A White Heron: Main Ideas

To come of age is to make decisions that align with one’s values.

Sylvia’s coming-of-age transformation is presented in two parts. In Part I, Sylvia is presented with a conflict that challenges her core values. In Part II, Sylvia makes her final decision about who she is. The primary conflict Sylvia faces is whether to tell the hunter what she knows about the heron. There is tremendous internal and external pressure on Sylvia to give away the bird’s location. Sylvia wants the hunter to like and appreciate her, and he intentionally uses charm to play on her desire for companionship and manipulate information out of her. However, even though Sylvia enjoys the hunter’s company, she feels that something is not right each time he shoots his gun or hurts an animal. The discomfort she feels represents her inner battle to make a choice that aligns with her values. There is also the pressure of the money he has offered. Sylvia is keenly aware of how much the money would benefit Mrs. Tilley, who has done so much for her.

When Sylvia embarks on her independent mission to find the heron’s nest in Part II, she is able to step away from external influences and reconnect with the natural world that she so values. Sylvia’s journey to the top of the pine tree is significant in that it figuratively represents her journey toward becoming herself. The new perspective Sylvia gains at the top of the tree is literal and figurative in that it expands both her vantage point of the world and expands her mind. At the top of the tree, Sylvia is able to connect with the heron at an almost spiritual level that reaffirms how much she values her deep connection to nature. When Sylvia makes the decision to save the heron’s life, she is deciding that she values nature more than whatever the Hunter is offering.

Interacting with nature is more fulfilling than conquering it.

The story portrays two very different ways of interacting with the natural world and proclaims that engaging and appreciating nature is more rewarding than conquering it. At one point around the middle of the story, Sylvia points out that she can’t understand why the hunter wants to kill the birds that he claims to love. Sylvia’s childlike love of nature allows her to be a part of the environment in a way that the hunter cannot appreciate. The hunter, however, wants to conquer nature and possess it for himself. He arrives in the natural world, not seeking to become a part of it, but to exploit it for his own selfish purposes without regard to the impact he has on the environment around him. The fact that Sylvia’s adolescent romantic feelings are awakened by the hunter’s charm suggests that part of being able to stay close to nature is retaining one’s youthful innocence. The hunter lacks Sylvia’s reverence and respect for nature. He represents the forces of industrialization that seek new ways to use natural resources for profit. By contrast, Sylvia’s pleasure at exploring and interacting with the natural world reinforces the idea that being in nature is its own reward. The hunter thinks he should be able to manipulate Sylvia because she is a country child, but instead she finds her power in becoming a part of nature.

Humans have a moral responsibility to care for nature.

“A White Heron” is considered an early example of eco-literature, a genre of writing that celebrates the magnificence of the environment and encourages people to be responsible for caring for it. The narrator strongly implies that giving the information to the hunter would be the wrong decision for Sylvia even though by doing it, she could possibly gain friendship with the hunter and money for her grandmother. While the logical desire of people may be to earn something for themselves even at the expense of harm to the environment, the right thing is to be environmentally responsible. Because of the narrator’s omniscience, it is clear that the hunter’s friendship is mostly transactional. He is only kind when he wants something. He also looks down on her home, clothes, and whole way of life, so his likelihood of being a true friend is slim. What Sylvia experiences in the treetop is a shifting of perspective. She can both literally and figuratively see from the heron’s perspective, including what will happen to the heron if she tells. By the end of the story, Sylvia understands that the price of the heron’s life is not worth the money or the false friendship the hunter offers.

Next section Themes