A note about the readings: Be sure to notice the way Dillard uses startling comparisons and contrasts to get her ideas across. She, for instance, says of a weasel with a face as "fierce, small, and pointed as a lizard's" that "he would have made a good arrowhead." She says a village in an Ecuadorian jungle catches "sunlight the way a cup catches poured water." She shows us swans swimming in the sky the way amoebae whip themselves through a drop of water under a microscope. She does all these things for a purpose and a point. Consider carefully what those purposes and points might be.

• Read one essay in each section. (Your choices are listed in the "Questions for Reflection.)
• As you read, keep a running commentary in your notebook, jotting down questions you have about the unfolding action, notes about what the point/purpose seems to be, and personal responses.
• Respond to the questions listed below--one for each section.
• Subscribe to your Teaching on-line listserv group if you haven't already.
• E-mail an edited version of each of your responses to your group.

Confused?

E-mail the instructor


(Sorry--if you are using a computer in a campus lab, you'll have to leave Netscape and get into your e-mail program to send me a message at simon@suu.edu.)

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Options for Questions for Reflection

Although Teaching A Stone to Talk is a fairly short book, the essays contain challenging language. Therefore, I'm asking you to select only one essay listed under each "question for reflection."

First section: Choose ONE essay to read. Answer ALL questions listed for each essay.
"Living Like Weasels" Why do you think Dillard chose this as the first essay in the book? Is there another you think would have been a better choice? Have you ever had a close encounter with a wild animal? What were your impressions?
"An Expedition to the Pole" Dillard compares the Catholic church she attends with an expedition to the pole. Why does she do this? What point is she trying to make with her analogy? Pick something important to you (a belief, an incident, an object) and describe its importance by comparing it to something seemingly unrelated.
"In the Jungle" How does Dillard use description to show the reader the jungle in Ecuador? Give specific examples. Have you ever visited a foreign country or a different culture in America? Did your view of the people change the longer you were around them? Explain.
"The Deer at Providence" What specific wording does Dillard use to gain the reader's sympathy for the deer? The other North Americans were surprised that Dillard was emotionless while watching the deer. Do you believe the popular notion that men and women handle emotional situations differently? Why or why not?

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Second section: Choose ONE essay to read. Answer ALL questions listed for each essay.

"Teaching a Stone to Talk" Dillard tells stories to illustrate her beliefs. How does she tie these together? Is her method effective? Have you or someone you know done anything unusual such as trying to teach a stone to talk?

"On a Hill Far Away" Does the use of dialogue between Dillard and the boy enhance the story? Why? Have you ever had a conversation with a child you never met before? What impressions did you get?

"Total Eclipse" Why does Dillard keep refering to the clown painting in her essay? What point is she trying to get across in her essay? When have you felt awed by a natural event or scene? Explain.

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Third section: Choose ONE essay to read. Answer ALL questions listed for each essay.

"Lenses" Dillard tells a long story about her microscope, and then changes the subject abruptly by saying, "But oddly, this story is about swans." Why do you think she makes this break? Did you have a favorite toy or pastime as a kid? Why did you like it so much? What does that activity or pastime represent to you now?

"Life on the Rocks: The Galapagos" Dillard mingles short statements with long descriptions. Does this strategy work for you? Copying her sentence structure and style as exactly as you can, write out a short statement and then elaborate. Darwin developed his theory of evolution after visiting the Galapagos. What have you observed in the world that leads you to your beliefs?

"A Field of Silence" "Silence" is an abstract word. How do Dillard's descriptions make it concrete? Dillard experiences the field in a unique way. What do you know about a certain place that no one else may understand?

"God in the Doorway" What was your opinion of Santa Claus (or any other mythical figure) as a child? When or how did your understanding of this myth change? Explain.

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Fourth section: Choose ONE essay to read. Answer ALL questions listed for each essay.

"Mirages" Dillard writes this primarily in the present tense. How does this affect the mood of the essay? Dillard talks about seeing the light across the water and planning to visit the source of that light but never doing it. Have you ever had a similar experience? Tell us about it--or about a similar ambition fulfilled.

"Sojourner" Why do you think Dillard chose to talk about something as common to her as mangroves? How does she make the ordinary seem interesting? "If survival is an art..." Use this beginning by Dillard to express your opinion about something ordinary that you know about.

"Aces and Eights" Dillard starts with, "I am here against my good judgment." How does this line set up the rest of the essay? Discuss the contrasts between the child you were--your likes, dislikes, goals, attitudes, and dreams--with the adult you are now.

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Your Essay Options (Choose ONE)

This essay should be 1,000-1,250 words (four to five typewritten, double-spaced pages.)

Choice A: Make a point about a significant person, place, animal, or thing the way Dillard does in her essays "Living Like Weasels," "In the Jungle," "Lenses," and "Sojourner." Remember to both assert a thesis and to illustrate it with concrete detail and vivid comparisons. Check your facts with at least two sources; document any information you use according to MLA style.

Choice B: In an analogy, compare two things that people usually think of as completely unrelated and make a point about life or the human condition. Be sure to check your facts with at least two sources. Document them according to MLA style.

Choice C: Explore an abstract term--silence, joy, loneliness, necessity, education--and define it for your readers as concretely as you can. Use at least one reference to check the etymology (history) of the concept. Document your source according to MLA style.

Choice D: Persuade a hostile audience that a particular wilderness area or endangered species should or should not be protected. Remember to anticipate counter-arguments and to use the standard argumentative format, as discussed on page 38-39 in your Scott, Foresman Handbook. Refer to at least two sources--one on each side of the issue--to develop your argument. Document them according to MLA style.

Choice E: Explore the contrasts between the child you were--your likes, dislikes, goals, attitudes, and dreams--with the adult you are now. Interview someone who knew you as a child to obtain a view different from your own; document any information you use from that interview according to MLA style. A thesis/example or comparison/contrast format may help you discover and organize your ideas.

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Interesting links to other websites:

Explorations of nature writing:

• Some background information on Dillard and her work
• Letters of a Woman Homesteader : Stewart, Elinore Pruitt: (1878-?)
  
• Dispatches from the Ontological Frontiers: Annie Dillard's Magic Realist Essay
  
• Annie Dillard, an epic life. A consideration of "The Living," and Annie Dillard's view that the reward is in the enormous effort, not in the glory that follows.
  
  
  
  
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  E-mail the instructor.
  
  
  Go to syllabus