Life And Action In Annie Dillard's Living Like Weasels

The writing life is the short story book which has seven chapters. It talks about how to become a good writer and how to create a good writing by passing through the perspective and personal experience of Annie Dillard. In the part of how to become a good writer, she tells her personal experience about what is the things that help she to become a good writer. Also, what is the things a writer should have and what is a person a writer should be. In the part of how to create the good writing, she compares the writing with other handicrafts such as painting, photographing, singing, and wood working (Dillard 3-6). In addition, she gives us about the idea of “Line of Words” that is the major part of creating a good writing.

Throughout his essay, Loren Eiseley describes different scenarios that he witnessed. All of which have a central theme of change, not in times, but in the real, physical world. He talks about mice losing their little dream of living in a burrow made in common earth, a world of seedpods and quiet, of green sheltering leaves in the dim light among the weed stems and how they are coldly denied even the simplest of yearnings. Later, he describes how he witnessed the figurative ‘great river’ at an El in Philadelphia stop. The river that was the lifeline of hundreds, maybe thousands of pigeons. How the pigeons kept returning lesser and

Annie Dillard’s “Living Like Weasels” details Dillard’s encounter with a weasel in the wild, and her attempts to come to terms with her feelings about said meeting. Dillard not only goes into great detail about the experience itself, but she also provides a very good background on weasels, as well as others’ experiences with the animal. Through her use of background analysis on weasels, as well as with her own experience, Dillard uses the three rhetorical appeals to argue why we humans could and should “live like weasels”.

Secondly, Dillard’s work “living like weasels” effectively projects her perspective through the use of her radical comparisons. Throughout the essay, Dillard’s use of comparisons often helped familiarize her audience in connecting complex and abstract concepts together into concrete context. This is first seen as she states “His journal is tracks in clay, a spray of feathers, mouse blood and bone: uncollected, unconnected, loose-leaf, and blown.” Through this, Dillard connects a concept most would be familiar with: writing journals, to describe what goes on in a weasel’s mindset. In addition, she illustrates that not only do weasels act out of survival, but simply that their “journal” is a transcript of their physical actions. Dissimilar to humans, weasels do not render their thoughts nor “write in journals”, but rather react out of instinct. It is often seen through the content of the piece that she also enjoys to contrast and compare through the occurrences of juxtaposition. This can be seen in the phrases such as, “Our look was as if two lovers, or deadly enemies, met unexpectedly on an overgrown path when each had been thinking of something else: a clearing blow to the gut”. Through these lines, the ideas of man vs nature are continuously

While ,Cheryl Strayed’s writing uses ad extended metaphor to represent her self-discovery in nature; Bill Bryson depends on using similes to describe his love for nature and his experience on how he wants to becomes a “mainly man”; since this is the case, they try to portray their reasoning for going in the woods and going on difficult trails. In Cheryl Strayed’s book Wild, Strayed writes in the first person about her reasoning for going into the wild. In the beginning, the author gives the reader her present state. After she gives the reader a glimpse of her past life she starts to uses an extended metaphor of how her life is compared to her present state.

In "Living like Weasels", author Annie Dillard uses rhetorical devices to convey that life would be better lived solely in a physical capacity, governed by "necessity", executed by instinct. Through Dillard's use of descriptive imagery, indulging her audience, radical comparisons of nature and civilization and anecdotal evidence, this concept is ultimately conveyed.

In her essay “Living Like Weasels”, Annie Dillard explores the idea of following a single calling in life, and attaching one’s self it this calling as the weasel on Ernest Thompson Seton’s eagle had. Dillard presents her argument using the analogy of a weasel and how the; “weasel lives as he’s meant to, yielding at every moment to the perfect freedom of single necessity” (Dillard). In constructing her argument, however, she often contradicts herself undermining the effectiveness of her argument and leaving the reader confused. Dillard primarily uses ethos and pathos to support her argument and concerning both, the reader discovers; inconsistencies in her character, and conflicts between her perceptions of the weasel’s emotions and its actions. Concerning her ethos, Dillard presents herself as a part of suburbia and then is suddenly, inexplicably overcome by the desire to live wild. Dillard also uses very detailed language throughout the essay in describing her surroundings and thoughts, however; this further undermines her argument and ethos as she is trying to convince the reader that she could simply become as simple and single minded as the weasel she has focused her argument around. With her use of pathos, Dillard begins her essay with descriptions of the weasel’s brutality, yet; she concludes by stating the weasel lives as is necessary. By simplifying her experience and presenting a reasonable explanation for why she wanted to

In “Living Like Weasels,” Annie Dillard recalls an encounter with a weasel and connects the weasel’s tenacity to the human pursuit of one’s calling. In a forest, Dillard describes the encounter with the weasel when they lock eyes; she then explains what is inside of the weasel’s brain, his habits and traits. (MS7) She explains that a weasel’s living is one desire: instinct, a weasel’s tenacity to lock onto its prey and to not let go. Dillard then compares the weasel’s tenacity with the human calling; humans urge to understand their calling and refuse to quit until they have achieved their goal. Additionally, Dillard offers an exhortation to live in obedience to that calling. (MS6) As well as obedience, instinct requires the human capacity for reason.

