A White Heron

Study Guide

Literary Devices

Point of View

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Literary Devices Point of View

“A White Heron” is narrated from a third-person omniscient point of view and offers glimpses of each character’s thoughts and motivations. Sylvia’s point of view is the primary focus, and the story begins and ends with her perspective. The narrator tells the story with a definite bias toward Sylvia’s reverence for nature and against the hunter’s destructive worldview. The narrator’s bias implies that Sylvia would be making a grave mistake should she choose to give the heron’s secret away. The third-person omniscient point of view also emphasizes Sylvia’s closeness with nature when the thoughts and feelings of the trees and animals are explored. The cow enjoys playing hide-and-seek with Sylvia, and the tree almost helps Sylvia climb by lengthening its branches to help her reach the top. The omniscience of the narrator allows a view into each of the character’s motivations even when they are different from how the character outwardly acts. For example, Sylvia describes the hunter as kind and charming, but the narrator reveals that he is mostly selfish and manipulative and only pretending to be nice to Sylvia and Mrs. Tilley to get what he wants. The narrator also allows a view into Mrs. Tilley’s sadness about her lost son, which seems greater than she lets on.

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