Sylvia's Traits and Development

 Let's Get Into Sylvia's Personality !

Throughout the contrasting events of the story, we got to know a variety of Sylvia's characteristics. For instance, at the beginning of the story, we learned that Sylvia is an optimistic little girl who is a child of the nature. As the story progressed, we discovered some a giant fear that Sylvia has, the fear of townspeople. We also concluded that she is shy and polite through her very first interaction with the hunter ( she did not speak much yet guided him to her grandma's house ). Furthermore, Sylvia's love and admiration of nature grew notably as the event continued. Finally, we realized that Sylvia is sympathetic, brave, and trustworthy. Her sympathy was expressed as she felt sorry for the hunter, who was disappointed for he couldn't find the heron; this was proven in paragraph 41 when Jewett quoted "as the guest went away disappointed". Her bravery was evident as she climbed the ginormous pine tree; Sarah proved this in paragraph 31 through words including "huge", "utmost bravery", and "monstrous". Her trustworthiness was significant as she remained loyal to her principle of valuing nature when she kept the heron safe and alive; Sylvia expressed this through two simple words in paragraph 41 , "Dear loyalty".

Sylvia's Adventure !

 Let's Acknowledge Sylvia's Bravery !

To find the white heron, a massive obstacle lied ahead of Sylvia, the pine tree. Sylvia knew it well and always thought that whoever climbed that tree would see the ocean ! "What a spirit of adventure, what wild ambition !" quoted from paragraph 29. This statement shows that this tree sets a challenge significant enough to be called an ambition. Also, "It was almost too real and too great for the childish heart to bear" is a quote that represents multiple sides of the journey to the peak of the pine tree. For example, it reveals that the outcome of viewing the world from a skyrocketing altitude corresponds to immense joy and unimaginable pleasure. Another aspect of that quote is discovering the amount of bravery and courage that is demanded in order to climb the tree. That was the first time were Sylvia's bravery was worthy of appreciation. Sylvia established her bravery once more as she overcame her internal conflict; should she share the heron's spot and earn 10$ or maintain her loyalty to nature by hiding the heron from the hunter. Sylvia put her principles first and kept the white heron safe and alive.

Sylvia's Worry !

 Let's Discover What Sylvia is Concerned 

About !

Sylvia shows a lot of care and thought about nature and creatures. This was evident through her mental ideas that were initiated upon the hunter's discussion about his bird collection. As the hunter stated his admiration to kill birds, stuff them, and collect them, we see Sylvia flabbergasted and astonished with his hobby. She was very shocked at how someone could view the beauty of such creatures from such a violent perspective; that's when she started to question her decision on helping him find the white heron. It was quotes that "she could not understand why he killed the very birds he seemed to like so much". We see this concern growing once more when she finds the heron, and we can infer that too many inquiries are roaming inside her head about what is correct to do ( to reveal the heron's spot and earn money or to maintain the secret of the heron's location and satisfy her loyalty towards nature ).

Sylvia's Fear !

Let's Dive into Sylvia's Terror

We are at paragraph 5 where Sylvia hears a whistle. She describes the whistler with words such as "enemy", "aggressive", and "determined". On the other hand, she complemented the bird's whistle calling
it "friendly". Moreover, she got terrified and tried to hide in the bushes leaving the cow behind to whatever awaited her. Trembling and filled with fright, Sylvia inaudibly responded to the stranger and guided him to her grandma's house. The shy girl went on describing the hunter with some friendlier adjectives. For instance, she described his call as "cheerful", and his speech as "kindly" and "gallantly" said. However, this made her even more "alarmed" and cautious. She also started thinking about what her grandmother would think and whether what she is doing is right or wrong. 

Introducing Sylvia !

Let's Get to Know Sylvia ! 

From the first few paragraphs, we can obtain a good amount of information about Sylvia. From paragraph  1, we know that she is "A little girl" and that she is on her way home with her cow.  She describes the cow as "plodding, dilatory, provoking" however "valued", this indicates that Sylvia is a thoughtful person who
looks at the bright aspects of everything and appreciates the cow's company. Reading later lines of the same paragraph, we learn that Sylvia and her cow are "familiar with the path" and do not need to see to know there way; this suggests that Sylvia and the cow accompany each other on that path often.