The analysis of "Barn Burning " and "A White Heron" lead me to believe that the coming of age of males and females is somewhat based on what society has labeled as morally correct or role of gender as a pattern to follow. It seems to be given that a female must always be soft-hearted and act on her emotions while a male should act on logical thought and be conscience. One's upbringing or religious faith is in most cases the ultimate "builder" in ethics and morality.
I was sixteen when I inadvertently put myself in a situation in which I knew from the beginning that honesty would have been a key factor in not diminishing my parents trust. I was always told to never let anyone drive my new car for the sake of safety and other obvious reasons (being that we were in high-school, careless). A few of my friends and I went driving out in an isolated area where we thought we would be safe, since there were not many cars in the area. Sarah, who was my best friend at the time, asked me if she could drive. I knew that I should have been more assertive and said no, but I did not want my other friends to think that I was being overly paranoid. It did not occur to me that an accident could happen, but when it did, I was overwhelmed by anger and guilt. We all knew that the right thing to have done was to tell the truth, but we decided to make up and elaborate story as a cover-up. The day after the incident, we told our parents the truth, knowing that it was the right thing to do. We received justified punishment and apologized for everything. Our parents were disappointed, but later on, appreciated that we understood the value of honesty and trust.
My personal experience definitely relates to the stories we were assigned. In "A White Heron" Sylvia values the innocence and beauty of the bird over the gratification of receiving ten dollars. The infatuation for this stranger is so great that she is tempted to sacrifice the life of this bird.
