Type up a passage that makes a claim about perception and then write about what you think it means. Between your passage and your comment, shoot for 300 words. Finally, make a comment upon someone else's entry.
In Chapter 2, "Seeing," Annie Dillard explores one of the central topics of this memoir: perception. How can we teach ourselves to actually see?
Type up a passage that makes a claim about perception and then write about what you think it means. Between your passage and your comment, shoot for 300 words. Finally, make a comment upon someone else's entry.
71 Comments
Corbin Blink
4/19/2017 05:21:20 am
The passage I think is fairly interesting is on page 18. In this passage, Dillard makes the claim that ". . . nature is very much a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't affair." She then lists some examples of this phenomenon, but the part that I really thought was interesting and very true was what she says later. She says that ". . . nature does reveal as much as conceal: now-you-don't-see-it, now-you-do." And I think that this is much more true than the previous statement that she makes, its not that we don't see it any more, I feel it's because we just don't pay enough attention to the finer details, in nature, or in life. She then provides and example of this in which she tells us about a time in which she didn't see something before but once she paid closer attention to it, she percieved smaller details that she never would have before. I think that this is relevant not only to nature, but to life as well, many people forget to focus on details here and there and they just zero in on the large end-goal without taking time to appreciate the small things.
Reply
Sam Putzke
4/19/2017 05:27:26 am
I like how you mentioned how we often disregard the finer details of life. I think that this is very true in today's society, especially with all of the distractions in our lives.
Reply
Brooke McKenna
4/19/2017 05:29:39 am
There is so much in life that can really just breeze by us because we aren't paying attention to it. We get so caught up in the rush of things that it becomes hard to catch those special moments that only happen once in a blue moon. It's even harder no-a-day's to se everything because we get wrapped up in our electronics and the things they do for us. Life through a screen is not life, it's not real, and that is the percpective that we are losing.
Reply
Isabella LeClaire
4/19/2017 05:41:49 am
Wow, okay. Way to take my quote again.
Reply
Brooke McKenna
4/19/2017 05:22:24 am
"I've been thinking about seeing. There are lot's of things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises. The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But --and this is the point-- who gets excited by a mere penny?" (Pg.17)
Reply
jadin
4/19/2017 05:33:27 am
I like this quote. It is just an other example of how people don't get exicted about the simple things in life.
Reply
Jacob VanderRoest
4/19/2017 05:33:52 am
Your analysis of this quote is very insightful. I think also that this quote reveals the differing perspectives on life between adults and children. While a child will readily and happily pick up a penny, an adult will simply walk right past it. This small instance reveals that children have a much more positive and exciting perspective on life. Children enjoy the little moments of life such as picking up a penny; on the other hand, adults are focused on serious manners and are aware that life isn't just about having fun. This quote reveals that we ought to enjoy the little things and make an effort to notice and appreciate the smaller details of life.
Reply
Georgia Richardson-Smaller
4/19/2017 05:38:53 am
I like this quote and I agree with what you're saying. I also think a lot of happiness can be found in the little things if people paid attention to them.
Reply
Sydnie Avery
4/19/2017 05:43:51 am
Later in that paragraph, Dillard says, "It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you ciltivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get."
Reply
Sam Putzke
4/19/2017 05:25:16 am
"A disheartening number of them refuse to use their new vision, continuing to go over objects with their tongues, and lapsing into apathy and despair. 'The child can see, but will not make use of his sight. Only when pressed can he with difficulty be brought to look at objects in his neighborhood; but more than a foot away it is impossible to bestir him to the effort.'"
Reply
Corbin Blink
4/19/2017 05:35:08 am
I agree with your claim that people don't take the time to look around, I feel that a lot of people just have a one track mind in which they have a zeroed in goal in mind, and on ly that in mind.They forget to stop and take a look around at what they're doing, or the beauty around them in the world and in their task, what they're really accomplishing. #staywoke #dontbeslept
Reply
Daniel Chalice
4/19/2017 05:42:55 am
I could not agree more with what is being said. I couldn't count the numerous times that my mother tried to pull me away from what I was doing to admire the beauty that surrounds us in this world, and I regret every single one of those moments I took for granted. Life can seem to stretch off into the distance with no end, but any length is finite. One day our lives will come to a halt. It is recommended that you be ready. To be on your death bed with regrets is likely to be the worst pain experienced by man.
