1.3

In her story Total Eclipse, Annie Dillard writes a cryptic tale about her title event, a total eclipse of the sun.  During our class we have spent hours attempting to interpret this confusing story.  I feel Dillard has written a story that can be interpreted in many different ways by a wide audience.  She purposely writes in a metaphorical manner so that her audience can interpret the 'total eclipse' in their own way.  The story outlines in four sections her experience of going to see an eclipse of the sun.  It is clear to all who read this essay that the 'eclipse', itself, is some major life altering event.  The purpose of her story is to attempt to demonstrate any major life changing event into a seemingly simple story of going to see an eclipse of the sun.  In the context of this story she reaches out to the audience by discussing a relatively routine event as a metaphor to a life changing event that commonly occurs to an everyday audience.  She writes about how things go on after the event and she shows a glimmer of optimism in her final section.  An additional purpose of the story is give the audience hope after a major life changing event.  She uses many strategies to convey her message of a tragic event.  She writes in a very dramatic and dreary manner.   The clearly distinct four sections of the story allow the reader to follow the event.  The first two sections lead up to the event, the third section describes the event, and the final section discusses the happenings after the event.  In this story, I feel she could be writing about a personal tragic event that may have occurred to her.  However, I feel given the timing of this event, the late 1970's, and the uncertainty of the times with the Islamic Revolution in Iran, I believe she is discussing the events of a potential nuclear tragedy.