An Analysis Of Annie Dillard 's An American Childhood

Lena Younger, the head of the family, and the mother of both Walter Lee and Beneatha encounters many struggles while attempting to achieve her American Dream of living an improved lifestyle with her family. Lena wants to own a house with a garden. She says; “I always wanted me a garden like I used to see sometimes at the back of the houses down home.” (I.i.53) The Younger family lives in an apartment where Lena is unable to have a garden of her own since she does not have a front or back yard. The Younger family is in financial turmoil, and they cannot afford to invest in a house. While talking to Travis, Lena says; "you know that money we got in the mail this morning...Well—what you think your grandmamma gone and done with that money...she went out and

I sat down at my kitchen table with Michael Bruxvoort, a friend and fellow Tar Heel at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on October 25th, 2015. We laughed and talked about his journey through life and all the memories, obstacles and pleasures along the way. Among the many topics we spoke about, the ones that seemed most relevant to him and myself were: the family dynamics of religion within his household, his process of religion through secular spaces and lastly, his transition to Chapel Hill, NC and making it his home. Our conversation through Michael 's life shows how his faith has shaped him to be the man he is today. Through this paper, I will explain and analyze these topics in hopes of better understanding geographies of religion.

While his work did not engage directly with the topic, a tinge of anti-intellectualism was fostered within the movement this book examined. In Spiritual Mobilization’s magazine, Faith and Freedom, the editor devoted an entire issue to confronting clergymen who supported the Social Gospel, a movement which he claimed was led by, “a small, unusually articulate minority who feel political power is the way to save the world. . .” If the articles of the 1930’s demonstrated a distrust of the “unusually articulate,” the embracing of religious identity and language publicly by the Eisenhower administration had created an atmosphere in the 1950's whereby the Gideons International, Inc. was actively trying to influence curriculum in U.S. schools. Traveling preachers successfully utilized marketing techniques to blend entertainment, education, and religion into a single message. Sadly, that single message forbade the kind of discourse or dissent which fosters intellectual growth. Rather, the libertarian ideologies, which had inspired the original rebellion against the Social Gospel, had come to full fruition in snuffing out dissenters and making commonplace the existence of state-sanctioned

She adheres to not only those of religious values but to those of just knowing right from wrong. For instance, she pronounces that “secular progressives, despite their reaction to my article, have their own list of books they think young people shouldn’t’ read” (Gurdon 3). Although some children have gone through turmoil, it doesn’t need to be the core of what they read. The audience is guilt tripped into supporting her view that if the “majority of 12-to-18-year-olds aren’t living in hell” and that “as for those who are, does it really serve them to give them more torment” (Gurdon 6). While appealing to the audience in an ethical way, she allows herself to reach the secular opposing view and the biblically based simultaneously. The quantity of damage is hard to measure, she states, but “it is more a thing to be felt- a coarseness, an emptiness, a sorrow” (Gurdon 6). In other words, she reminds them that these books don’t need to callous the readers to the danger of the world. Finally, Gurdon latches the attention of those who hold a biblical value by reminding them of the words Saint Paul the Apostle wrote in Philippians 4:8. Tugging on the heart strings of her audience, Gurdon was able to effectively make her

Marilynne Robinson is a Pulitzer-winning novelist who has graced us with her essays found in The Death of Adam. Robinson gives the read the feeling of being much more educated than he or she really is. These essays provide readers with different ways of discussing history, religion and society. They, although difficult to comprehend at times, are flawlessly argued and, throughout, are grounded in universal human experience. When reading them, it is hard not to be persuaded, especially if reading them with an open mind.

But our Everyman starts as a truly “fake” Christian and whether or not she deserves any redemption is questionable. Though she perishes like a martyr, as the Misfit confesses when he tuned to perpetrating evil deeds, the Grandmother responds that he should have started praying and that “Jesus would help”. Again, O’Connor’s attempt here is to present, by means of religious motifs, how superficial the faith of Southerners is. Grandmother’s advice comes out of convenience, not of genuine worship of God and is a commentary on how people turn to religion in the event of sickness, deathbed or

Flannery O’Connor’s philosophy of writing was directly related to her life and roots as a Southerner, a Catholic, and a woman. One of the Southern traditions that O’Connor used most in her writing was local customs and manners which make people laughable. “Exaggeration of characteristics and of incidents is one cause of our laughter in O’Connor’s stories” (Grimshaw 89). She would regularly expose the hypocrisy of character’s thoughts by exaggerating their ridiculous actions in moments of distress causing readers to feel both horror and humor at the same time. Also present in most of O’Connor’s work, is her Catholic faith with regards to her vision of grace and the devil. Her view of faith was complete in the sense that it had a beginning, middle, and end, but she wrestled with Protestantism and depicted hypocrisy and intolerance when she found them (Grimshaw