Reply
Jacob VanderRoest
4/19/2017 05:26:36 am
Reply
Maxwell McQueary
4/19/2017 05:49:44 am
I like your analysis of that quote; although I do agree with you, and Dillard, that to be happy it takes the enjoyment of the little things in life, pennies are near worthless, cost more to make than they are worth, and all in all are about as relevant today as a flip-phone (@corbin). We need to get rid of pennies, literal ones, not figurative happiness pennies.
Reply
Thea Johnson
4/19/2017 06:04:43 am
Your interpretation of this passage is very insightful, and it is certainly interesting to ponder upon the pennies as being symbols of small moments of joy. After reading over the words again, it seems like that is definitely something Dillard was trying to emphasize. Also, as the tiny, sometimes seemingly insignificant pennies suggest, it can be so easy to overlook the little pleasures of life (like, as you mentioned, a simple smile or natural wonders) amidst the busy world. However, I believe that it is absolutely necessary to pay attention to them and work to understand the true beauty of life and nature, for as Dillard asserts, "what you see is what you get."
Reply
Isabella LeClaire
4/19/2017 05:28:00 am
"Unfortunately, nature is very much a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't affair. . . . For nature does reveal as well as conceal: now-you-don't-see-it, now-you-do."
Reply
Julie Kiger
4/19/2017 05:36:48 am
This is a really interesting take on the quote. While Dillard probably didn't intend for it to be that deep, I can definitely see where you're coming from. It can undoubtedly take a darker meaning.
Reply
Ariel Shull
4/19/2017 05:38:03 am
I think you make a great point about how it could relate to life and death. It's kind of cool how such a simple sentence could mean so many different things.
Reply
Ray Bartlett
4/19/2017 05:40:56 am
That was an interesting interpretation, and I would agree that there are a lot of meanings to this quote. I think the most significant aspect of Dillard's argument is in your fourth paragraph, that nature only "reveals" itself if you want it to. Of course, nature is constantly moving and you'll never be able to see everything, but you won't see anything if you don't take the effort to look for it.
Reply
Rose O'Brien
4/19/2017 05:41:49 am
I think that you have found a very unique and interesting take on this qoute. After thinking about it myself and reading over the passage, I would agree that there are multiple ways to interperate this particular section. In one particular way, as you stated, you can interperate her meaning to be literal, in that a moment in nature is there one second and gone the next. In another sense, you can take it figurativly, in that it can have a deeper hiden meaning such as the matter of life and death.
Reply
Daniel Chalice
4/19/2017 05:29:25 am
"For the newly sighted, vision is pure sensation unencumbered by meaning: 'The girl went through the experience that we all go through and forget, the moment we are born. She saw, but it did not mean anything but a lot of different kinds of brightness.'" In the quote, Annie Dillard is comparing the act of seeing to the art of actually perceiving. To see and to perceive are two very different concepts. To simply see without perceiving deeper meaning from surroundings is to not truly experience. Imagine walking through this life glancing at literally everything in sight for only a second, only to never give a second thought. You receive nothing but the stimulus from your eyes that tells your brain that there is an object there. The beauty of the world shifts into bland nothingness with only a few facts here and there to determine what it is you are glancing at. Trees are simply trees as opposed to elms, oaks, and sycamores. You cannot see past the masks which we all wear on our faces by day. You will listen to the mask rather than perceiving what the face behind it says. To be able to perceive is to be able to understand the world appropriately.
Reply
Daniel Chalice
4/19/2017 05:31:44 am
Also, the quote is from page 28.
Reply
Jadin
4/19/2017 05:29:33 am
"But Shadows spread, and deepened and stayed. After thousands of years we're still strangers to darkness, fearful aliens in an enemy camp with our arms crossed over our chest" page 22.
