Dylan WyattPeriod: April 58, 2014An Essay on White Heron Character Analysis Life-altering decisions are often difficult to make and the consequences long-lasting term are rarely seen. For Sylvia, she had to make a difficult choice early in life. This particular choice could enrich his family, but at the cost of a beautiful white heron seen only by a select few. Ultimately, Sylvia must decide between her personal happiness or whether to instead preserve the nature around her. To better understand why this decision was so difficult to make, Sylvia must be fully understood. Sylvia is only nine years old but lives a simple and humble life in the forest with her grandmother, Mrs. Tilley. Sylvia's greatest joy in her undecorated life is playing with her cow friend Moolly in the woods. This simple gesture shows his innocence, youth and love for nature. Sylvia, however, shows maturity by making a difficult decision about herself even though she is traditionally not ready to do so. This decision is made at the expense of her new friend who is the one presenting the dilemma, who as she grows up becomes haunted by what she could have had. The situation she is presented with, simply put, is that a hunter comes to hunt a rare bird and if Sylvia and her grandmother help him, the hunter will pay them ten dollars. Amazed, they both agree to do so, but when Sylvia is given the opportunity, she refuses after carefully considering whether to improve her life or the birds. With the circumstances better explained and Sylvia's character, the decisions she makes may be a little more understandable. Why would he choose to find the bird and give it to the hunter? This hunter, upon entering Sylvia's house, realizes how poor they really are. Then…half the paper…it was like this. In conclusion, Sylvia's decision was a difficult one. She experienced many different emotions as she tried to figure out which choice to choose. At first she was excited because she could receive a reward that would help her family. Then he felt sad because nature was one of the very few things he enjoyed and a small piece of it would be destroyed if he chose to reap the reward. Ultimately, he chose to preserve the little piece he could. As he grew up, he began to wonder if he had made the right decision. He also begins to wonder if it was worth abandoning his friendship with the hunter for the greater good of the bird. At the end of the story, Sylvia asks herself: “The birds were better friends than their hunter might have been, who can say?” (45) These feelings and motivations lead Sylvia to choose to free the white heron instead of using it for personal gain.