Compare And Contrast Audobon And Annie Dillard

787 Words2 Pages

In their artful description of large flocks of birds, both John Audobon and Annie Dillard are able to utilize a variety of imagery, syntax, diction, and points of views to describe the birds and to convey their effects in a stylistic manner. However, despite their noted similarities, including that of their fiery passion for bird watching, there are many differences in their work that make their individual descriptions unique. Audobon is more concrete and scientific, listing distinct observations and conveying them in a simple and technical manner, while Dillard is more abstract and artistic, adding more literary techniques and providing “trance-like” descriptions. John Audobon’s description of the birds were shifted more towards the technical …show more content…

By utilizing vivid details and intense imagery, she allows the readers to feel her emotions and visualize the abstract imagery that she put forth when describing the birds. Throughout her passage, Dillard incorporates very adept literary techniques to create a trance-like feeling, such as when recounting the flight patterns of the birds with, “The flight extended like a fluttering banner, an unfurled oriflamme, in either direction as far as I could see.” As she continues, she immerses the readers with the actions of the birds, in such a manner that makes it seem as if she was a bird herself, flying majestically with the flock. She stated that “Each individual bird bobbed and knitted up and down in the flight at apparent random, for no known reason except that that’s how starlings fly, yet all remained perfectly spaced.” By stating that, “The flocks each tapered at either end from a round middle, like an eye”, Dillard is able to provide additional explicit imagery and details that give the readers emotional insight rather than mere facts of what happened. Furthermore, as she describes the sounds she hears with, “Over my head, I hear a sound of beaten air like a million shook rugs, a muffled whuff. Into the woods they sifted without shifting a twig, right through the crowns of trees, intricate and rushing, like wind”, she provides so much intricate detail in a way that the

Open Document