Reply
Julie Kiger
4/19/2017 05:29:49 am
In "Seeing," Dillard discusses how our perception on things can drastically change the way we live and the amount of satisfaction we get out of life. She claims that lowering your expectations and finding happiness in the smaller things in life will be more beneficial to you than having high expectations and constantly being disappointed in anything not extravagant. For example, on page 17 at the end of the second paragraph, she states, "There are lots of things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises. The world is fairly studded and strewn with bennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But -- and this is the point -- who gets excited by a mere penny? . . . . It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact plated in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get."
Reply
Peyto Scogin
4/19/2017 05:46:04 am
I totally agree with the quote "what you see is what you get" because there isn't anything hidden or anything extra, it is only what is there. We should all be happy with what we get and lower our high expectations so that we may enjoy the little things.
Reply
Sydnie Avery
4/19/2017 05:30:56 am
"But the artificial obvious is hard to see. My eyes account for less than one percent of the weight of my head; I'm bony and dense; I see what I expect. I once spent a full three minutes looking at a bullfrog that was so unexpectedly large that I couldn’t see it even though a dozen enthusiastic campers were shouting directions. Finally I asked, ‘What color am I looking for?’ and a fellow said, ‘Green.’ When at last I picked out the frog, I saw what painters are up against: the thing wasn’t green at all, but the color of wet hickory bark" (20).
Reply
Isabella LeClaire
4/19/2017 05:38:20 am
I definitely agree with this. There are so many things in life that we all just miss because we are not paying attention, not necessarily because we are lazy but because we do not expect to see these things. A lot of people love nice surprises, but if we paid closer attention to life, we would probably find more of those.
Reply
Ariel Shull
4/19/2017 05:35:00 am
"The world's spiritual geniuses seem to discover universally that the mind's muddy river, this ceaseless flow of trivia and trash, cannot be dammed, and that trying to dam it is a waste of effort that might lead to madness. Instead you must allow the muddy river to flow unheeded in the dim channels of consciousness...'Launch into the deep,' says Jacques Ellul, 'and you shall see.'" 35
Reply
Georgia Richardson-Smaller
4/19/2017 05:35:55 am
Throughout chapter 2, Annie Dillard makes claims about perception. For example, she states, "Seeing is of course very much a matter of verbalization. Unless I call my attention to what passes before my eyes, I simply won't see it. It is, as Ruskin says, 'not merely unnoticed, but in the full, clear sense of the word, unseen.'" I believe she is saying that there are different levels of perception, and in order to actually see something, you need to comprehend and describe it. According to her, she needs to verbally describe what she sees: "I have to say the words, describe what I'm seeing." In this chapter, she names many different ways that would allow a person to actually see, and the different levels of perception. In addition, Annie Dillard compares the way people with good eyesight see compared to how people who were once blind see. There are big differences. She illustrates specific cases where people who were blind got surgery in order to see, and the effect it had on them. Some of the patients were very appreciative of everything; she used an example of a girl who saw her favorite tree for the first time. However, some of the patients wished to go back to not seeing. For example, a boy had painted a picture in his head of the girl he loved and he didn't want it ruined, and a girl closes her eyes because she felt more relaxed when she is in complete blindness. It was interesting to see these different reactions from patients because I had assumed that if everyone were offered the opportunity to see, they would take it. But, I can understand what a drastic change it would be and how people who can't see have a different appreciation for the world and have a different level of perception.
Reply
Evan Hotary
4/19/2017 11:18:37 am
Overall, I like your quote and explanation. I think it's really interesting to see how she implies that sight is more than just "seeing it." Moreover, the way in which we intellectually comprehend this "sight" allows us to see things in whole new ways. I also like your example of the "blind vs good eyesight" comparison. It's interesting to see how one's perception of the world may not suit another. For example the blind person who wants to go back to the way they saw things.
Reply
Rose O'Brien
4/19/2017 05:37:32 am
"If you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get."
Reply
Emily Pantelleria
4/19/2017 05:53:47 am
I totally agree with this. No matter how small a penny is, it's still brings happiness to many to find one. That relates to looking at nature. Even if its simple or small, it still can bring us joy. True happiness is appreciating what is around us. Happiness is based off of how we see it.
