Annie Dillard, "The Wreck of Time: Taking Our Century's Measure" and:

• Jon Krakauer, Selections from Into the Wild

Annie Dillard's "The Wreck of Time"

In many ways, Annie Dillard's "The Wreck of Time" defies our common expectations about what a piece of writing should do: the essay has no clear thesis statement; it has no marked transitions between the paragraphs; it provides no obvious connection between its various subsections. Indeed, upon first reading Dillard's piece, one might be tempted to conclude that it's little more than the recitation of a series of unrelated statistics and the posing of a series of unanswered questions. What is it that Dillard wants us to think about while reading her essay? It isn't immediately clear.

This does not necessarily mean that "The Wreck of Time" is an example of failed writing, however; one could argue that Dillard has extended an invitation to her readers to participate in her project of "taking our century's measure." To be sure, Dillard demands a great deal from her readers: we must make the connections, fill in the blank spots, respond to her many unanswered questions, draw our own conclusions. Dillard's readers must work with her, making sense of the statistics she presents, answering the questions she poses.

For your first writing assignment, I would like you to take up this invitation. What does "taking our century's measure" mean for Dillard? Does Dillard have an argument to make about "our century"? What are you, as a reader of Dillard's essay, supposed to do with the information, the observations, and the juxtapositions she has brought together for your consideration? With these questions in mind, compose a 3-4 page essay that discusses Dillard's project in "The Wreck of Time." Make certain that you cite from Dillard's essay at least three times.

Richard E. Miller, Rutgers University, Spring 2000

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Krakauer and Dillard: The Significance of Death

Jon Krakauer tells us that Chris McCandless died in the Alaskan wilderness. What is the significance of that death? After all, as Annie Dillard quotes murderer Ted Bundy, "there are so many people" (194).

Krakauer tries "to make sense of McCandless's . . . death, yet his essence remains slippery, vague, elusive" (439). Dillard asks, "How can an individual count?" (195) For this paper, I would like to discuss what makes a human death significant or insignificant. As always, your paper should be built around your own argument about this topic as it emerges from your consideration of the readings. Thus three perspectives on how a death can be meaningful or meaningless -- Krakauer's, Dillard's, and your own -- should be put into dialogue in your paper.

Circle or underline your thesis in both your rough draft and final paper. This should be one to two sentences long and should appear on the first page.

Before you turn your paper in, make sure all of the following are true:

1. My essay analyzes the readings rather than merely summarizing them.
2. I have included effective and correct uses of quotation in every paragraph.
3. I have avoided repeating grammatical errors I have made in previous essays.
4. Each paragraph meets the paragraph checklist.
5. I have presented and argued a thesis.

Craig Eliason, Rutgers University, Fall 2000

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