In her essay “Living Like Weasels,” Annie Dillard reflects on an encounter she had with a weasel at a pond near her home. This encounter was brief but nevertheless important as it sparked the question “Who knows what [the weasel] thinks”? As Annie ponders this question, we are presented with a comparison between the complex life of human beings and the simple life of weasels. We can find examples of contrast throughout this essay. For instance, Annie describes the pond she visits by the “55 mph highway at one end, and a nesting pair of wood ducks at the other.” Annie describes the landscape further in the fifth paragraph when she says, “Under every bush is a muskrat hole or a beer can”. This contrast between human decision making and
One of the predominate themes present in Desert Solitaire is the conflict between civilization and the wilderness. Abbey introduces this motif at the beginning of his memoir at personal level. On first day of his employment with United States Park Service Abbey describes the first pair arches that he encounter. The sight of massive fifty foot boulders impresses him and he makes a conceptual comparison with the human altered monuments on Easter Island. This comparison troubles Abbey because civilization has tainted his ability to objectively view nature outside of “humanly ascribed qualities (Abbey, 1968, p. 6).” Abbey struggle to eliminate this anthropocentric premonitions continues when he encounters a pair of gopher snakes mating. Abbey wishes to observe closer but is reluctant because he was “stung by a fear too ancient and power full to overcome (Abbey, 1968, p. 21).”
Annie Dillard portrays her thoughts differently in her passage, incorporating a poetic sense that is carried through out the entire passage. Dillard describes the birds she is viewing as “transparent” and that they seem to be “whirling like smoke”. Already one could identify that Dillard’s passage has more of poetic feel over a scientific feel. This poetic feeling carries through the entire passage, displaying Dillard’s total awe of these birds. She also incorporates word choices such as “unravel” and that he birds seem to be “lengthening in curves” like a “loosened skein”. Dillard’s word choice implies that he is incorporating a theme of sewing. As she describes these birds she seems to be in awe and by using a comparison of sewing she is reaching deeper inside herself to create her emotions at the time.
As a member and supporter of the earth’s weak little peacekeepers (small humans with loud voices), I can say that despite Rick Bass’s honorable honesty, I found “Why I Hunt: A Predator’s Mediation” to be a threat to womankind. Not all women are vulnerable, but with weapons the hunter can make most anyone his prey. There are predators in the United States who hunt women the way Bass hunts elk. If Bass’s non-human targets are replaced with women and children, the essay has quite a different effect on the reader, though the arguments don’t change. When Bass describes his love of “sitting in some leaves, completely hidden and motionless—waiting, and waiting” (63), I picture him waiting in a park for an unattended child or an unaccompanied woman. My concerns about Bass’s instincts aren’t neurotic. I’m a loving woman who occasionally hugs trees and wants to feel safe in the world—not a card carrying member of PITA.
“ I wonder what this family thought about when their mortgage finally outgrew their crops, and thus gave the signal for their eviction. Many thoughts, like flying grouse, leave no trace of their passing, but some leave clues that outlast the decades. He who, is some unforgotten April, planted this liliac must have thought pleasantly of blooms for all the Aprils to come. She who used this washboard, its corrugations worn thin with many Mondays, may have wished for a cessation of all Mondays, and soon.” (Leopold
The speaker in “Five A.M.” looks to nature as a source of beauty during his early morning walk, and after clearing his mind and processing his thoughts along the journey, he begins his return home feeling as though he is ready to begin the “uphill curve” (ln. 14) in order to process his daily struggles. However, while the speaker in “Five Flights Up,” shares the same struggles as her fellow speaker, she does little to involve herself in nature other than to observe it from the safety of her place of residence. Although suffering as a result of her struggles, the speaker does little to want to help herself out of her situation, instead choosing to believe that she cannot hardly bare recovery or to lift the shroud of night that has fallen over her. Both speakers face a journey ahead of them whether it be “the uphill curve where a thicket spills with birds every spring” (ln. 14-15) or the five flights of stares ahead of them, yet it is in their attitude where these two individuals differ. Through the appreciation of his early morning surroundings, the speaker in “Five A.M.” finds solitude and self-fulfillment, whereas the speaker in “Five Flights Up” has still failed to realize her own role in that of her recovery from this dark time in her life and how nature can serve a beneficial role in relieving her of her
In his article The Modern Hunter-Gatherer, Michael Pollan recounts the events that took place during his first hunting trip. Both during and after the hunt, Pollan struggles with an array of emotions that he conveys directly with his audience. From this struggle, a moral complication is formed regarding the direct relationship of death between humans and animals. By not giving a direct answer regarding the question he introduces of whether animals and humans experience death in the same way, Pollan leaves his text open to interpretation which ultimately forces his audience to view hunting through a more challenging, introspective lens.
