A White Heron and Other Stories Lesson Plan

Both Polly Finch and Mrs. Finch are women who have had pride and ambition. In what ways did they approach their pride and ambitions differently? What is the result of their different approaches?

Mrs. Finch was forceful and economical as a young woman, but she married John Finch, who did not possess these same qualities, and tied her ambitions to her husband’s. And when he failed to move forward in life, she tied her ambitions to watching her daughter achieve her goals. The text says that “it had been thought a pity that she married John Finch,” indicating that she perhaps would have had better luck achieving something in her life if she tied herself to a stronger partner—...