Summary Of Heaven And Earth In Jest By Annie Dillard

The Self-Contradictory Universe There are many theories and perspectives on why the universe was created this way. Annie Dillard is just one of the many people that have voiced their opinion about this topic. Dillard wrote the essay, “Heaven and Earth in Jest”, which explains her thoughts on God’s involvement with the universe. The main question of the essay is, was the universe made in jest or earnest? Dillard uses perspectives from multiple sources to provide views of both sides. Dillard’s essay describes how the universe is a paradox through her stories that describe its beauty and cruelty, and she came to the conclusion that this duality was made in earnest to grow our understanding of the universe on our own. Dillard explains the duality

Initially, she mentions the Koran. “In the Koran, Allah asks, ‘the heaven and the earth and all in between, thinkest thou I made them in jest’” (14)? This is where the central question comes from. From there she says “Pascal uses a nice term to describe the notion of the creator’s, once having called forth the universe, turning his back to it…” (15). This notion raises the question of whether or not the world is made in jest and if, God decided to turn his back on the universe. To explain her theory, she gives the perspective of Albert Einstein. ‘” God is subtle,’ Einstein said, ‘but not malicious.’ Again, Einstein said that ‘nature conceals her mystery by means of her essential grandeur, not by her cunning’” (15). Dillard thinks that “It could be that God has not absconded but spread, as our vision and understanding of the universe have spread, to a fabric of spirit and sense so grand and subtle so powerful in a new way, that we can only feel blindly of its hem” (15). In short, Dillard means to say that the duality of the universe is supposed to help our understanding grow. She also says that God did not abandon the universe, he left us to grow on our