How Does Jewett Use Adjectives In A White Heron

Upon seeing an animal such as a chicken, one may be met with one of many thoughts regarding its value. Whether you enjoy raising adorable baby chicks, viewing the vast array of shapes, sizes, and colors that chickens can be, or simply eating their delicious eggs or meat; every person has a deep connection and their own relationship with nature and the animals around them. In Sarah Orne Jewett’s late nineteenth-century story “A White Heron”, several characters who come from various backgrounds and occupations meet, eventually hoping to find a white heron that had been sighted in Mrs. Tilley’s woods. The setting of the story allows them to interact with the same natural environment and with each other but also allows their differing personalities

The imagery that Jewett uses to illustrate the actions of her characters and the environment in which the actions occur serves not only to further immerse the reader in the events of the story but also to describe the characters’ intentions. Jewett’s use of adjectives with intentional connotations is showcased in the characters’ conversation over dinner, where she uses the adjectives “eagerly” and “desperately” to describe the way in which the young sportsman talks about attempting to find the location of the white heron. These simple adjectives not only portray the emotions which he shows outwardly to the group, but they also provide insight into his internal wishes: that he intends for it to become a desire for the rest of the characters in the conversation. This adjective is even used later on to describe Sylvia climbing the tree, “do not send an arrow of light and consciousness from your two eager eyes”, which further emphasizes the boy’s

One instance in which it is used to emphasize the motivations behind the characters’ actions is when the main character, Sylvia, is introduced. Instead of the introduction being straightforward and providing the reader with an accurate description of the character, Jewett introduces Sylvia through her actions. She omits Sylvia’s name, opting to refer to her as “A little girl” and then proceeding to illustrate her actions on the June evening on which the story begins: “driving home her cow”. This disconnection between the main character’s thoughts and the reader is somewhat unsettling, this introduction taking an approach similar to that of a stranger observing the actions of a child they’ve never met. However, later on in these opening phrases of the story, her background, and general thought processes are slowly revealed with phrases such as “It was consolation to look upon the cow’s pranks as an intelligent attempt to play hide and seek, and as the child had no playmates she lent herself to this amusement with a good deal of zest.” As the reader becomes more acquainted with the girl’s place in the setting and her attitudes towards the cow, (the only other personality introduced at this point), the ideas which Sylvia holds make the motivations behind the actions more clear. Since Sylvia is still new to the reader, the reader is led to experience a feeling of unfamiliarity similar to meeting