Against Speciesism: "A White Heron"

In “A White Heron”, Jewett argues against speciesism using characterization by contrasting the hunter’s exploitation of birds with Sylvia’s protection of them. On one hand, the hunter justifies his actions by claiming it is all for a scientific purpose, yet the author describes the birds he catches as “ ‘stuffed and preserved, dozens and dozens of them’ “ (Jewett 10), making his interest in birds seem careless and destructive. Jewett repeats “dozens and dozens” (Jewett 10) to stress how little the hunter values the lives he takes. The young man’s work is more about stacking up his trophies…