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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. Why do birds sing?
2. Dillard says the agnostic asks who created the universe. What does a believer ask?
3. What did Dillard do at one time about insects as a child?
4. Why do the male praying mantis come near the female?
5. Why did early Eskimos love winter?
Short Essay Questions
1. In Chapter 12, Dillard observes the world at night. Considering the grasshoppers leads her into thoughts of locusts. How did early people see locusts, and where does Dillard's thoughts on them lead?
2. How does Dillard feel about "shadows?" What does she write to show those feelings?
3. Dillard spends the entire chapter dealing with the passing of a hurricane. How does the theme of "floods" relate to other parts of the book?
4. How does Dillard believe her time at Tinker Creek has helped her?
5. This very brief chapter, "Untying the Knot," is about time. What does Dillard want time to be?
6. Why do the Eskimos hunt in the fall and what can happen if they fail?
7. Describe the two ways of seeing, according to Dillard.
8. Why does Dillard question both the morality and the compassion of nature?
9. 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.
10. How does Dillard see as the difference between plant and animal fecundity?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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 2
One day while hiking, Dillard comes upon a coot, a water bird, notorious for its shyness. Dillard spends a great deal of space writing about her encounter with the coot. Describe the encounter and what Dillard thinks she learned from it.
Essay Topic 3
The present is fleet. One barely glimpses it, and it is gone, Dillard writes. What is the present, according to the author? Why try to stay in it? How does the present compare to the past or the future? Have you ever tried to stay in the moment? Describe one situation when the author tried to stay in the now. Do you think it's possible to stay just in the now? Why or why not?
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This section contains 1,169 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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