In Dillard’s essay “Living Like Weasels”, she takes her desires of wanting a life with tranquility and compares her desires, to a weasel’s life of instinct. When we look at a weasel’s character, we can see that it is the opposite of serenity. Unlike a human, a weasel resides in the wilderness, typically away from suburbia. A weasel hunts for its food and is a fearsome hunter. While a weasel may be small and appear cute they, are in fact very dangerous, for instance: if a weasel were to ‘latch’ himself or herself on to you, the weasel would much rather face death than let go. Dillard describes the boastfulness of the weasel when she shared the story of the shooter that had found the weasel’s cadaver still attached to the eagle he had shot. …show more content…
As we compare a human’s life to that of a weasel, one could argue that embracing tranquility in life could train the mind to live a purer existence.
Moreover, Dillard uses the weasel, as a model to illustrate her belief of living in an environment where choice is not in abundance and the mind is simple. As we reflect on our own human life we actually find a period of time where humans lived much like the weasel in a fight or flight response, this was during the historic caveman days. While it would appear during this historic time period humans had little stress due to limited life choices, they actually had an enormous amount of stress. The stress they endured was similar to the weasel’s survival instinct, where their main focus was to survive from one day to the next. During this time
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Dillard alludes that by eradicating stress we could live a more serene life. Stress contributors such as: being a full-time employee, full-time student, caring for elderly parents, working overtime, and financial responsibilities can affect the human body in negative ways which defeats living a more tranquil life. One could argue that humans need to embrace things that are soothing to reduce stress, such as: exercising, having a hobby, getting a massage, meditating, reading a book, etc. All humans should have their own Hollis’s Pond where they can find tranquility. When one thinks of tranquility they tend to think of running waterfalls, peaceful gardens with butterflies, shaded wooded areas or places like Dillard’s, Hollis’s pond. While these are all serene areas, they may not exist in all geographical areas and therefore, other tranquil resources such as: meditating, yoga, Tai Chi may be the equal to Dillard’s, Hollis’s Pond. What works for one human may not work for another, and each human has to discover what works for him or her. For Dillard, hers was visiting Hollis’s Pond, taking in the pure and obedient life that nature had to offer, escaping reality, letting go of the stress of her daily life while her chaotic suburbia life continued just a short distance
Sometimes all one needs to create a better condition is putting in a little effort. However, as the poem implies, it is easier to do nothing for staying in a comfort zone is better than achieving a better condition. She complains of the heat in the room because the sun for sunlight pours through the open living-room windows. All she needs to do is get up and close the windows, but she won't do it either. She also reveals the futility of trying to get out of the meaningless routine that people adopt. In an attempt to be proactive, she thinks about the essence of living and is almost convinced that routine is the nature of life. She thinks for a long time and thinks again but ironically, the same routine chores distract her yet again. She goes to buying a hairbrush, parking, and slamming doors. At the end, she gives up on finding the essence of living; she wants to do things like she has always done
Frank Lloyd Wright is one of America’s most influential architects that has left a legacy of structures that are collaged with Nature (Mead, 2014, February). Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture, has left a legacy of tranquil spaces hidden within parks that are known for their “picturesque” qualities (Mead, 2014, January). These two men are completely different with the designs that they’ve created simply because they are using different mediums, but ultimately there aren’t a lot of contrasting elements to their designs. The similarities are evident when you begin to look at their main priority when designing; mental health and wellness. With health and wellness as a mutual focus it is easy to find that they had complementary design influences, theories, and design principles. To create a design that successfully helps to soothe the mind they both found that Nature is the best tool to use. This tool is now their unique contribution to design history, and as a result it stands out as something that today’s designers want to mimmic when focusing on mental health and wellness.
In nature things often occur that parallel our way way of being. In this short excerpt, Annie Dillard portrays the amount of determination and stubbornness in weasels, which is much like our own. At the beginning Ms. Dillard reflects on the characteristics that make a weasel wild. She writes that the weasel “…[kills] more bodies than he can eat warm, and often dragging the carcasses home” (Dillard 1). She then moves on to the weasels instinct,and stubbornness, through an anecdote in which a naturalist found himself with a weasel stuck to his arm with one bite, and try as he might her could not “pry the tiny weasel” (Dillard 1) off his arm. The only way he was able to release himself was to “soak him[the weasel] off like a stubborn label”(Dillard
To achieve a lifestyle in which you are happy and at peace, you must break away from your social setting and truly experience life in the simplest form.