The hummingbird was an example of a person with the idea that living fast was smart. The whale was an example of a person that lived much slower and eventually left to feel more secluded and away. The human with a wall around their heart was an example of a person who lived very emotionally and on edge with the fear of heartbreak. All in all, the details of a person’s life is examined differently whether the person chooses to live the type of life where they look at the details or

Throughout all of high school my friends and I spent the majority of our days in the art room. It was always assumed that there would be at least a few of us there at all times, starting our days there, being excused by our teachers to go there during class, during lunch, between every class, and then for hours after school. The art room was practically a second home to all of us. With the best high school art program in the state paired with a school of students who have been taught to appreciate art all throughout school; amazing, talented, passionate art teachers; and extremely dedicated art students who, on top of normal classes, were taking on very intense art courses, those who invested the time became quite advanced art students.

She was alone, she was scared, she had no idea that her normal life would be taken away for the next eighteen years… and hope is the sole reason that she survived it. For kidnap victim, Jaycee Dugard, the word “hope” brings back a flood of emotions and memories. In her chilling memoir, “A Stolen Life”, she describes a very personal experience in which she encountered at age eleven, where she soon learned just how important hope was. Dugard never saw it coming when a man named Phillip Garrido stole her from that bus stop on just another normal morning… or so she thought. Soon after, he took her away and held her hostage in his backyard for almost two decades. Interestingly enough, she has miraculously turned this cruel situation into a very inspiring story. Therefore, she proves to us that even if you’re living out your worst nightmare, you still have something to live for. For this reason, Dugard puts together a descriptive setting, her absurd relationship with her abductor, and personal symbols to illustrate how just a little hope can be the essence of surviving any situation life throws at you.

In the short story “Living Like Weasels” authored by Annie Dillard, the role of a small, furry, brown-colored rodent’s life develops an extreme significance as the story progresses. According to Dillard, the life that a weasel lives is care free and passionate. Weasels are very tenacious creatures and what they have their eye set on something they want, they go and get it. Also, when Dillard says “The weasel lives in necessity and we live in choice” in “Living Like Weasels,” the words can be deeply felt by the reader; we are able to not only feel Dillard’s passion for this underlying opinion of hers, but readers can also develop their own view on what she is saying and find evidence to prove their thoughts (121). The way that everyday

“Racitatif” by Toni Morrison and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, both tackle the subject of race on a microscopic level in the hopes of magnifying the social injustices that tore the united states apart. “Everyday use,” Tackles the subject of race, from the vantage point of a single family and the generations that lay between the mother and daughter. Morrison, in a unique manner, tells the story of two girls, Twyla and Roberta, and their ability to communicate with each other during such racially motivated times; all the while, leaving the reader in the dark about the race of the two girls.

Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth chronicles the tale of Lily Bart, a young socialite stuck at the crossroads of rejection her society to pursue her ambitions or relenting to societal expectations placed on her. In literature, naturalism, a philosophy that frequently overlaps with the theory of Social Darwinism, applies “scientific principles of objective observation to the study of human behavior and characters within the context of their surroundings” (“American Literary Naturalism” Twentieth-Century). In short, naturalistic novels explore the interactions between humans and their environment as the human tries to navigate it. House of Mirth is a naturalistic novel in that it explores Lily’s attempt to survive in her own cruel environment.

Once upon a time, there lived a creative young soul with the name of Ian Van Winkle; Ian for short. He lived in the majestic splendor of Pennsylvania. It was the land of wondrous rocky mountain plains full of mist and magic, with luxurious homes and automobiles. It was a different time than when most fairytales had taken place, but never the less, it was full of wonder. Ian lived in a small town called Dover. It was not the nicest of towns. The inhabitants there were quite cruel and vile creatures. Ian didn’t much care for the people in the town; however, he always loved the company of the animals nearby. He named each and every one down to the last sparrow and fly. Ian was very fond of his animals as they were his best friends. He would hold a funeral for each dead animal. He owned three cats (Simba, Poospoos, and Lizzy) and a dog, (Pugsley) but he treated all animals like his own. It was always busy in Dover; it seemed like people never rested there. There was always somewhere the people had to be; it’s sad how they never seemed to enjoy the present as they were always racing after the future. Nothing can ever be as good as our imagination, because nothing on this good earth is perfect, unlike the plan we make for ourselves, which is usually our picture for a perfect life. Ian didn’t really care for Dover, aside from the animals; he found it to be drab and dreary. He dreamed of seeing a better Dover in the future, however, when the future finally does come, what we wish