Annie Dillard has clearly spent
time and effort learning how to paint pictures in people’s heads. The vivid
words she chooses creates that mental picture that only veteran writers can
achieve. The whole time she was describing how a total eclipse looks and feels
I felt like I was there with her. Even though I have never seen what one looks
like, I am confident that I could now explain one to a friend. I also
appreciated that Dillard added details that weren’t always necessary but that
brought a more real-life-feeling to the essay. Take for example when she was
describing the clown. The clown had nothing to do with the essay about
eclipses, but by Dillard adding that detail, I could tell she cared about her
writing. She was so moved by her experience with the total eclipse that she
wanted to share every little detail to make us feel like we were there with
her. Dillard snuck some metaphors in her writing that made good connections to
things I could relate to. “The high way threaded south into the valley...” was
one line that certainly painted a clearer picture in my mind. I have driven
through mountains with roads winding down them. The roads weave down the side
of the mountains like a spider web.
One of the paragraphs that I was
most impressed with was when Dillard described how her husband looked during
the eclipse. Her vision of him being “light-years away” and stating that it
felt like “we had all started down a chute of time” boggled my mind. It takes a
creative mind to compare two completely different objects like an eclipse and a
time chute.
I did have some troubles reading
this blog. Dillard writes with such a unique style that sometimes her words
lose me. There was one paragraph about mushrooms that I did not fully
understand; however, it was just another one of those details that only added
life to the story, so I was able to grasp the rest of the story.
Overall I enjoyed reading Dillard’s
work. Her style of writing varies from my usual readings, and I enjoyed that.
She took a very short event and made it into a short story. By adding details
that accentuated the experience, Dillard kept readers entertained.
Hey Ali! I agree that Annie Dillard clearly has had practice in the art of painting pictures in a reader’s mind. Her exquisite details and word choice help to portray a simple story that she fills with intrigue and mystery. Like you said, it’s evident that this isn’t her first time writing. I, along with you, could picture myself standing next to her and her husband on top of the mountain in the Yakima Valley in Washington. What a sight that would have been! She goes the extra mile with her descriptions, and that made the total eclipse easy to grasp by the reader who may have had no previous knowledge of what it actually is. Yes, it was apparent that she really wanted to tell this story in as much of a vivid way as possible. Her metaphors speckled throughout the paper also highlighted her experience in a nice way.
ReplyDeleteDuring the total eclipse, she, like you said, did take time to describe her husband and how he looked like he was in the Middle Ages. The quote about how “everything was lost” also appealed to me. I was shocked at the fact that a total eclipse can radiate so much power and fear. I also had some trouble comprehending parts of this story. Her ramblings and unique style were interesting and even confusing at times. I felt like her paragraphs about the brain being satisfied by eggs, the gold mining article, and even the clown, were perplexing, but in a way did help to add life to the story, as you stated above.
I also enjoyed her work as well; her style is different in a good way. I haven’t read anything like this either. She made an event that was under two minutes, last several pages. She without a doubt kept us both entertained with her story!
I really liked Dillard's style, also. She creates such an intense mood during the eclipse. An AP Comp student from last year, Victoria Homner, brought this one in to class, and after it was over, I did an internet search to find out when the next total eclipse would be taking place, so I could be there.
ReplyDeleteGood job on getting your blog up and running. One thing to do now is check out some of the other students' blogs and leave them some feedback. A couple of comments a week would be just fine. Make sure you keep a record of where and when you comment so I can give you credit for it. A list of all the blog addresses is on my teacher web page.
Hope your summer is going well, Ali!
Hi Ali! I totally agree with you when you said that Dillard's description of her husband during the eclipse boggled your mind. It took me a few times reading it to even begin to wrap my head around her intricate and descriptive writing style!
ReplyDeleteI, like you, definitely felt that Dillard was not new to this descriptive style of writing, and wanted her essay to be very detailed and intricate. I have never read anything ever before that would compare to the style of Dillard's essay. I also enjoyed reading this, even if at times it was a bit confusing!
Hi Ali! Your blog is really good! I agree with you that Dillard has done a great job painting the picture of the eclipe in your mind. I also felt that her words would some times lose me. When I could fully understand what she was trying to describe, it was great. She used great word choice and really helped paint a picture. But then again there were parts that didn't make sence, for me it was the clown painting. I didn't fully understand why that was writen about.
ReplyDeleteI also as Zoe and Chloe said, have never read anything that could compair to Dillards style of writing. It's not my favorite style of writing but it was a good experance to read something new. I hope you have a good rest of the Summer! :)