##ction And Juxtaposition In Living Like Weasels And Sojourner

Dillard starts “Living Like Weasels” by using the persuasion model of Pathos. Dillard describes how weasels behave and places a vivid image in the mind of the reader when she says: “A weasel is wild. Who knows what he thinks? He sleeps in his underground den, his tail draped over his nose…..Outside he stalks rabbits, mice, muskrats and birds, killing more bodies than he can eat warm” (Dillard 1). This example of pathos makes the reader feel as if they are seeing the weasel for themselves and also invokes carnal emotions within the reader, causing a sort of envy in the reader of the life that the weasel leads. Such a wild life would seem preferable to that of a monotonous one, which is the point that Ms. Dillard is attempting to make.

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

In the excerpt, Death of a Moth, by Annie Dillard, she attempts to overcome her writer's block by getting away from it all and taking a trip into the Mountains of Virginia. While taking time off, she intends to spiritually find her true self again and get back on a successful track. Only by using concrete imagery, drawing a strong parallel, and meticulously selecting a certain word choice to create points of clarity, is she able to effectively convey her inner struggle.

Humanity is one of the many virtues we as humans believe we are born with. However, living in a world much like the one described in both The Hunger Games and The Road novels, some may argue that turning off one’s humanity is a necessity. Nevertheless, both novels prove that while some characters had to turn off their humanity in a horrific world like The Hunger Games and The Road, the two main characters of each book demonstrated how a barbaric world could not take that virtue from them.

Arguably his most powerful rhetorical strategy is a joint appeal to ethos and pathos. Louv calls readers to consider what “we'll someday tell our grandchildren” if the devaluation of nature continues. Parents respond to the ethical appeal by relating to Louv as he ponders his legacy and “our” grandchildren. They respond to Louv’s appeal to pathos by feeling a deep, personal pain that their childhood pastimes are as antiquated as a “nineteenth-century Conestoga wagon.” By causing readers to feel antiquated, to relate to him, and to question their legacy, Louv stirs them to teach their children the same appreciation for nature they grew up with, if only to preserve their heritage. Louv further rouses hours readers with imagery, describing “the empty farmhouse,” “steamy edges,” and “thunderheads and dancing rain” that his readers grew up watching out their car windows. Reminiscing with readers, painting images of their childhoods, reminds parents of the beautiful, wonderful things they learned and memories they made while observing nature during car rides. Expanding on readers’ pasts, Louv references the rapid technological changes that his readers went through during the globalization movement, changes that separated them from nature “in the blink of an eye.” Readers are invested in their parts and Louv uses their attraction to their childhood memories and dissatisfaction with the rapid

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

and bad, there is beauty to be seen. Dillard struggles through the novel in search of factual

According to Elizabeth Lowell, “Some of us aren't meant to belong. Some of us have to turn the world upside down and shake the hell out of it until we make our own place in it.” Sometimes what every situation needs is an outsider to flip the script and create a new outlook on everything. In Shirley Jackson’s novel, “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” the speaker, Merricat, is an outsider of society on many levels, such as mental health, gender, and that she is an upper class citizen in a poor area. Although Merricat is mentally unstable, her outsider’s perspective criticizes the social standard for women in the 1960s, indicating that social roles, marriage, and the patriarchy are not necessary aspects in life such as it is not necessary to have the same outlook on life as others.

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

In the novel Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler paints a picture of a dystopia in the United States in which the current societal problems are overly exaggerated into the worst-case scenario. Butler describes a world plagued with high unemployment rates, violence, homelessness, a flawed police system, and a crumbling education system. Butler focuses the story on the poor and the homeless by only giving characters with this background a voice in order to show the reader that society’s views and stereotypes of these groups are flawed. Butler shows the lack of attention they receive and over exaggerates the problem in order to show the extreme consequences if it is not properly addressed.

Wright examines the relationship of human being and nature using his descriptive language including such devices as imagery and similes. Wright sees the idea of nature and humans joining as one as a possible feat and he shows this though his written experience with these Indian ponies. He initially shows the contrast of the two worlds, but they grow on each other and end up becoming one. Wright sees the loneliness of the ponies, gains their affection, as the ponies are very welcoming. He ultimately ends up wanting to join them by being able to “break into blossom” (26-27), but he is unable to do so because he reached the maximum threshold of the union between humans and nature. Which brings us back to the Wright is able to disregard the average day for humans and take a day to appreciate the true value of nature in its

One of the reasons that Lewis’s works are so significant is that he has a unique style of writing and a very revolutionary way of thinking. It is obvious from the book Main Street in which the story takes place on the Main Street in Gopher Prairie, a small town. People in the story are old-fashioned, very religious, and have little interest in their government. In this story, Carol tries to reform the village so that it can become more modern and beautiful, but as she tries to introduce new traditions to the town, she starts to realize that many of the people who live there are not very welcoming of the social reforms, and they think it is better to settle down and enjoy small town life (“Main Street”).This work by Lewis satirizes the duplicity, intolerance, and resistance to change in small

The Parable of the Sower, written by Octavia Butler, is considered a science fiction novel, classified as dystopian. This novel depicts a post-apocalyptic world where the United States has fallen into tremendous poverty. Crime, such as murder, rape, and theft, run rampant to the point where no one is considered safe. The society in this novel is completely destroyed. The foundation has crumbled socially, politically, and economically. The citizens are left to fend for themselves in, what is now, a ruthless nation with just a hint of civilized communities. Our sensible and above all, brave protagonist, Lauren Olamina, is the heart of the story. She is one of the few characters who can be identified through several viewpoints. Lauren’s persona, beliefs, as well as her actions allow her to be classified through four different lenses such as classism, deism, fundamentalism, and, more accurately, humanism.

Taking place in a countryside home, W.W. Jacobs’s short story “The Monkey’s Paw” illustrates the White family’s two-day interaction with a seemingly innocent mummified monkey's paw. Each character presented in the short story represents natural human traits that can prove to be negative when greed and curiosity are involved. The use of symbolism throughout the story proves to be vital to the reader, as it allows him or her to understand the importance of every action done to the monkey’s paw has an opposite consequence. This correlates to everyone on Earth’s predetermined fate and the problems that an individual could face when greed overcomes their needs, even when it is for a better or worse life. When individuals are consumed by greed, like the White family, they must accept the consequences no matter how severe it is when it is something they truly seek in life.