Analysis Of Annie Dillard's 'Jest And Earnest'

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In the excerpt, Jest and Earnest, Annie Dillard suggests that nature is beautiful because it is powerful and, sometimes, that power brings danger. She supports this claim by illustrating her personal experiences of animals in nature; then, questioning the reasons behind nature as it is; and, finally, making references to fire to explain nature’s extravagance. The author’s purpose is to encourage the audience to experience nature and reflect on those experiences to gain a deeper understanding of nature and the earth as a whole, while she does the same. In order to lead the audience to speculate what they know of nature, Dillard writes in a respectful and speculative tone.
Using her own sightings of nature, establishes nature as powerful in both its beauty and violence. She graphically relays the “monstrous and terrifying” encounter she witnesses between a frog and a giant water bug, in which the bug …show more content…

While thinking further on her run in with the giant water bug and the frog, she questions “the created universe” and God’s continued role in it. It is clear that she is not asking these questions for the reader to provide a definite answer, but, as people are naturally inclined to try and answer the questions they are asked, the reader will begin searching for one. The questions probe Dillard’s own thinking also, guiding her in sorting out her own beliefs towards these topics. Later, she inquires that if nature is not the product of intelligent design, then how is this beauty possible and what is really going on here. This question steers her and the reader towards the idea that nature must have been created, as there is not any other explanation that she can conceive. The beauty that is achieved would not make sense if it were not. Her choice to use questions helps her advance her thoughts while encourage her audience to

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