A White Heron by Sarah Orne and After the Flood by Scott Russell Sanders

Comparison of Two Articles: A White Heron by Sarah Orne and After the Flood by Scott Russell Sanders

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Comparison of Two Articles: A White Heron by Sarah Orne and After the Flood by Scott Russell Sanders
Sanders’ After the Flood and Jewett’s A White Heron are two fascinating short stories with different themes. In this paper, these two different texts are synthesized comprehensively. These two texts are compared and contrasted through the analytical framework of theme. This composition argues that the two texts have very different themes. In After the Flood by S. R. Sanders primarily focuses on the theme of nostalgia, whereas in A White Heron, S. O. Jewett gives emphasis to the theme of outsiders and self-discovery.
After the Flood by S. R. Sanders
This short story is the author’s first essay on Staying Put. Scott Russell Sanders starts by introducing himself as well as the first place that he called home to the readers. The author then proceeds to tell his memories and stating how painful it was for him to let that place go under. In essence, the author narrates the story of his homeland during his childhood years. Brought up in the County of Mahoning, Scott Russell Sanders describes his love and appreciation for nature, the scenery of the farmland, as well as how it was all washed away one day. Because of industrialization in the region, the land which the author was so at home with was lost beneath an artificial reservoir, thus forever wiping away most of his childhood memories. This moving story may affect many readers emotionally thanks to the great literary skill utilized by the author. The way he has depicted the incidents in After the Flood makes it easy for the reader to place himself/herself in the author’s shoes.
The theme of nostalgia is evident throughout the narrative. It is an overarching theme that Scott Russell Sanders is clearly attempting to reveal to the readers. The author poignantly recalls his childhood in a region which was later flooded when a certain tributary of the Ohio River was dammed (Sanders, 1991). Sanders also talks about the history of the Ohio River itself, which for a long time served as a waterway for entrepreneurs, explorers and Native Americans, over and above being a passage for more tonnage than both the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal. However, underlying this affirmation of place is Scott Russell Sanders’ even more ancient and sublime search for human’s place in the scheme of things (Sanders, 1991).
The author discusses his past as a child. He reflects on old memories that he had in the place and the way he feels now after seeing what it has become. Sanders begins by discussing his first home that he lived in as a child, and how he used to live close to a river that has now been flooded, an incident that caused the entire town to become submerged. This compelled him and his family to vacate the town and find a new place to call home. When Sanders returned to the same hometown that he used to live in as a child and went to his old home, he found out that his farm has been turned by the government into a dam. After he saw this, he became really disappointed and saddened that the place which he made his memories as a child is not there anymore (Sanders, 1991). In addition, Sanders discusses how valuable the land in which his old home was located was to him, and the way the government clearly does not recognize this fact.
The author does not just discuss how the land that is adjacent to his childhood home was flooded, but also extensively discusses the way that a large number of people lost their land and homes in that region as a consequence of the man made dam. In addition, he discusses the way that he felt exiled from his own land, as well as the way that many other people have also been exiled from their homelands. Sanders felt as though an important part of him had been washed away by this event, and all that he remained with are recollections from when he grew up in this place.
In essence, after returning to the same place as an adult after leaving college, the author was shocked to learn that the area has been turned into a government asset and is no longer what it used to be since the nature of that place has been destroyed and the area looks very unfamiliar to him now. The man-made flood has created a new landscape and all low areas have been inundated (Sanders, 1991). All in all, through the theme of nostalgia, Sanders attempts to tell his audience that it is important to make the most memories and be grateful for the place that they call home given that a day may come when they would never be able to return to those places and visit those memories.
A White Heron by S. O. Jewett
In this short story, Sylvia, who is main character, moves to the countryside and discovers the beauty of the white heron. A youthful handsome stranger, who is a hunter, tries to charm the location of the heron out of her, but Sylvia cannot give in to him. The hunter even offered $10 to Sylvia so that she can give him the location of the heron, but she still refused to tell him about the location of the bird. As the story starts, Sylvia is aged 8 or 9 years. The author describes her as a child of nature and has a strong affection for Mistress Moolly, which is her cow (Brenzo, 2013). Sylvia is living on a farm with Mrs. Tilley, who is her grandmother. The youthful hunter is involved with collecting birds as trophies. Although the girl admire...