Seeing Annie Dillard Analysis
In each of their works, Dillard, Heat-Moon, and Hutto illustrate that every moment holds boundless wonder. As humans we are wired to look at the future. It is basic preservation. We are always thinking about the next step. Unfortunately, this means that we are often oblivious to the breathtaking world we live in. Throughout “Seeing”, Annie Dillard described in exquisite detail the world around her, from the creek near her house to the reactions of people newly given with their sight, she tells us what is missed by living in our own minds. Dillard states, “With the naked eye I can see two million light-years to the Andromeda galaxy” (7). Humans have the capacity to observe stars millions of miles away, yet how many actually take the time
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We do not enjoy the present because we are living to make the future better. In addition, while talking about patients who have just received sight, Dillard wonders why we do not give these people paint and brush when they still did not know what anything was (9). To them, the world is new and everything is amazing, they appreciate the gifts that most people overlook. To build on Dillard’s point, Heat-Moon discusses the thriving life contained in a Texan desert. It was claimed that the desert held nothing yet in “A List of Nothing in Particular” Heats-Moon proves that that is far from the truth. After listing thirty separate events that he observed, Heat-Moon writes that “[t]o say nothing is out there is incorrect; to say that the desert is stingy with everything except space and light, stone and earth is closer to the truth” (15). To the unobservant, the person just driving though, there is nothing, but the fact is that the desert is teaming with life. Heat-Moon makes the same point—albeit in a more concise manner—that Dillard does, by simply taking a moment to stop and be present in the moment we open ourselves to a world of marvelous occurrences . He was able to create a list of 30 distinct observations just by pulling over and looking in a place that everyone
We do not enjoy the present because we are living to make the future better. In addition, while talking about patients who have just received sight, Dillard wonders why we do not give these people paint and brush when they still did not know what anything was (9). To them, the world is new and everything is amazing, they appreciate the gifts that most people overlook. To build on Dillard’s point, Heat-Moon discusses the thriving life contained in a Texan desert. It was claimed that the desert held nothing yet in “A List of Nothing in Particular” Heats-Moon proves that that is far from the truth. After listing thirty separate events that he observed, Heat-Moon writes that “[t]o say nothing is out there is incorrect; to say that the desert is stingy with everything except space and light, stone and earth is closer to the truth” (15). To the unobservant, the person just driving though, there is nothing, but the fact is that the desert is teaming with life. Heat-Moon makes the same point—albeit in a more concise manner—that Dillard does, by simply taking a moment to stop and be present in the moment we open ourselves to a world of marvelous occurrences . He was able to create a list of 30 distinct observations just by pulling over and looking in a place that everyone