Chris Kotajarvi

As children, many ordinary endeavors are greatly exaggerated in our minds to be larger-

than-life adventures. Such as going on a bike ride, digging a hole in the backyard, or walking

around the neighborhood, or in this instance climbing a tree. In the passage, Sarah Orne Jewett

dramatizes an ordinary child’s task of climbing a tree by making it a momentous journey to the

top of the most magnificent tree in the forest.

One way the author provides a dramatized, childlike adventure is through the clever use

of imagery, as seen when the passage stated, “..the stately head of this old pine towered above

them all..” This is to describe the tree that Sylvia would be climbing, providing the reader with

an image of the tree in their minds, and how large it must be compared to the others. Sylvia

being described as gazing “wistfully” at the treetop shows that she is an adventurous and

imaginative child, with that nostalgic sense of childlike wonder about her as she aims to climb to

the top. The tree was described as being illuminated by “moonlight,” informing the reader that, at

this point in the story, Sylvia is climbing the pine in the middle of the night.

In the middle of the story, the pacing begins to increase moderately. As Sylvia ascends

further up the tree, the pacing is heightened as she is getting closer and closer with each branch

and each step taken towards the peak. This is furthered by her grip being described as, “like a

bird’s claws to the monstrous ladder..”, with the bird being Sylvia and the monstrous ladder

being the tree. This could also portray a sense of danger as we know that the girl is in danger if

she were to fall, which heightens the suspense. “The old pine must have been loved by its new

dependent,” gives us a concrete answer as to what the point of view could be, that being third-
person omniscient. The narrator not only knows the thoughts and feelings of Syliva, but also the

pine tree.

The ending is accompanied by a sense of euphoric and epic joy for Sylvia. The ocean

being illuminated by “.. the dawning sun making a golden dazzle over it,” adds to the spectacle

that we are reading and that Sylvia is beholding at the very top of the tree, creating a serene sense

of accomplishment for her to be able to see such a beautiful view. And the world being described

with diction such as “vast and awesome” furthers this as Sylvia is able to see the world in a

whole different way in her mind, at the end of her epic journey through Jewett’s masterful

description of childlike wonder through her eyes.