As Mark Twain once stated, “The more I know about people, the better I like my dog.” This sentiment is often echoed by general society; people seem to have lost faith in humanity. However, John Steinbeck illustrates his more optimistic opinion about “the perfectibility of man” by suggesting how man can improve. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, two tenants called George and Lennie go through many hardships all while chasing their dream of possessing their own farm. While they work at a farm, they meet an old swamper called Candy who offers to help them achieve their dream; he does so to ensure that he will have a future after he is fired for being too old. On page 60, Candy discusses the recent death of his dog and asks to join in on George and Lennie’s dream. Through this passage, Steinbeck proves that humans have an animalistic tendency of eliminating those who are weaker than them. This is depicted through the details connecting Candy to his dog as well as Candy’s diction when describing his potential future life. Steinbeck’s negative attitude towards man’s predatory nature implies that society needs to improve and prevent such oppressive behavior from occurring.
As we see in the daily news, people are often cruel and inhumane, and we also see kinder people in everyday life. We see people who give up their own personal pleasure so they can serve others. But while these people are far and few between, it becomes quickly obvious that humans are drawn towards self-happiness. Bibliography:.. 1. What is the difference between a. and a Leviathan.
Imagine the utter destruction of your home, better yet imagine you just accidentally destroyed someone else’s home and are understandably upset for the grief that you have just caused. Robert Burns being a Scottish farmer very well could have committed such a crime, yet the victim was a mere mouse. His poem, ostensibly biographical, To a Mouse is his apology to this insignificant creature, for plowing over his nest. Burns is examining the way of life of this mouse in comparison to his own life, to his own problems. This “compassion for the mouse becomes pity for the poor, then pity for all existence” (Perkins 13).
But in nature, few needs are met and few desires are satisfied. Life is short, hard, cruel, and painful for nearly every living thing."
B. F. Skinner revolutionized the field of psychology through his numerous writings on behaviorism. However, he began his collegiate life as an English major, and his education in literary techniques and devices clearly shows through in the manipulation of metaphor in his famous novel Walden Two. Although Skinner rarely diverges from the incessant description of behavioral engineering through his mouthpiece in the novel, Frazier, he occasionally digresses from the theory and application of scientific experimentation to the literary elements that are essential to any novel. One of these elements, the metaphor of the sheep that appears at the beginning and end of the book, clearly embodies three principles of Skinner’s behaviorist rationale: the superiority of positive reinforcement over negative reinforcement, the necessity for humans to accept their roles, and the function of the Walden Code to the members of Walden Two.
Have you noticed that we feel a powerful desire to connect with nature during difficult times? Whether we are injured, depressed or sad our inclination towards nature increases. Patients in hospitals recover faster if they are in a room with a nice view. Why? Because nature is so pure and powerful that can restore our spirits and heal our bodies and minds. The beauty of nature has been praised in art, poetry, writings and films. Naturalists, poets and writers have documented the many benefits of spending time in nature. "Calypso Borealis" by Muir and "I wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by Wordsworth are two great pieces of literature where our hearts are filled with an indescribable emotion. John Muir and William Wordsworth express their relationship
Dillard’s essay delves into the way humans live, and says that we as humans “could live any way we want" (Dillard 66). All Dillard encountered was a mere weasel. An ordinary
Joy Harjo did a tremendous job in explaining to the reader that one can relax oneself through prayer and nature. We can all relate to the idea of allowing ourselves into places not yet imagined and feeling at peace. She connects the idea of peacefulness with nature and prayer in a well thought language that allows her to still connect herself to her Native American ancestry. Harjos metaphors and images of nature and prayer are effective in getting her point across as well as making a deeper connection with her Muskogee Creek heritage.
In “Living Like Weasels,” the writer, Annie Dillard, is talking about weasels by describing some of their living habits and narrating her sudden encounter with a weasel which made her change her mind towards the real meaning of life. In her essay, Dillard is comparing weasels’ life with humans’ life, and in some parts she is favoring weasel’s life over our life since they live freely, but our freedom has been limited .
Overall, The Meditations is in accordance to stoic thought. Marcus Aurelius wrote a lot about how to not let people, and of course externals affect your happiness. That we must, “take nothing in hand without purpose and nothing falsely or with dissimulation, depend not on another’s actions or inactions, accept each and every dispensation as coming from the same Source as itself.” If we live in accordance with stoic belief and what Aurelius wrote then we can achieve happiness.
As the pace of life increases and the stresses accumulate, meditation offers a refuge from the craziness of the world.