The title of the story, “A White Heron”, implies that it will be an important symbol. A white heron is a contextual symbol as it can mean different things to different people. In this specific story it symbolizes life and the hunter symbolizes death. If Sylvia gives away the secret of where the heron is hiding, she will essentially give up his life to the hunter. He will be killed. She stands her ground and doesn’t let him know where the heron is although she knows that if she did, she would get a remarkable reward. The heron is a physical symbol since it can be touched. It is shown many times throughout the story, “She remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together, and Sylvia cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away” (628). She feels as though she is one of them and they have had a special moment. The heron is also used as a visual symbol in this story. “The birds sang louder and louder. At last the sun came up bewilderingly bright. Sylvia could see the white sails of ships out at sea, and the clouds that were purple and
The title of the story, “A White Heron”, implies that it will be an important symbol. A white heron is a contextual symbol as it can mean different things to different people. In this specific story it symbolizes life and the hunter symbolizes death. If Sylvia gives away the secret of where the heron is hiding, she will essentially give up his life to the hunter. He will be killed. She stands her ground and doesn’t let him know where the heron is although she knows that if she did, she would get a remarkable reward. The heron is a physical symbol since it can be touched. It is shown many times throughout the story, “She remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together, and Sylvia cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away” (628). She feels as though she is one of them and they have had a special moment. The heron is also used as a visual symbol in this story. “The birds sang louder and louder. At last the sun came up bewilderingly bright. Sylvia could see the white sails of ships out at sea, and the clouds that were purple and