Compare And Contrast Audubon And Annie Dillard

By just observing a flock of birds, John James Audubon and Annie Dillard are able to create a detailed piece of writing by representing their experience through their usage of literary devices and syntax. Indistinguishably, both Audubon and Dillard view the birds as one of the most interesting creatures on Earth. However, their diction along with their comparisons contradict when they conveyed their emotions when they viewed the flocks.
As an Ornithologist, John James Audubon is factual when expressing his experience on the impression that the flock had on him. Without utilizing a graphic explanation, Audubon begins “counting the dots then put down, [and realizes] that 163 had been made in twenty-one minutes.” By doing so, the reader gains an understanding of the wonders that Audubon holds. The way he describes the flock as an “eclipse”, a “torrent”, and a “gigantic serpent”, as well as, the varied diction, “eminence” and “inconceivable velocity” conveys his fascination with the sight. As seen in his passage, Audubon creates descriptive commentary, though he does lack the usage of imagery. In actuality, Audubon does confess

that “[he] cannot describe to [the reader] the extreme beauty of their aerial evolutions,” thus adding proof that Audubon is more descriptive than visual.
On the one hand, Dillard put together a more creative portrayal of the flock of birds.

Of course, with the mind of a skilled author, she is no wildlife expert like Audubon. Nonetheless, she was competent enough to capture “the flight [, that] extended like a fluttering banner, an unfurled oriflamme.” In other words, Dillard is able to observe the “starlings” by making simile comparisons. Of the innumerable similes that she included within her essay, Dillard is able to compare the starling's formation as “transparent and whirling, like smoke” and “like a loosened skein,” and also compare their speed “like wind,” in order to explain the numerous amount of starlings were at the scene at the moment. Ultimately, Dillard doesn’t make an attempt to truthfully collect information about the birds, rather, she is remains still and experiences the

moment.
Even though both writers had some different ways in expressing their experiences, they both shared similar emotions. Both remained outside for hours, and both experienced the flock of birds. And with that, they were able to create such acute observations. In other words, with observations comes commentary, and with commentary comes emotions. With precise details, Audubon tells how “he observed the pigeons flying…and feeling an inclination…[he] dismounted…and began marking with his pencil, making every dot for every flock that passed.” Of course, with that, Audubon creates an understanding that such detailed description wouldn’t have been born without the patience that was made to appreciate the Nature at hand. Likewise, Dillard, drew a picture for the reader when she narrated, “It was starling’s…gathered deep in the distance…Each individual bird [bobbing] and [knitting] up and down in the flight…My eyes prickled from the effort of trying to trace a feathered dot’s passage…”Once again, a moment of appreciation and emotion is shown.
Both Audubon and Dillard convey their experience and observations differently through their usage of rhetorical devices due to the way in which the birds acted once they approached the two. Together, the two authors view the birds as one of the most interesting creatures on Earth.