English 104
Grant T. Smith, Ph. D.
Journal Entry Assignment for "A White Heron" and "The Chrysanthemums"

Directions:  Answer all of the following questions in your journal.  Be prepared to use your answers (which may be in note form or complete sentence and/or paragraphs) to lead a discussion on Jewett's story.

1. Find the following "symbols" in the story and from the context in which they are used, determine the meaning behind the symbol.
 

2. Look up "Sylvia" in a dictionary of names.  How does the meaning of her name add to her character and to a theme of the story?
3. Write a paragraph about how Jewett concludes the story.  What do you think of the author asking, "Were the birds better friends than their hunter might have been,--who can tell?  Whatever treasures were lost to her, woodlands and summer-time, remember! Bring your gifts and graces and tell your secrets to this lonely country girl."

Directions:  Answer all of the following questions in your journal.  Be prepared to use your answers to lead a discussion of Steinbeck's short story.

1. Look carefully at the major "images" in the first paragraph of the story.  What do these "setting" images suggest about the type of life Elisa lives?
2. List six important details about Elisa that you learn in the first five pages.
3. Look carefully at the imagery used in the eighth through eleventh paragraphs of page 637.  What conclusion can you make regarding Elisa's feelings toward the Tinker.
4. Contrast the two male characters in the story.
5. How do you "read" Elisa at the end of the story as she 'cries weakly--like an old woman'?  Is she devastated?  Defeated?  Wiser?  Stronger?