First, Jewett proficiently uses local color in creating the setting of the story. She provides a rich portrayal of the natural environment in which the story unfolds. Using numerous phrases, such as "shady wood-road," "great twilight moths struck softly against her," "the air was soft and sweet," and "the stirring in the great boughs," she creates in the minds of her readers a picturesque image of the path Sylvia strolls down, as she leads her cow home (page). Later, Jewett describes the place where Sylvia first saw the white heron as being, "an open place where the sunshine always seemed strangely yellow and hot, where tall, nodding rushes grew" (page). The settings in local color stories are often quaint and set in natural environments. Using picturesque words to describe the sights, smells, and the ambiance of a setting, aid in creating the character of a region. Jewett also describes the quaint family farmhouse through the narrator who relates, "It was a surprise to find so clean and comfortable a little dwelling in this New England wilderness. The young man had known the horrors of its most primitive housekeeping, and the dreary squalor of that level of society which does not rebel at the companionship of hens" …show more content…
The use of the dialect of a region and descriptions of local customs typify local color stories. Characters are often depicted backward, or sticking to old ways. Throughout the story, Jewett also recounts the everyday activities that occupy the lives of her characters. When the narrator describes the cow 's comical attempt to play hide and seek, she states, "So Sylvia had to hunt for her until she found her, and call Co" ! Co ! with never an answering Moo, until her patience was quite spent" ( ). Many local colorists infused humor in their stories by relating the everyday activities of their characters in local dialect. Local customs and traditions of a region can also be revealed to readers by detailing the everyday activities of the