Symbolism

Symbolism is used in both The Yellow Wallpaper and The White Heron through different colors. In Heron, the color white is used. Sylvia is about to show the hunter where the heron has its nest, but when she sees it is all of its purity she realizes the purity of the world around her and can't bring her self to reveal the bird's location. On the other side of the spectrum, the woman from The Yellow Wallpaper, is surrounded by the color yellow and begins to see it as something that is dirty and foul, the opposite of pure.