A White Heron Literary Analysis

“A White Heron” was written by Sarah Orne Jewett in 1886. “A White Heron” allowed Sarah Orne Jewett to reach artistic maturity. “A White Heron” was Jewett’s best known short story. Sarah Orne Jewett’s first ambition in life was to become a doctor, however her poor health had prevented this is happening. Jewett’s father would take her along with him on his medical calls to help build her strength back up. While on the trips, Jewett found her writing material. Once graduation, Jewett began writing short stories, as well as poetry, children’s books, and two novels. Jewett was fascinated, throughout her career, with relationships among women (Heath Anthology of American LiteratureSarah Orne Jewett). According to Professor Justin Watson, realism is defined as an author’s opinion on how things “really are” (Slide 3). Naturalism is defined as, “phenomena can be explained in terms of natural causes and laws, without attributing moral, spiritual, or supernatural significance to them” (Slide 6). When it comes to if this this short story belongs in the American literature canon for a course like …show more content…
This short story portrays realism. It is considered realism because of the way the characters spoke and acted. In “A White Heron”, Jewett uses dialog to show the differences. “Put me anywhere you like,” he said. “I must be off early in the morning, before day; but I am very hungry, indeed. You can give me some milk at any rate, that’s plain” (1586). This statement is given by the hunter, his dialect is more refined. Whereas, the grandmother speaks in more slang, “Dear sakes, yes” responded the hostess, whose long slumbering hospitality seemed to be easily awakened. “You might fare better if you went out to the main road a mile or so, but you’re welcome to what we’ve got. I’ll milk right off, and you make yourself at home”