Review of Annie Dillard S Living Like Weasels

¶ … Annie Dillard's "Living Like Weasels"

During the height of the Great Depression in 1931, James Truslow Adams coined the term, "the American Dream" in his book, Epic of America, to describe the growing expectations of a better life for all Americans, a life characterized by the pursuit of happiness, significant material rewards and individual security in exchange for hard work and honesty (Lallas 162). In her essay, "Living Like Weasels," Annie Dillard makes the point that people, who are logical and live by choice, can learn from animals, who are illogical and live only by necessity. This paper provides a review and analysis of Dillard's essay to identify what choices are involved in attempting to live out the typical American Dream and how those choices differ from living according to necessity. The review and analysis concerning the differences between the lifestyles defined by the American Dream as opposed to those defined by minimalism is followed by a discussion concerning the impact that the nonfictional nature of Dillard's essay had on the depiction of the American Dream theme. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the foregoing issues are presented in the conclusion.

Choices Involved in Attempting to Live Out the Typical American Dream

Many young people are still brought up in the United States believing that they can "be anything they want to be" as long as they are honest, work hard and believe in themselves. In return, Americans are supposed to be guaranteed a lifetime of job security, a nice house (preferably in the suburbs) with two new cars in their garage and two-and-a-half children. While this eventuality has played out in real life for countless Americans who succeeded in realizing the iconic American Dream lifestyle, it is reasonable to suggest that for every one American who has succeeded, there are many more who failed. In many of these failed cases, the choices that were involved were far more limited than for those who succeeded but American history textbooks fail to highlight the disparate opportunities that are available to different classes of people (Loewen 37). As a result, the iconic American Dream has become an "American Nightmare" for many, and this outcome has resulted in disillusionment and disappointment among many Americans today (Thornton 597). According to Dillard, though, this negative outcome could have been avoided, or at least mitigated, by people making the appropriate life choices that relate to necessity rather than pie-in-the-sky dreams as discussed further below.

How These Choices Differ from Living According to Necessity

From a strictly pragmatic perspective, weasels do not make choices about what they eat. Weasels use their fine-tuned senses to pursue their prey irrespective of its scent provided it appears edible. For instance, as Wolff and Sherman point out, "To a hunting weasel, lunch is lunch" (333). Likewise, Dillard believes that she can learn from the weasel because, "The weasel lives in necessity and we live in choice, hating necessity and dying at the last ignobly in its talons" (2). From this perspective, the choices that many Americans make to achieve the elusive American Dream should be analogous to the manner in which weasels pursue their overarching dream -- to survive in a hostile environment. In this regard, Dillard adds that, "I would like to live as I should, as the weasel lives as it should" [and} "for me the way is like the weasel's: open to time and death painlessly, noticing everything, remembering nothing, choosing the given with a fierce and pointed will" (2-3).

While Dillard disingenuously suggests she would like to actually live like a weasel for at least awhile (including sleeping in its burrow), she emphasizes that everyone does in fact have the ability to make the choices in their lives that will make them happy even if these choices do not result in what was previously regarded as the American Dream. As Dillard concludes, "We can live anyway we want. People take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience -- even of silence -- by choice" (3). In order to live the way they want as opposed to the way they do, Dillard suggests that Americans should mimic the weasel's behavior by relentlessly latching on to what they want and not letting go until they achieve it, a suggestion that is reinforced by the nonfictional nature of her essay as discussed below.

Impact of Nonfictional Essay on the Themes of Living the American Dream or by Necessity

One of the main points in Dillard's essay is that it is vitally important to shed previous preconceptions in order to better understand the environment in which people live and work, an outcome that resulted from her first encounter with a weasel. For instance, Benesch and Schmidt suggest that, "Dillard's encounter with the weasel destabilizes her prior sense of reality and self" (335). This destabilization was the direct result of Dillard witnessing the manner in which these creatures lived in natural harmony with their environment. In this regard, Benesh and Schmidt add that, "She enjoys the experience and responds to it with a desire to live like a weasel in attentive physical engagement with the occasions of life as they unfold before her, unhampered by preconceptions and in recognition of her mortality and calling" (335). This outcome would likely have been far different had Dillard simply read about the lifestyles of weasels or watched a documentary about them on television. The fact that she bases her views on empirical observations therefore lends additional credibility to the themes that she addresses.