Speaker The speaker is Annie Dillard, who is also the author of the book. In Holy the Firm, the author expresses her thoughts in regard to questions such as the reason that humans are created by God; the meaning and essence of God’s work; and the relationship between the believers and God. Dillard encounters great conflicts in her belief in God when she saw that a girl in her neighbour’s farm was burned by a plane crash. She starts to question whether every act of God has any real meaning in it and if it does, why would God let a innocent girl be burned by excruciating fire at such a young age when she has done nothing wrong. She even wonders if God is just a powerless creator who has no power to save those who suffer from atrocities. According to Dillard, “If he abandoned us, slashing creation loose at its base from any roots in the real; and if we in turn abandon everything-all these illusions of time and space and lives-in order to love only the real: the where are we?” (24). Occasion The larger occasion is in a world where tumults, chaos, riots, accidents, and incorrigibly miserable fate happen to people that are innocent and faithful to God. According to Dillard, “Of faith I have nothing, only if truth: that this one God is …show more content…
After knowing the pervading confusion of these audiences, the message that Dillard hopes to convey to the audiences then becomes clear: they need to realize that God creates a world not without reality and that if they choose to believe that God is actually powerless in bringing salvation and uplifting his people living in a world of constant disasters, they fail to see the true meaning of their love for