Reply
Peyton Scogin
4/19/2017 05:39:30 am
Dillard quotes Steward Edward White:'"I have always maintained that if you looked closely enough you could see the wind, the dim, hardly-made-out, fine debris fleeing high in the air."' In this quote by White, Dillard explains that perception is very important to everyone. She explains that we only see what we expect to see, not what is really there. She describes that White was an incredible observer, and she also quotes White again from his book The Mountains, an entire chapter devoted to seeing deer,"'As soon as you can forget the naturally obvious and construct an artificial obvious, then you too will see deer."' I believe perception is the ability to see, not just seeing in general, but making something out of seeing. Perception doesn't have to be only seeing, it can also be listening or feeling. When I look at something, I don't just think "look at that, that thing is pretty cool" no, I think "how did that get there?" or "why is that there?" I look at those things not just with my eyes but with my mind, so that I may actually see something out of it. The only way we can become better observers is to stop and think about what we are seeing instead of just seeing. When you look at something, don't just look for something that you want to see, instead look for something that is actually there.
Reply
Ray Bartlett
4/19/2017 05:41:17 am
On page 35: e"The secret of seeing is, then, the pearl of great price. If I thought he could teach me to find it and keep it forever I would stagger barefoot across a hundred deserts after any lunatic at all. But although the pearl may be found, it cannot be sought."
Reply
Emily Pantelleria
4/19/2017 05:42:25 am
On page 33, Annie Dillard says: "But there is another kind of seeing that involves letting go. When I see this way I sway transfixed and emptied. The difference between the two ways of seeing is the difference between walking with and without a camera. When I walk with a camera I walk from shot to shot, reading the light on a calibrated meter. When I walk without a camera, my own shutter opens, and the moment’s light prints on my own silver gut. When I see the second way I am above all an unscrupulous observer.”
Reply
Marlaina Leo
4/19/2017 11:06:36 am
In response to the quote, I feel that it is even more relevant today. We often get caught up in trying to get the perfect Instagram photo and miss what is actually around us. While it was probably bad in the 70s, it is even more detrimental now. You can walk by a plant or building every day and never it.
Reply
Maxwell McQueary
4/19/2017 05:43:42 am
"But at dawn what looks like a blue dome clamps down over me like a lid on a pot. The stars and planets could smash and I'd never know"
Reply
Piper Harris
4/19/2017 11:19:52 am
I also liked this quote. When I read it I felt as though the quote should be taken both literally and figuratively. As you explain with the sky and how we never will know everything going on in space because the sky acts as a lid. When I read the quote I took away from it that we will never know everything that is going because there will always be a "lid" covering the full truth. This could involve any aspect of life. For example, with people, we will never fully comprehend a person, because there will always be parts of them and their lives that the "lid" will cover.
Reply
Thea Johnson
4/19/2017 05:44:14 am
“The difference between the two ways of seeing is the difference between walking with and without a camera. When I walk with a camera I walk from shot to shot, reading the light on a calibrated meter. When I walk without a camera, my own shutter opens, and the moment’s light prints on my own silver gut. When I see this second way I am above all an unscrupulous observer” (33).
Reply
Lelaina Boyce
4/19/2017 10:57:05 am
I really like this quote, I think it's very insightful, especially in today's day and age. I also like how you mention that not looking through a camera can help someone be "an honest observer of the awe-inspiring processes and occurrences of the natural world." I, for one, really like how you worded it, and for another think that it's something that people have to be aware of, especially with easy access to the technology of today.
Reply
Nicholas Chambers
4/19/2017 10:58:00 am
I think there is a difference between walking with a purpose to take a picture and without purpose. For walking with a camera, you are constantly looking to take a picture. Admittedly, this limits what you can see about the world; however, the intent is to take a picture of something aesthetically pleasing. Walking without purpose is very different, as oftentimes the photograph that may be taken is perceived as being more beautiful because there is a story behind it, and as such is more than just aesthetically beautiful. The same can be said about life. Solving problems has a beauty in its own that should be appreciated, just like not being focused on something has a beautiful aspect to it.
