What is sylvia's internal conflict as the story progresses, and why do you think she makes the choice that she does? use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Answer :

In "A  White Heron", Sarah Orne Jewett highlights the conflict of Man (humans) vs Nature through the character of nine year old Sylvia. On one hand, Sylvia wants to please the ornithologist who is looking for the white heron to add to his collection of preserved specimens and on the other hand Sylvia has a love for nature and does not want to harm the bird.

The first evidence of this can be found in the lines ' "So Sylvia knows all about birds. Maybe she can help me then," the young man said. "I saw a white heron not far from here two days ago. I've been looking for it ever since. It's a very rare bird, the little white heron. Have you seen it, too?" he asked Sylvia.' When the stranger asks Sylvia if she had seen the white heron Sylvia hides the fact that she had seen the strange white bird on the other side of the forest.

The lines ' The young man was staring at Sylvia. "I would give $10 to the person who showed me where the white heron is." ' Sylvia is lured by the ten dollars the stranger agrees to give her. She thinks all night about the number of things her grandmother can buy from the money. She starts considering the young man as kind and sympathetic.

She is so infatuated with the young man and eager for the money that she climbs up the huge pine tree to find out the location of the bird's nest. But she is completely awed by the beauty of the white heron and its mate. She starts back for home while thinking about the ornithologist's reaction when she tells him about the great bird.

But once she reaches her grandmother's house she has a change of mind and despite her grandmother's admonitions and the stranger's "kind eyes" appealing to her, she refuses to part with the information. She does not want to tell them about the white heron's whereabouts and give its life away. She remains silent, much to the frustration of the stranger.

fidelis umeh was born in nigeria and lived there through his high school years. fidelis umeh grew up with strong family values of the traditions of the ibos, a culture within nigeria. "one thing that we nigerians, particularly the ibos, have taught us from youth is the value of education. it is paramount. and the drive to succeed--my culture says that each person must work very hard and that is essential to success, which is very important. and we have support from family that keeps us going when things are difficult. sometimes perseverance can make the difference between success and failure."

he moved to the united states when he went to college. after he finished college, he stayed connected to his family in nigeria. he returned to nigeria at least once a year. but he made his home and career in this country. he became a business leader.

fidelis umeh has succeeded in the business community, which some people see as a separate culture all of its own. he planned projects. he designed systems. he brought new ideas to businesses. he has been president of a company that employs hundreds of highly skilled individuals. at the same time, he kept his commitment to his original culture.

in 1991, he founded a group to support nigerians in chicago. "i formed a group of nigerians to be an anchor for them that will fit into the american society but at the same time will give them something to fall back on in times of adversity. i feel it is a strength, it allows us to be individuals.”

“it has one goal, which is to bridge the gap between our people and the people in america. the target is to build an anchor where the nigerians can feel their identity and at the same time become more connected to the chicago scene. the problem that we have with our children is that either our children don't have an understanding of the nigerian culture or an understanding of the american culture. the focus is on children through adolescence. the adults get to benefit from the network."

“we started with story-telling. we are telling the children the stories that our families have told for generations. each story has a moral, an idea that it teaches the children. the children learn the moral. they also learn more about their own heritage. they will appreciate their heritage. they will realize that they have to work hard, too, to achieve progress.”

with more than 15,000 nigerians in chicago today, the potential is very great. fidelis umeh said that “the vision of enumbra is that the nigerian community will bring the traits that are valued in their heritage as they join the american society. they will in fact be able to enrich the american culture.”