We concluded the week with the last chapters of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. To add to this week's reading, we read a chapter from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring as well as Robert MacFarlane’s “The Understorey.” In Tuesday's class, we talked about the subject of life or death in response to duality, evolution, spirituality, acceptance of death, cruelty, and wildness that is beauty. Carson and MacFarlene both talks about the purpose of nature and the threats to nature in relation to life and death affect by variables.
In chapters 13-15, she seems to ponder on this idea of purpose. One concept that surprised me was this idea of parasites. In the chapter, "The Horns of the Altar" Dillard talks a lot about snakes. She spots a copperhead and watches it. She sees a mosquito land on the snake's head and starts sucking its blood. She thinks about how almost everything that exists is a parasite on the next. She tells us that 10% of the animal kingdom is parasitic insects. She talks about how she thinks humans are also parasites and predators. Although the world is always finding ways to prey on us, we're all going to eventually die. She imagines being tied to an altar as a sacrifice (biblical), freeing ourselves from the bonds and escaping:
" I am frayed and nibbled survivor... I am a sacrifice bound with cords to the horns of the world's rock altar" (242)
This chapter isn't the only time that parasites are mentioned. The horsehair worm is mentioned to us again. This concept of parasites circles back around in this second half of the book. We return to this notion of mantis eggs, Dillard talks about how the species wasp (parasites) will attack a female mantis. In this chapter, the word "Horns" is used to support the title. She compares the percentage of Christian Tithe to the percentage of parasitic insects/animals (10%). Leviticus 27:30 says "A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord's, and is holy" this is related to this passage “...parasitic insects comprise ten percent of all known animal species".
In the chapter "Nothing", it's fall, and the birds are getting restless, Dillard finds feathers everywhere. She sees the birds migrating and is talks about thinking of going north. After living in the south, surrounded by the excessiveness of nature, the thought of going north simplifies her life and seems like a good option. She imagines herself grabbing her winter coat and going out. But instead, she accepts the south and will wait for the north to melt at tinker creek. She has a dream where she finds a prayer tunnel in her childhood home. She wakes up and considers the words of Moses who said "Go and sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything". Dillard thinks a lot about the death of oneself and she soon finds out that it is all about waiting. She mentions how ancient Israeli priests used to wave sacrifices in the air above the altar, a sign of an offering to the Lord (God) in thanksgiving. She compares this to the wind at Tinker Creek and how it has waved her as an offering and she thanks to nature for that. She ponders on religion in this chapter:
"I think of this now..."Our God shall come" it says in a psalm for advent... " (259)
Dillard obviously concludes her book weirdly and leaves the reader pondering and analyzing her work with different interpretations of what her concepts could mean. There is a lot of room for different perspectives and ideas. One last thing that struck me was her inability to give us an answer to what purpose nature poses in human life.
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