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Examples Of Figurative Language In The White Heron

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Pietro De Angelis Honors English 9 Mrs. Davis 12/19/22 The Climb: Risks and Rewards “The White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett is a story of risk-taking and adventure. Sylvia is a little girl who dreams of conquering this giant pine tree, she discovers many challenges but persists through these roadblocks and reaches the top, triumphant but exhausted. The White Heron uses many figurative language techniques to highlight Sylvia's dangers and accomplishments. Jewett uses different literary techniques and ideas to convey a message of endurance and perseverance through the taxing and overwhelming environment that leads to victory and triumph for Sylvia. The tree is described using vivid imagery, first being an obstacle then becoming a marvel and beautiful after enduring pain and suffering. …show more content…

The tree is against her, it seemingly doesn’t want her to succeed and wants to stop her at all costs. Much like in real life, when something is against us or persecuting us we can do one of two things, let it drag us down or rise through and make it to the other side. Sylvia chose to push through and as a result, she won. Multiple similes are used to show how though the tree is an adversary one time, the other time it helped her, showing how the environment impacted her not only negatively but also positively. The tree helped her, it was “like a great main mast to the voyaging earth”(paragraph 4). The tree is like a boat and the main mast is the biggest part, and also the most helpful. The main mast holds the biggest sail and pushes the boat the furthest. This theme can be described also in life, sometimes there is a stranger, someone unknown who is like a main mast helping you travel the sea of life. Jewett has used similes and imagery to show how the tree and the environment can be an adversary at once and then immediately become a helping

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