Reply
Nicholas Chambers
4/19/2017 10:50:46 am
"I've been thinking about seeing. There are lots of things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises. The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand.But-and this is the point-who gets excited by a mere penny? . . . cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days" (17).
Reply
Peter Palazzolo
4/19/2017 10:55:13 am
That is a great way of explaining it. It really comes down to how you view the world. The one thing I wonder, is if we should ignore the bad. Even though you don't pay attention to it, it still remains. Is a better perception one that sees just the good, or one that sees everything?
Reply
Rachael Roberts
4/19/2017 10:59:32 am
I wrote about this passage as well, so I most definitely agree. In fact, I couldn't agree more with what you're saying. The penny is indeed a matter of perception. As Dillard says, it can literally make someone's day. I believe that she, like you mentioned, is trying to persuade readers to view what is good rather than bad. Your explanation of the metaphor is great too, I think that's exactly what she was trying to get at.
Reply
Lelaina Boyce
4/19/2017 10:51:05 am
The passage that I thought to be interesting was when Dillard quoted Donald E. Carr, and one of his ideas of animals and how they perceive things. It says, "Donald E. Carr points out that the sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain: 'This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means that only the simplest animals perceive the universe as it is.'" I thought it was interesting because it states that no one can really see the universe the way that it was actually created, only really small, fairly "insignificant" creatures (if I'm being mean) actually get the opportunity to do so. The way we see the world isn't how it actually is, which is really a crazy thing to think about. I guess it gets to be fairly philosophical in its own right because now one thinks about what the universe is really supposed to look like. Because we’ve been seeing all that we are able to all our lives, it’s hard to imagine it in a different form.
Reply
Chloe Cassidy
4/19/2017 11:02:35 am
I agree with your stance on the matter. Perhaps we can see only what we're meant to see or what we've perceived to be as reality. I wonder if there's a chance that we could see what smaller creatures do.
Reply
Peter Palazzolo
4/19/2017 10:51:54 am
"But Shadows spread, and deepened and stayed. After thousands of years we're still strangers to darkness, fearful aliens in an enemy camp with our arms crossed over our chest" (p. 22).
Reply
Hanna Bronz
4/19/2017 10:59:51 am
I think that your connection to Thoreau on this one is especially apt. If humans were tools of their tools during Thoreau's technological era, I can't imagine what we are now. This is an amazing perspective to look at how we live our lives because we are so dependent on our luxuries that the majority will not be happy without so many extra goods.
Reply
Hayley Christine
4/19/2017 11:41:55 am
I am in full agreement with you and Hanna. It is difficult to comprehend that after reading this chapter and Walden, we are now more aware that life for us and society has only changed so much, giving us an entire new perception on what life really is or could be.
Reply
Hanna Bronz
4/19/2017 10:54:37 am
In the first portion of this chapter, Annie Dillard takes a new look at the perspective of the penny in the eyes of someone who would pick it up: “It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won’t stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with our poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get” (17).
Reply
Emily Myers
4/19/2017 11:17:13 am
I think it would be an amazing world to live in if everyone had this perpective, that appreciates the little things. There is so much that we take for granted, and little things that upset us, but if we could make it "so that finding a penny will literally make your day", then, since the world, as Dillard states is "planted with pennies" we will never weary in finding instances that make us happy.
Reply
Rachael Roberts
4/19/2017 10:56:15 am
On page seventeen of "Seeing," Annie Dillard states: "It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get." I believe that this quote directly relates to perception, especially in the last sentence: "What you see is what you get." Dillard, as a child, used to hide pennies along sidewalks in hopes that a stranger or strangers would come to find the unexpected surprise/gift: a penny. As many of us know, the penny is of little value, just one cent, and many of us find it worthless. However, to some, the penny is a matter of whether or not you will be have a meal, a shelter, an item to warm yourself. After all, Dillard even says that it can literally make someone's whole day. I believe that the penny represents the small things in life. To some, they just brush over those small things and their life remains unchanged. But for others, who take their time and enjoy the small things, it can really change their lives. There will always be two types of people: ones who will pick up the penny and those who will not. I agree completely with what author Annie Dillard is saying here. We do, however, need a healthy balance of both of those types of people in this world to understand different perceptions. Without both types of those people, or any people, I believe that our own perception becomes worthless and meaningless.
