annie dillard from an american childhood

Fortunately she makes friends with another girl, Judy Schoyer, who has a family who are very intellectual. Her parents give her a microscope for Christmas and she is filled with enthusiasm about the things that she sees through its lens, but when her family don't seem as excited about her discoveries she realizes that she might be alone in her love of intellectual pursuit. She also becomes fascinated with the idea of becoming a geologist after inheriting a rock collection from a neighbor. Consequently when she reads the stories of Sherlock Holmes, she decides that she wants to become a detective. Just like her father, Annie only has to read about something to make it important in her life. She remembers these heady days of childhood as energetic, fun, and uncomplicated.

She loves dance class, and also likes to play baseball with her neighbor, Ricky. Annie lives in her own head most of the time, unlike her parents, who are outgoing and exuberant with outstanding senses of humor and a skill for telling jokes as if they are stand up comics by profession.Īnnie loves history, and reading, and drawing, so when she turns five it is definitely more than time for her to begin attending Ellis School, which is a girls' school, but she does have some social contact with boys when she also starts Friday evening dance classes, with children from other Presbyterian families in the area. She lives in a nice area where women do not have to work and where families live in neighborhoods divided on religious grounds. Her home town, Pittsburgh, is newly fascinating to her. She is also starting to find out more about the world around her, and liking what she finds out. She feels like the world is very exciting. This coincides with Annie's discovery of adventure, as she has just read Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Kidnapped'.

Her father took his boat down the Allegheny River to New Orleans, which had been on his bucket list ever since he read about boat trips in a book.

We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.Īnnie's father left his family for a little while when she was a child, but none of them felt abandoned, because it was a family decision for him to go. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

Annie dillard from an american childhood