looked up at the sky through the trees surrounding the small pond. For as long as she remembered she had lived in this little cottage, her caregiver stopping by then and again to make sure she was all right and well. Sometimes she would bring fresh food, not knowing she had taught herself to hunt for her own food. She never turned down the gift basket filled with fruit and bread, all things she couldn't find herself.…
“Farm Girl” by Jessica Hemauer has many different aspects that describe a young child’s life in the Farmland. The article itself gives a different perspective to children who may have thought that their lives were already rugged life by going to school. In the Article Jessica Hemauer primarily describes her childhood and what she had to go through in a day as a “Farm Girl”. The main idea in this article is to not be ashamed of where you come from because your past makes you who you are and helps you grow as a person into the adult you become in life.…
Childhood is a crucial time in a person’s life and it needs to be kept innocent and pure for the child’s well-being later in life. The most important recurring theme in the novel Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill is the loss of innocence at a young age and the profound complications later in life. The complete loss of innocence is built-up with multiple different experiences over time. For Baby, these experiences are: when she is first exposed to drug use, when she spends time in foster care and when she becomes engaged in prostitution.…
Prose exposes numerous straw man arguments with To Kill a Mockingbird. Prose critiques the novel in a confident, yet slightly harsh manner. She believes that the novel could’ve been different if there was just a bit more detail. Prose interprets To Kill a Mockingbird in a way that focuses on prejudice and racism.…
Through coming of age, one faces crucibles, decisions, and new undertakings, and they can happen at anytime. Such as, choosing what college to go to, deciding on a medical treatment, or taking that job opportunity. How someone manages these arduous scenarios affects their adult life. It happened to a nine-year-old girl, who braved the most difficult trial of her life. In the story, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King, Trisha’s coming of age is shown through her mental state, survival skills, and language.…
Animal Cruelty in American Agriculture Avoidable cruelty and unnecessary abuse of factory farmed animals is a crisis epidemic in the United States which warrants immediate action. In every country, “large numbers of factory farmed livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost” (Merriam-Webster). Cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, horses, other animals, and fish are treated as dollar signs rather than living beings, around the globe. While there are several organizations that lobby and promote laws for more humane treatment of farm animals, very little is being accomplished or enforced. Consumer awareness, education, and purposeful advocacy are necessary to combat animal cruelty in American agriculture,…
Miss Brill?s fur is her most prized possession as she refers to it once as ?Dear little thing!? (182). She is excited to be taking the fur out of its box, but is heartbroken when a young woman refers to it as ?a fried whiting? (186). It is this moment when the drastic transformation of Miss Brill is evident. Miss Brill then leaves the park, skips the usual bakery stop, and goes home to her ?room like a cupboard? (186). She takes off the fur, puts it back in the box, and the last line says ?But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying? (186). At this point it is now evident through symbolism, Miss Brill herself is crying. It is now Miss Brill finally sees reality.…
On her way she came across a few small animals. A squirrel, a fox and a mouse. She noticed them and skipped on by wondering what her mother was so worried about. She continues to skip worry further into the woods when she hears a noise in the distance. She thinks it’s just another innocent animal so she continues on her journey…
False assumptions are made by children while transitioning to adulthood. From these false accusations, we learn what is actually going around and fix our mistakes. Likewise, in the various short stories: “Sea Urchin,” by Chang-rae Lee, “The Nothingness Forest,” by Margareta Ekström, and “Games at Twilight,” by Anita Desai, express the obstacles and morals from childhood. Throughout these stories, the authors try to explicitly explain childhood experience by going through a young or older child’s thoughts. Many of the children are trying something new because they believe they will get something good out of it. Throughout the short stories the authors illustrate that children make false assumptions in order to understand…
The crunching of leaves ,the heart beats and breathing of Kate ,Mr. jacks and his old bulldog are the only things that could be heard. Mr jacks and his dog need a rest they were not the athletic type Kate was. As they rested suddenly the dog's head popped up and he start to growl Kate and Mr jacks quickly looked around the woods and see nothing but thick bare trees and a slight glow in the distance which they believed or hoped was the city light. ''do you see or hear something'' Kate asked ''shh'' Mr jacks respond the small group of three were silent for several moments. Out of nowhere footstep could be heard very easily because the fall season and its mess of leaves all the tree have let the leaves drop and wither on the cool ground. This…
Children forced to make adult decisions is a major theme in Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron,” and William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning.” Sylvia and Sarty are the children in their respective stories, and they behave accordingly. However, when forced to make a choice, both are faced with a fork in the road. On one side of the fork is the path towards family happiness, and minimal repercussion upon themselves; the other path is that of the righteous, the good, and the caring. Children are not usually faced with such a decision, and these two are specifically conflicted because of what the other side offers. Both of these choices are used as a turning point in their characters’ lives, for their choices will not only effect this outcome, but how…
Today, childhood is seen as a universal rite of passage. Much of our literature consists of coming of age stories that focus on the journey from innocence to experience. Childhood marks the beginning of our personal narrative. We all have our stories of youth. Some percolate in the haze of memory; others are told and retold over the years. These stories—sad, humorous, painful—shape us. They make us who we are.…