At times humanity are selfish for unreasonable reasons, which can cause suffering mentally and physically to those that are attentive about morality. The Renegade, by Shirley Jackson provides readers a narration that emphasizes society’s inhumaneness through the mindset of the protagonist Mrs. Walpole. Readers acquire background on the family that “They had not lived in the country town long enough…” (pg. 74), showing that she is still adjusting to the new environment. The author presents the readers with Mrs. Walpole’s point of view and attitude towards people by exploring the interactions she encounters with the other characters in the story. When her dog, Lady was accused of killing chickens Mrs. Walpole reaches to her neighbors for advice
As the deer fed at the marsh's edge, its tail flickering as it nibbled tender and ripe green growth, the nervous animal paused in its feeding and lifted its head to listen. Whatever hint of danger the deer had sensed was ignored once the threat could not be located. It stamped a forefoot, lowered its head, and began to eat once more. This deer had failed to detect a Florida panther that was downwind (going into the wind) and crouched low in the underbrush. Amber eyes, however, estimated the distance between himself and the deer.
Throughout time, mankind and nature were always in altered societies or different classes. Robert Burns, the author of To a Mouse, used a style of writing that incorporates both nature and mankind. The poem illustrates a sympathetic situation in which a farmer is walking through their field and unintentionally disturbs the nest of a mouse. Robert Burns uses the two different classes to express the farmer’s sympathy towards a society unlike his own. The poem shows a strong connection between two different societies and a questionable superiority.
This book presents the relationship between human and animal behaviors and the behavior that is now created by our modern day society. The mind has two main parts. There is the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is the better half, yet it is potentially threatening; therefore, the conscious mind is aware at all times. The unconscious mind influences your behavior in many ways. Pi experiences both of these minds. Pi is consciously planning his survival and how he was going to spend his food, so he didn’t run out. His conscious mind contributed to Pi surviving at sea. Consequently, when Pi`s father fed a goat to a tiger to prove a point, he was unaware that this event changed his personality brutally. He became more
Annie Dillard’s essay, “Living Like Weasels”, show how her first encounter with this odd creature gave her new philosophical insight into human nature. Dillard feels connected to this creature which lead her to believe that we should become more like a weasel. So, should we live like weasels? Yes, we, as humanity, should bring back more of our natural instinct and possess a strong sense of necessity, both qualities that a weasel has. For if a weasels is one thing, it is persistent, and that is a quality that humanity is losing as civilization progresses.
We have closed our hearts to animals, Costello concludes, and our minds follow our hearts (or more strictly speaking, our sympathies). Philosophy, (Costello argues) is powerless in its ability to push society in the right direction as it fails to engage with one`s sympathies. Ironically, the burden is placed on something other than one`s rational dimensions, in which philosophy so frequently refers to. Our sympathetic imaginations, to which poetry and fiction appeal more than philosophy, should extend to other animals. As readers it is our duty to be continually vigilant to the methods in which fiction and discourse structure our view to omit acts of evil that we find ourselves subconsciously engaged in.
Pollan’s dramatic diction serves as an integral aspect of his recounting of his first successful hunt. First, Pollan expresses his unease at his lack of familiarity with the intense process of hunting. For example, he emphasizes an overall feeling of apprehension, asserting that “adrenaline surg[ed]” and he “shak[ed] violently” (Pollan 10-11). Here, Pollan dramatizes his emotional state through dynamic diction to demonstrate an emotional “surge” or rush of anxiety. In addition, the specific portrayal of his uncontrollable “shaking” emphasizes innate nervousness in a simple and concise manner. Furthermore, through the description of the “rioting” and “tumbling” of the pigs frantically scattering away, Pollan paints a clear, vivid image of chaos
It might start off unevenly, but Tim Burton takes you on an outstanding ride with Jake and the peculiar children. Tim Burton is the director of the movie “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.” I undisputedly relished the movie but unfortunately I would not put it in my Watch-It-Again list. The adventurous part of the film, on the other hand, got me hooked like a fish.
My impulse is fed by an irrepressible necessity to get away from the beige and brick-depressing walls of a hotel. Once I fled from this hotel, I immediately drew on my animal lover’s spirit and rushed to the zoo for the first time. After fifty-five minutes, I found myself at the zoo entrance, pushing impetuously a decaying handle of a heavy and worn glass door. Once I set it aside, I let my feet take unhurried and dubitative steps toward the exhibition of oceanic birds that I love, Penguins.