Reply
Chloe Cassidy
4/19/2017 10:57:23 am
"It's all a matter of keeping eyes open. Nature is like one of those line drawings of a tree that are puzzles for children: Can you find hidden in the leaves a duck, a house, a boy, a bucket, a zebra, and a boot?"
Reply
Gabrielle Doughty
4/19/2017 11:13:47 am
"Where's Walden"?
Reply
Chloe Cassidy
4/19/2017 11:20:54 am
Shoot, "Waldo"
Marlaina Leo
4/19/2017 11:02:22 am
“If we are blinded by darkness, we are also blinded by light. When too much light falls on everything, a special terror results.”
Reply
Claire Conley
4/19/2017 11:03:58 am
(No, I did not copy this from Thea, I found the quote and everything before I saw she already picked it.)
Reply
Declan
4/19/2017 11:16:10 am
I agree completely with your analysis. Dillard want's to reader to see the world in their own eyes, not through a lense. When people are too busy taking pictures to have memories, they are missing out on the true beauty that nature can bring into a person's life.
Reply
Gabrielle Doughty
4/19/2017 11:06:03 am
"But there is another kind of seeing that involves letting go. When I see this way I sway transfixed and emptied. The difference between the two ways of seeing is the difference between walking with and without a camera. When I walk with a camera I walk from shot to shot, reading the light on a calibrated meter. When I walk without a camera, my own shutter opens, and the moment’s light prints on my own silver gut. When I see the second way I am above all an unscrupulous observer.”
Reply
Piper Harris
4/19/2017 11:10:15 am
“It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact plated in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get” (17).
Reply
Claire Stannis
4/19/2017 11:40:31 am
I agree with you Piper. To add to what you said, Dillard is also saying, pretty ironically, that the people who have too much to "pick up a penny" are also those in dire need of happiness. In contrast, she is also suggesting that poverty, to a certain extent, should be seen as beneficial. And they way she uses the word "pennies," I think of it more as a representation of the word opportunities vs happiness.
Reply
Emily Myers
4/19/2017 11:12:12 am
In the chapter “Seeing,” on page 17, Annie Dillard delves into the varied perspectives that people have on life through the symbolism of pennies:"It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get.”
Reply
Kierstyn Stoin
4/19/2017 11:37:47 am
Your analysis of this quote is really good. I also liked this quote because of the repeating penny symbolism of hope and joyfulness that it brings, like in the anecdote that Dillard wrote about in the beginning of the chapter about her hiding pennies and drawing arrows.
Reply
Evan Hotary
4/19/2017 11:12:54 am
Throughout the chapter "Seeing," Annie Dillard discusses the variation and difference in perspective. Moreover, she implies that it's almost impossible to truly "see" if your mind is elsewhere. As for a quote I found interesting, I chose a passage from page 21: "Peeping through my keyhole I see within the range of only about thirty percent of the light that comes from the sun; the rest is infrared and some ultraviolet, perfectly apparent to many animals, but invisible to me" (21). In short, this quote really struck me in a philosophical sense. The ability to write what you see is one thing, but to acknowledge the immense scale of which you cannot see is something else. Furthermore, I believe that Dillard nails the sense of perception by acknowledging this fact. Aside from that, I found another quote on page 20 that really fascinates me as well: "My eyes account for less than one percent of the weight of my head; I'm bony and dense; I see what I expect. I once spent a full three minutes looking at a bullfrog that was so unexpectedly large I couldn't see it even through a dozen enthusiastic campers were shouting directions. Finally I asked, "What color am I looking for?" and a fellow said, Green." When at last I picked out the frog, I saw what the painters are up against: the thing wasn't green at all, but the color of wet hickory bark" (20).
