Examples Of Greed In A White Heron

Have you ever wanted something so bad that you were willing to do whatever it takes to get it? If you said yes, then you've probably struggled with extreme greed. Greed can be defined as the intense and selfish desire for something. But don't worry, you're not alone. This idea of extreme greed was explored in the short story “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett. In this story, the main character Sylvia meets a strange man that wants to find and hunt a white heron to add it to his collection of birds. While Sylvia has good knowledge of the wildlife around, she isn't quite sure if she should help the man. However, she starts to give in to the man's desire as her own rapacity starts to flourish when he offers ten dollars to whoever helps

Tilley about Sylvia knowing about birds to convey that the stranger was willing to do anything he could to get the heron and that he has his own greed to overcome. This conversation gives background information about the characters and foreshadows Sylvia's knowledge and internal conflict about telling the man about the heron. The discussion begins with Mrs. Tilley giving some knowledge about Sylvia. According to Mrs. Tilley, “There ain’t a foot o’ ground she don’t know her way over, and the wild creaturs counts her one o’ themselves” (Jewett436). These details tell the audience that Sylvia has prior knowledge. After this, the conversation leads to some insight into who the stranger is. He claims to be “making a collection of birds'' himself and has been doing so since he was a boy (Jewett 436). As the conversation progresses, Sylvia asks what the man does with the birds which is when the internalized conflict starts to form. The stranger illustrates that the birds are “stuffed and preserved” and he talks more about his collection saying “dozens and dozens of them, and I have shot and snared every one myself” (Jewett 437). At the end of the exchange, the man gives some ammunition to Sylvia’s conflict on whether or not to help him. He states that he can't think of anything he would rather do than find the heron's nest and even declares “I would give ten dollars to anybody who could show it to me” (Jewett 437). Overall this whole conversation gives more information about the man's motives and Sylvia's knowledge. In this part of the story, each character's values start to show. The man was willing to do anything including bribing a nine-year-old girl to get his hands on the heron. Additionally, Sylvia was willing to take the bribe and help the man. The discussion demonstrates that everyone has their type of greed and that selfishness is a very powerful