LIVING LIKE WEASELS BY ANNIE DILLARD By Lexy

“LIVING LIKE WEASELS” BY: ANNIE DILLARD By: Lexy Zemke

Who Is Annie Dillard? � � � Born on April 30, 1945 in Pittsburgh, PA Went to Hollins University At 28, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her collection of essays, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. She was the youngest woman to receive that prize. Other works: The Writing Life, Living by Fiction, An American Childhood. “Living Like Weasels” is an essay inside a larger collection of essays, called Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters. ” I think it’s important to recognize that this essay was written with several others essays put together.

Any Challenges? � � Confused by her fixation on weasels Why she described her encounter with the weasel so intensely

Overcoming Those Challenges � � � Reflect on why she would be talking about a weasel in such an intense way. Dig for the symbolism of what the weasel and its way of life means for Dillard. Using those strategies, I developed a sense of compassion towards Dillard.

Summary In Annie Dillard’s essay, “Living Like Weasels, ” she gives a detailed account of her encounter with a weasel. She uses that intense experience to delve deeper into how she would like to live like weasels – by necessity.

How Does Dillard Tell Her Story? � � � Part I: facts about weasels – provides context Part II: explanation of what her favorite place is and why – beginning of encounter with the weasel. Part III: details about their meeting Part IV: introduction to her ideas on how she wants to live Part V: exploration of the possibilities of living like a weasel. Part VI: Conclusion: we should grab our purpose and run with it.

How Does Dillard Tell Her Story? � The sections are in chronological order of how she thinks. She’s showing her natural thought process, from background all the way to contemplating how she lives her life, to her resolution of how we could mimic the simplicity of weasels.

What Is Going On In This Text? How to Read a Book: 1. What is this book about as a whole? It’s about Dillard trying to find peace in this hectic world, and she compares the ideal way to live to a weasel and their instinctual, simple nature.

What Is Going On In This Text? How to Read a Book: 2. What is being said in detail, and how? More specifically, she wants to live in a way that is more simple and carefree. She wants to do as she pleases, just like weasels, and claims that it’s very possible. She compares living a life like that to taking “vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. ” (Page 170, part V) She accomplishes this by manipulating the structure, and dividing her thoughts into tangible sections aids in her ability to assert that it’s possible to live a simpler life.

Analysis “Our look was as if two lovers, or deadly enemies, met unexpectedly on an overgrown path when each had been thinking of something else: a clearing blow to the gut. It was also a bright blow to the brain, or a sudden beating of brains, with all the charge and intimate grate of rubbed balloons. It emptied our lungs. It felled the forest, moved the fields, and drained the pond; the world dismantled and tumbled into that black hole of eyes. If you and I looked at each other that way, our skulls would split and drop to our shoulders. But we don't. We keep our skulls. So. ”(Page 169, part III)

Analysis “What goes on in his brain the rest of the time? What does a weasel think about? He won't say. His journal is tracks in clay, a spray of feathers, mouse blood and bone: uncollected, unconnected, loose leaf, and blown. ” (Page 169, part III)

Discussion � What was it like to read this essay?

Discussion � What did you notice about the way she spoke about the weasel?

Discussion How to Read a Book: 3. Is the book true, in whole or part?

Discussion How to Read a Book: 4. What of it? Why is this essay important? How does it apply to us?