Reply
Declan
4/19/2017 11:13:23 am
In Annie Dillard's book, "Pilgrim at Tinker Hill," a chapter she wrote deals alot with perception and how we look at things can change our lives. In chapter 2 titled "Seeing," she talks about how the little things can end up changing your life; and, having a positive outlook on things can make your life more enjoyable. In chapter 2, Dillard makes a great point when mentioning the little things in life, and how viewing them can change your life, "If you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get." When I read this section, I was confused at first. Who really wants a penny? But then I realized that their was more there than meets the eye. Dillard is really trying to say, that the little things can make or break someone's life. If you have a positive outlook on finding a worthless penny on the streets, then you will have a positive outlook when something really bad happens to you or a loved one. When she said, “since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days.” I really understood what she was trying to get across. The world is full of small things that you might not pay attention too; however, the people that are paying attention to it will have a better life. Dillard is telling the reader, that perspective is everything, so if you have a poor outlook on finding a penny, then you will also have a poor outlook on life. Having a positive outlook on things you with feel good “a lifetime of days” rather than thinking of it was worthless.
Reply
Hayley Christine
4/19/2017 11:23:08 am
One of Annie DIllard’s main ideas in this chapter is that in order to fulfill a more enjoyable life and become happier, you must be able to use your vision properly. Like Thoreau did, she is also trying to give her audience a guideline to follow. On page eighteen, she is telling us to keep our eyes open, otherwise you could miss out on something, “Unfortunately, nature is very much a now-you-see-it, now you-don’t affair.” She follows up this quote by stating “For nature does reveal as well as conceal: now-you-don’t-see-it, now-you-do.” If you keep your eyes open, and pay close attention, it will be revealed. After reading this chapter, I believe that Thoreau had a large effect on the way Dillard views perception. Both of these writers had distanced themselves from the “normal” society of their time periods, in order to find themselves.
Reply
Claire Stannis
4/19/2017 11:28:57 am
Why didn’t someone hand those newly sighted people paints and brushes from the start, when they still didn’t know what everything was? Then maybe we all could see color-patches too, the world unraveled from reason, Eden before Adam gave names. The scales would drop from my eyes; I’d see trees like men walking; I’d run down the road against all orders, hollowing and leaping. (32)
Reply
Kierstyn Stoin
4/19/2017 11:31:38 am
In the chapter "Seeing," in Annie Dillard's book, Dillard explains what she thinks it means to truly see something. On passage in the chapter Dillard expresses her need to verbalize something to actually see it: "Seeing is of course very much a matter of verbalization. Unless I call my attention to what passes before my eyes, I simply won't see it. It is, as Ruskin says, 'not merely unnoticed, but in the full, clear sense of the world, unseen'" (33). In this passage Dillard is conveying how seeing works for her. She can't see the tiny details of life that are happening right before her eyes unless she calls her attention to it, or verbalizes it. However, it's not that these things that are happening are unnoticed, they're simply unseen. By this, Dillard means that something could be happening right before our eyes, but we put no thought towards it unless it sticks out to us or if we verbalize it. This passage reminded me of a track meet: there re so many people and events going on at once. You could be watching someone pole vault and then in the background see someone run past. It's because you're so focused on something else that you see the person run past; however, you pay them absolutely no attention whatsoever so it's almost as if you hadn't actually seen them. This was the most intriguing quote to me because it actually got me thinking about how many things go "unseen" in our lives simply because we weren't paying attention.
Reply
Darien Carson
4/19/2017 11:41:26 am
"But there is another kind of seeing that involves letting go. When I see this way I sway transfixed and emptied. The difference between the two ways of seeing is the difference between walking with and without a camera. When I walk with a camera I walk from shot to shot, reading the light on a calibrated meter. When I walk without a camera, my own shutter opens, and the moment’s light prints on my own silver gut. When I see the second way I am above all an unscrupulous observer.” (33)
Reply
Ally Giles
4/20/2017 11:30:37 am
“When I see this way I see truly. As Thoreau says, I return to my sense. I am the man who watches the baseball game in silence in an empty stadium, I see the game purly; I’m abstracted and dazed. When it’s all over and the white-suited played lope off the field to their dugout, I leap to my feet; I cheer and cheer.” (pg 34)
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMr. Shaw Archives
July 2018
Categories |