Contrary to common opinion, most birds are blind. Their highly developed sense of touch, however, is pulled, so to speak, like a stream. I wanted to use the above poem to signify the importance of the questions and possible answers about the world of nature that we came up with in our class discussion on Sarah Orne Jewett's The White Heron and Annie Dillard's The Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Like the poem, we explored some questions that seemed to have answers, some questions that did not, and some answers without questions. Some of the students, like Stephanie Cunningham and Michelle Lookado, believed that women were more closely connected with nature because of the fact that they are typically viewed as more nurturing and caring than men.
Women also give birth and quite naturally affect the population of the world.
The last idea, and seemingly most prevalent, was that children, as a whole, feel more connected with nature than their adult counterparts. Sylvia, being but a child, only has animals for friends, and she loves them a great deal. Another question addressed in the class dealt with the symbolism in the story. Most of the class believed that the color white symbolized purity and innocence, and there were even connections that linked together the heron and Sylvia. Likewise, the hunter symbolized people who only appreciate nature by dominating it.