Annie Dillard "Living Like Weasels"

         In her essay "Living Like Weasels," Annie Dillard suggests that the nature and lifestyle of a weasel represents true freedom, comparing it to the seemingly free lifestyle of humans, stipulating that humans are actually caught up in a world of restrictions and captivity. She begins by describing the entrancing behavior of weasels, then connecting it to her own encounter with a weasel, afterwards explaining how the encounter affected her, and finally giving her opinion upon the entire subject as a whole. Her purpose appears to be to convince readers that the weasel lives the optimal life- never bound by choices or decisions, always acting based on instinct and necessity- and that humans should follow suite instead of getting caught up in their own world. Seemingly addressing the entire human population, Dillard creates an awestruck and detached tone by writing a journal-entry-esque essay, describing her thoughts as if she were the only one hearing them. 

         Questions:

         1. The division of this essay is interesting- I think in some ways the numbered paragraphs follow her thought patterns. They go through first the details of simply what a weasel is, introducing the topic both to us and to her mind. Then she goes on to connect it to a memory, when she encountered a weasel herself. She first describes the setting of where it occurred, going into great detail about the landscape and various species living there. Continuing on, she goes through her thoughts while actually looking at the weasel, recounting exactly what it looked like and how it felt when their eyes locked. The next paragraph describes the aftermath- her thoughts after she sat back and mulled over what had just happened. Then, regret. She describes her metaphorical regret for not latching onto the weasel's throat, symbolizing her regret for not living as mindlessly as the weasel does. The final paragraph describes the general idea that she takes from the whole situation, living her with more food for thought. 

         2. This line is powerful because it's really the heart of her message- she wishes she could live as mindlessly as the weasel does, "noticing everything, remembering nothing." Those two actions symbolize the lifestyle of animals or of nature. Simply taking everything in as it is, not caring about it or placing in it any more significance. I think her thoughts about this come from a place of hurt or fear. Obviously something in the world scares her if she wishes to live like an animal does (or thinking like an animal, to be more accurate). She doesn't want attachments and choices and everything else that makes life hard for humans. She would rather live like an animal because it's more peaceful and creates less of a chance of being hurt or feeling any bad emotions at all. 

         5. I don't think Dillard means "wild" like having no control over oneself. I think she means more like returning to natural instincts, relying on emotions and needs rather than want. When one returns to such instincts, human thoughts and patterns of behavior slowly slip away. She seems to suggest that being "wild" is being free- having the freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want simply because you feel the urge or need to do it. Obviously she isn't suggesting murder or anything of the sort. To her, having a little bit of the wild in life would mean simply doing something because it feels right or it feels good, not being bogged down by the choices of everyday life.