3-3 Jewett

Sarah Orne Jewett by far was my favorite writer of short stories.  She was raised by her father, a doctor, and frequently made rounds with him to visit patients.  Similar to Freeman, Jewett was a sickly child.  She found much pleasure in reading.  Soon her passion for reading developed into a passion for writing.  She closely studied the dialect of the native people, and the way they lived their daily lives.  She was fascinated with the hardships the villagers and farmers endured, yet they seemed happiest of all. Jewett focuses intensely on the character  making sure the reader understands the intense hardships many of them endure.  Although she captures this in her short novels, she shows great compassion for her characters. They live a life of poverty, loss, hard work, but still have so much joy.   Jewett's writing skills only further improved and she grew up to become an accredited author.

In Jewett’s short novel, “A White Heron”, Jewett focuses on a little girl named Sylvia. Originally from the city she has moved to live with her grandmother. Although you would think that moving from the city to the country would not be favorable for a little girl, Sylvia loved it. Her grandmother had picked her out of her other siblings to come and help on the farm. As she first set eyes upon her grandmother’s home in the country she said it was beautiful and she never wanted to go home. Sylvia’s memories of the industrialized city only made her shutter, she finally felt alive on the farm with her grandmother.


The story opens up with Sylvia searching for her cow, what used to be the job of her grandmother. She is having fun enjoying the evening light and looking for the cow in a playful manner. This scene in my opinion really captures the essence of childhood innocence. The way children enjoy nature and seem to take everything in, a freedom that only a child can seem to enjoy anymore. When she meets the stranger she is frightened, which is understandable. I am sure it is human nature to be frightened of a random stranger. When Sylvia made it back to her grandmother’s house she was surprised to see how openly she took in the stranger. I think this really showed a huge difference between southern hospitality and people in the city. I am sure in the city most people would not dare take in a stranger.

Soon the stranger revealed he was a hunter. He was tracking down a white heron and was wanting the little girl to help him find it. He was wanting to add it to his collection of birds he had stuffed. Sylvia did not want him to kill the beloved bird, and had fond memories of watching it fly by. She tracked down the bird, but in the end kept the secret to herself. She loved the country and everything about it. This story really captures the importance of nature and preserving its beauty. It really captures the heart of farmers and the people who live in the country. Which is Jewett’s main focus often times.