Journal 2

Annie Dillard

1.The moths in the opening of the essay are hollow shells wrapped in a spider cocoon. The moths are in the corner of the bathroom at the beginning and are like dust on the floor. The moth at the campsite it burned by the candle and glows like a light bulb in the fire. The moths in the beginning represent wasting away and not living life to the fullest. The moth in the campsite is representing being consumed by ambition like being a writer consumes you. The moth jumps right into the fire without hesitation.

2.Dillard wanted to know how many of her students would be willing to give up their lives to be writers. She tells her students that being a writer will consume you. You must go at your life with a broadax and remove all distractions. You have to give everything you have to be successful.

3. The fire references include; the book The Day on Fire, the candle at the campsite, the cat’s tail catching on fire, and the three candles that the author leaves on in here home. People light candles for remembrance and prayer, so a candle represents the prayer. The larger significance of fire is that it consumes things. Fire is dangerous and can be harmful. It is like how being a writer takes all of you. You can’t be devoted to anything else. Fire is destructive but also enchanting and beautiful.

4. a.The London quote is similar to the comparison of the two moths. The one moth became dust on the floor. The other moth was consumed by fire and became ashes. Dillard would rather go out in a brilliant flash than wither and waste away. The moth in fire was consumed just like being a writer consumes your life. London doesn’t want you to waste your life. London explains this through comparison of magnificent and boring things.

b.The Yeats quote is about how educating students is not just pouring more information into their heads, it is about igniting the passion that is already locked inside them. The fuel for this fire is already inside students and it just needs the spark. This also goes back to how being a writer consumes you like a fire. Filling a pail is boring and lighting a fire is more passionate.

c. The Kafka quote is about how a book breaks through the frozen sea inside us like an ax would. This goes back to how the Dillard says you need to go at your life with a broadax. They are both meant to make your travel easier. You need to clear a path and remove distractions.