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Compare And Contrast Audubon And Annie Dillard

649 Words3 Pages

John J. Audubon and Annie Dillard both experienced the same phenomenon – enormous flocks of birds (pigeons) passing over their heads in flight. They both presented a sense of awe at the sight. However, they portrayed that awe and their other emotions very differently. Audubon’s language was more analytical, and it allowed the reader to grasp the experience with their mind. In contrast, Dillard was more whimsical, and described her experienced so the reader could understand the experience with their heart.
One noticeable difference (though not necessarily good or bad, just different) is the length of Audubon’s entry compared to Dillard’s: Dillard’s essay is about 2/3 the size of Audubon’s. That is due to the fact that Audubon spoke in length about his surroundings, and not just what included the birds. This was a portion of his biography, so it may not be that much of a surprise. Regardless, he’s very specific about when he was (fall of 1813), where he was (Henderson, Ohio and later YOUNG’s in), what he was doing, what the birds were doing, etc.
He also analyzed the birds. He tried counting them, he knew which direction they were going in, he stated why they flew so high and offered an image in how high (“…. Trials to reach them with a capital rifle proved ineffectual…”), and he described the way they scattered when a hawk …show more content…

Unlike Audubon, she began her piece with the sight of the birds. We know nothing about where she was and where they were going. The piece was strictly about the sight of the birds and what it did to her. Nearly all her metaphors seemed like something could relate to from their memories: “a loosened skein [of yarn],” “shook rugs”, etc. She doesn’t seem to know much about the science of the birds or the significance of how they were flying or where they were flying to, “Each individual bird bobbed and… for no known reason except that that’s how starlings

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