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Living Like Weasels by Annie Dillard

            Wouldn't it be refreshing to live freely only in necessity with mindlessness like the carefree weasel? We as a human race could take direction from the weasel's approach to daily life. This could very well be the key to a simpler and less stressful lifestyle. .
             In Annie Dillard's essay: "Living Like Weasels", she starts reading about weasels because she had encountered a live weasel while in the woods. She begins by pointing out that the weasel is "Obedient to instinct" (Dillard 118). The weasel reacts to the world around him merely by his keen instinctive nature. We humans have good instincts but tend to not always use them right away. For example, in a dangerous situation, our first instinct to react is usually delayed by the need to first access the situation, to plan and think about what to do. Our actions must have meaning and reasoning because we are brought up to that way. The weasel would have already reacted by instinct and addressed or avoided the danger altogether and moved on. We might still be in danger trying to analyze our next move. Instincts become that little voice in our heads that we might choose not to listen to because we feel the need to control our actions. How many times have we wished we had followed our "gut" feeling about a situation instead of having chosen our own plan? We say we can learn to live with our regrets, but is that really living? Living with regret can change the course of our lives and not always for the better. Listening to our instincts or better yet living by them like the weasel does could make the difference between a chaotic life and a simpler more pleasant one. Imagine how much more enjoyable and fulfilling our lives could be without the looming darkness of regret. .
             "The weasel lives in necessity and we live in choice" (Dillard 121). Dillard's statement points out how humans have to make decisions while the weasel just does what is necessary to live.


Essays Related to Living Like Weasels by Annie Dillard

1. Living Like Weasels

Annie Dillard's essay, "Living like Weasels" gives one a new approach on life, through the eyes of an animal. ... Dillard used many violent aspects to describe the weasel"s character. ... "I would like to live as I should, as the weasel lives as he should- It can be seen that she believed in the connection between a person and a weasel; human and animal; thought and instinct. ... We cannot do all the things we want, things like laws keep us from doing that. ... Living though necessity like a weasel is much easier in Dillard's view because the only thing to worry about is what yo...

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2. Sinking into dillard's essay

Sinking into Dillard's Essay Throughout "Living like Weasels", Annie Dillard uses visual imagery and anecdotes to show the difference between the life of human beings and that of weasels, and to express her desire to live like weasels. ... Consequently, the different living environment causes the different life between humans and weasels. Then, Dillard uses anecdotes to show how differently humans and weasels live. ... Using visual imagery, Dillard helps readers visualize an alternative way of living and helps them empathize with the weasel. When Dillard and the weasel looked a...

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  • Word Count: 733
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4. At Land by Maya Deren

Although presented in a different medium, Annie Dillard's "Living Like Weasels" is also a tale to being true to oneself by living instinctively. ... To conform to this lifestyle would only be an injustice to herself, as she would be living in a lie for the rest of her life. ... The aforementioned visual metaphors in Deren's At Land share the same principal as the metaphor of the weasel in Annie Dillard's "Living Like Weasels". The weasel knows nothing else than to be or act like a weasel. ... This is yielding" (Dillard). ...

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