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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What did Dillard do at one time about insects as a child?
2. Dillard thought once that awesome artistry can be laced with savagery. To what did she refer?
3. How do ladybugs hibernate?
4. Who does Dillard think gravitates towards the field of botany?
5. What is the analogy she draws between the snake skin and the seasons?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Dillard mean by the phase, "sinking into her center?" How does she use this technique?
2. How does Dillard see as the difference between plant and animal fecundity?
3. How does Dillard believe her time at Tinker Creek has helped her?
4. What is the problem with the starlings in Chapter 3? How does the town of Radford, Virginia deal with the starlings? Were they successful?
5. The Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is, on the surface, a stream of consciousness journey through the natural world around Tinker Creek. What does "stream of consciousness" writing entail? In your answer address plot, characterization and theme.
6. Dillard recalls what a woman recently told her, "'Seem like we're just set down here...and don't nobody know why."' What do you think this saying means?
7. What might Dillard's fascination and stories about the praying mantis demonstrate?
8. Chapter 13 continues Dillard's musing on the "dog eat dog" world especially as it relates to parasites. How does Dillard view the parasitic relationship?
9. Dillard writes a mystical account of a real encounter with a goldfinch. Briefly describe what she wrote.
10. What is the correlation Dillard sees between time and the search for God?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss Dillard's story about the tomcat in chapter one. Why did Dillard include this story in the book? What might be the meaning of this story?
Essay Topic 2
Chapter One is title, "Heaven and Earth in Jest." What do you think Dillard meant by this title? What might be the jest? Does it seem true to you?
Essay Topic 3
In chapter fourteen, Dillard wants to go "northing," as a means to pare down to the essence. She will not go "northing" this year, but she will wait where she is and welcome the North wind as it scours the land around her. What do you think she means by wanting to go "northing?" Discuss both the physical aspect and the mystical or spiritual aspect of this term as Dillard uses it.
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This section contains 1,213 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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