In "A White Heron," Sarah Orne Jewett dramatized the breathtaking adventure of Sylvia, a small girl who sets out to climb the old pine tree that "towered above them all." Throughout the story, she encounters many challenges and with the author's use of figurative language, we can easily visualize Sylvia's journey as she courageously proves that even the smallest of creatures can overcome any obstacle.

Jewett's choice of words depicts the significant distinction in size between Sylvia and the tree in order to illustrate the difficulty of Sylvia's climb. In lines 12 and 13, ."..And the little girl had often laid her hand on the great rough trunk..." she brings to us a contrasting image of "little" Sylvia standing next to the "great" tree. Another example can be found in lines 16 and 17. "There was the huge tree asleep...and small and silly Sylvia began utmost bravery to...