Lit 10 4/19/18

Annie Dillard

Brief Summaries w/Key Questions

• P. 427, Key Q 1: What technique does the aihotr use in the first sentence? (Last summer, in August, I stayed at the creek too late)

• The author uses suspense. She arouses the reader's curiosity. We wonder what happened because she stayed "too late" at the creek.

• P. 427, Key Q 2 [Group 1]: What mood is conveyed by the description of the creek? Which wors help convey the mood?

• The mood is one of delighted wonder and is expressive of a fullbodied joy of life. In this paragraph, the author begins by being in control of the situation and concludes with the expression of her overpowering emotions. She is awestruck by the beauties of nature. She sees "an astonishing bloom of life". She straddles the sycamore log, and she stays too late, because she is spellbound; the swallows have caught at her heart. She is intoxicated by the limitless reservoir of beauty that nature offers her.

Brief Summaries w/Key Questions

• P. 427, Key Q 3 [Group 2]:What problem does the narrator have?

• She is exposed to so many manistfestations of nature's beauty that she is unsure which path to follow. Should she observe the progress of a tutrle about whose whereabouts she was pretty sure, os should she risk "snagging" her face on a spider's web as she chooses to follow the movements of either the carp, muskrat, or the swallows

• P. 427, Key Q 4 [Group 3]: How does the author subtly change the mood?

• She hints at the fact that darkness is still mankind's enemy and that we are defensive against it. She also indicates that the noises of the night, such as the hissing of the turtle, the rustle in the undergrowth, and the roiling of the water are fear-inspiring sounds, given the absence of light.

Brief Summaries w/Key Questions

• P. 428, Key Q 5 [Group 4]: Describe what the author sees in the near darkness?

• The water is greatly disturbed by some unseen force. Ripples move upstream with great force. An airplane is reflected through the clear water onto the bottom of the creek, giving the impression of a stingray. The last light of sunset flickers in the sky. She observes the darkening shadows in the water. All these sights are frightening and awesome, but very beautiful.

• P. 428, Key Q 6: How is it that the cloud still gives off feeble light?

• The cloud is so high above the horizon that the rays of the distantly setting sun, invisible to anyone at ground level, are still able to reach the upper reaches of the atmosphere and tinge the cloud with color.

Brief Summaries w/Key Questions

• P. 428, Key Q 7 [Group 5]: What is described in the final paragraph?

• The final colors of the sky as the sun sets are described. Only the deepest violet of the cloud remains, yet the cloud's underside is still lit from the light of the sun which is being reflected to the cloud from the distantly setting sun. Something black and mysterious arches over the water. At last all becomes dark, reflecting the darkness of the sky.

• P. 428, Key Q 8: How is it that the cloud still gives off feeble light?

• Answers may vary, but while we are not sure, we know she was watching for muskrats. Hints that it is a muskrat: "enormous black body, cylindrical sleekness, head & tail, ebony fling". The reference to the cloud could be referring to the reflection of teh cloud as it is mirrored in the creek.

Activity