Living Like A Weasel Rhetorical Analysis

681 Words3 Pages

The 1975 Pulitzer Prize winning author Annie Dillard discovered a life changing theory while trying to evade the frenzied human world. The theory that introduces a life is lesson everyone needs to live a full and satisfying life. By employing emotional charged verbiage and a juxtaposing of humans versus nature in Living Like a Weasel, Dillard theorizes that life should be lived with the same determination and persistence of a weasel.
When proposing a very forward theory, Dillard must use some bold choices to prove her ideals of life. “Grasp”and “seize” are desperate words used in situations where the author needed to emotionally move the audience (Dillard 164-167). Emotions put an audience in a more vulnerable state, where they can be manipulated to accept a proposed idea. Here it is used to gain acceptance of a new way of life that requires determination and dedication to live …show more content…

This “muscled ribbon, brown as fruitwood, soft-furred” weasel with “pure white fur [and] two black eyes” convinced Dillard of a better way of life (Dillard 69-75). Now, she chooses to share that one stunningly still moment where their “look was as if two lovers, or deadly enemies, met unexpectedly on an overgrown path”(Dillard 82-83). Because, in that moment that dramatic feeling she felt will aid her in establishing an emotionally charged state of mind to ensnare her audience. If she is able to express the tone of that perfect moment of understanding correctly, she can connect to the dramatic or romantic side found in the idealists who believe they can change their lives. All these dramatic words, work to create what seems like a fairy tale, yet a very obtainable fairy tale in which life could feel complete. Dillard is hoping to tap into the audience's imagination and get them to see the world that she sees. To solidify her argument, she not only needs the idealism but realism, as