Read the excerpt from "A White Heron" by Sarah Orne Jewett then answer the question:

"Suddenly this little woods-girl is horror-stricken to hear a clear whistle not very far away. Not a bird’s whistle, which would have a sort of friendliness, but a boy’s whistle, determined, and somewhat aggressive. Sylvia left the cow to whatever sad fate might await her, and stepped discreetly aside into the bushes, but she was just too late. The enemy had discovered her, and called out in a very cheerful and persuasive tone, "Halloa, little girl, how far is it to the road?" and trembling Sylvia answered almost inaudibly, "A good ways."

She did not dare to look boldly at the tall young man, who carried a gun over his shoulder, but she came out of her bush and again followed the cow, while he walked alongside."

In at least 150 words, explain the symbolic role that the hunter plays to Sylvia in this story.

When reading the story presented above, we can see that Sylvia is in a place dominated by nature, since the text refers to her as "little woods-girl." However, she has the tranquility of the environment disturbed by the action of a hunter. The presence of the hunter in this scenario represents the disturbance of nature caused by the activities of human beings. In this case, Sylvia is horrified, to reinforce the idea of disturbance, since the hunter is a disharmonious character in relation to the scenario. The weapon he carries, represents the danger that human beings present to nature. The hunter's friendliness towards Sylvia represents the ambition of human beings to explore nature to fulfill their own desires. This is because the hunter is sympathetic to Sylvia, as he needs her help to continue hunting in the same way that human beings need nature to fulfill their desires.