In the story, "An American Childhood" the purpose relays a very important message that I think all should put to use in their everyday lives. No matter what you are doing, you should do it with everything you have. In the very beginning of the story, Dillard talks about playing football and that it was,"all or nothing". She goes on to say that if you did not give it your all, then you would fall flat on your face and the person running would end up getting away. Throughout the story, this message seems to unfold as she is running away from the man that was driving the car that was hit with an ice ball. In my opinion, Dillard used narration to illustrate her point about the difference between adults and children because it helps the audience

In her essay “Transfiguration”, Annie Dillard demonstrates the complexities of being an author and describes the journey she takes to rededicate herself to writing. She explains that being an author is a tough choice, and not to be taken lightly as it comes with many restraints on social and economic life. Dillard expresses extra attention to the fact that writing is her religion and is not short of sacrifice. In order to present the audience with a thought provoking piece, Dillard utilizes allusion to refer to religion and mythological creatures and give a greater context to even two word phrases. Dillard’s use of narration is used to create different stories within her story and add a shift in timelines as the piece progresses. Although satire

Flannery O'Connor remained a devout Catholic throughout, and this fact, coupled with the constant awareness of her own impending death, both filtered through an acute literary sensibility, gives us valuable insight into just what went into those thirty-two short stories and the two novels: cathartic bitterness, a belief in grace as something devastating to the recipient, a gelid concept of salvation, and violence as a force for good. At first it might seem that these aspects of her writing would detract from,

Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s documentary “Jesus Camp” is an eye-opening display of the intense power which can be directly associated with the belief of a deity, or some form of higher power. Following Pentecostal children’s pastor, Becky Fischer and her unsettling children’s camp “Kids on Fire”, viewers are shown a series of clips demonstrating their deep-seated religious conviction. Among the various dialogue and imagery illustrated throughout Jesus Camp, the direct correlation between such a film and the demonic theory becomes increasingly apparent. In addition to power being heavily equated with the church, those who falter in their beliefs are looked down upon. Furthermore, the temptation of sin is spoken upon frequently along with the

In her short story, Good Country People, Flannery O’Connor employs all the elements of humor, irony and, paradox intermingled within the system of Christian belief in evil and redemption. This is no more evident than in the character of Joy, the daughter, who had lost a leg in a hunting accident at the age of 12 and who now has a wooden leg in his place. Throughout the story, it becomes increasingly clear that Joy’s physical affliction is closely paralleled by a spiritual one as well. As the narrative unfolds, the great lengths Joy has gone to recreate her inner self, her soul, are revealed in painstaking detail. It appears she has succeeded in fashioning her own soul into a spirit that is as

First there is Lila, a sophomore who is hanging out with the wrong crowd. Lila was once very religious, but it seems that every day she is drifting farther away from God because of her “friend’s” influences.

What is God’s true purpose in our lives? Throughout Annie Dillard’s collection of short stories entitled Teaching A Stone To Talk, she endeavors to answer this and many other questions. This query in particular is most prominent in her two short stories The Deer At Providencia and God In The Doorway. God In The Doorway presents the two different personalities God can be perceived as having while predominantly displaying one personality. The Deer At Providencia displays the other personality God is rumored to have through a clever and effective motif. Overall, God takes center stage throughout the writings of Dillard especially in the aforementioned short stories.

The advancement in technology and science has triggered a new way of thinking among many people. What seems challenging is drawing the limits of this advancement in terms of what is ideal and imperative for humanity. Science seems to provide concrete evidence for its discoveries. However, the increased reliance on scientific discoveries and technology is diminishing the human morals. All these are amidst the emergence of dualities such as religious fundamentalism and scientific fundamentalism, each trying to convert the other. Scientific advancements continue to trigger concern among many scholars. In his article “God, Science and Imagination”, Wendel Berry discusses how the concepts of religious fundamentalism and scientific fundamentalism are needless and destructive. To a large extent, Beery seems to criticize the scientists who dismiss the existence of God. He claims that science has over time changed to contradict its initial element of factual evidence. In her short story “The Made-to-Order Savior, Lisa Belkin writes about a medical procedure that convinces two couples to get another child in order to save the other child suffering from Fanconi anemia a rare genetic disease. The two families are willing to invest heavily in the scientific research on PGD that would help save the child. Their actions are indicative of the changes in morals introduced by scientific advancements. Although the medical technology helps save the life, it often