Annie Dillard's Analysis

Throughout this essay Annie Dillard uses many similes to give readers a more precise mental image of what the airplane looked like as it was flying through sky. In the essay Dillard describes, “The plane looped the loop, seeming to arch its back like a gymnast.” In this simile, Dillard compare the airplane to a gymnast. This affects the essay because readers think of a gymnast, spinning and moving in ways human should not be able to move, just as the plane was spinning in a way planes do not normally move. Dillard also explains, “The other pilots could do these stunts too... But Rahm used the plane inexhaustibly, like a brush marking thin air.” In this quote, Dillard is explain how other pilots can fly too, but Rahm makes flying an art. This

impacts the article because it allows readers to envision how Rahm skills compare to his peers. I think the similes used in this essay make it more of a picture, and much easier to read.
Dillard establishes a connection between artistic performances, like gymnastics and music and the plane flown by Rahm, by comparing the two. Dillard expresses, “[The plane] turned cartwheels, which must be physically impossible; it played with its own line like a cat with yarn.” Dillard is saying the plane was able to turn in any direction, even the ones that seemed impossible. She also describes, “The music had no periods, no rests or endings; the poetry’s beautiful sentence never ended; the line had no finish…” These moments are similar because Dillard is talking about how Rahm’s plane moved in the air. Both of these moments give the image of the plane flying seamlessly, doing flips and turns through the air. Comparing artistic performances to the plane flying makes the readers feel like they were in the stands, watching Rahm fly with Dillard.