1.8

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 could be discussing the events of a potential nuclear tragedy. I will proceed to answer if Dillard could be discussing such events? 

Their was one whole date given this this text and it was Febuary 29th 1979. 

Dillard starts off her story with a dramatically dreary introductory quotation, "It had been like dying..." This introduction automatically sets the tone for the entire story as a serious, melancholy piece. Dillard is using this tone to begin to get the audience ready for the tragic event that lies ahead. In section two of her story Dillard speaks of the crowd gathering to see the eclipse as follows, "People were climbing the nearby hills and setting up shop in clumps among the dead grasses. It looked as though we had all gathered on hilltops to pray for the world on its last day." This quotation continues the tone as very dreary. The words she chose are, again, quite dramatic, "pray for the world on its last day." I feel that she is discussing the occurrences of a potential upcoming tragedy. She is describing the fears of people who were experiencing the conflicts of the U.S. and Iran of 1979 during a tremulous time with so much uncertainty.Prior to the 'eclipse' she describes how she once saw a partial eclipse and how different a partial eclipse is to a total eclipse. She writes, "I had seen a partial eclipse in 1970. A partial eclipse is very interesting. It bears almost no relation to a total eclipse. Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him..." She mentions the year 1970. Could she be referring to the Vietnam War which ended that year? She describes the stark contrast between a partial eclipse and a total one. She explains that she has witnesses first hand, the simplicity of a partial eclipse and goes on to describe the complicity of a total eclipse. While Vietnam was a long and tragic war there was hardly a discussion of nuclear weaponry. While Iran's hostage taking of US diplomats did, indeed, lead to the discussion of potential nuclear attacks. She is discussing how much more serious the upcoming potential war could be.

Dillard goes on to describe the events just prior to the 'eclipse'. Not surprisingly she keeps the tone grim. "From all the hills came screams. A piece of sky beside the crescent sun was detaching. It was a loosened circle of evening sky, suddenly lighted from the back. It was an abrupt black body out of nowhere;" I feel here she is describing what could be the witnessing of an actual nuclear attack. People actually experiencing the horror of seeing the potential mushroom cloud or "abrupt black body out of nowhere" and other consequences of an attack. She writes that the screams came from "all the hills". I think she uses the word "all" to discuss the wide consequences of such an event. People watching from all over the world, possible from their TV sets at home in dismay and terror. She goes on to write "seeing this black body was like seeing a mushroom cloud. The heart screeched. The meaning of the sight overwhelmed its fascination." This further reinforces the impact of such an occurrence. "The heart screeched", a simple sentence following the description of witnessing of the mushroom cloud. The devastation is clear in the way she writes. 

Dillard continues to write in section three, "The world which lay under darkness and stillness following the closing of the lid was not the world we know. the event was over. Its devastation lay round about us. The clamoring mind and heart stilled, almost indifferent, certainly disembodied, frail, and exhausted. The hills were hushed, obliterated." I feel Dillard makes it very clear in this statement that she is not simply talking about an eclipse. She describes the devastating aftermath of a nuclear attack. Every word chosen in this quote was carefully contemplated to best describe the horror left by the events of a tragic nuclear bombing. "The hills were hushed, obliterated" She described the hills earlier as "screaming". Now they are hushed and obliterated. This perfectly displays the tragedy of such an event. After such a disturbing description of the "eclipse", Dillard goes on to discuss the events that occur after. She writes of things return to normalcy. "At once the yellow light made the sky blue again; the black lid dissolved and vanished. The real world began there." I feel she is trying to convey a message of hope here. Despite the disasterous occurences of the "eclipse", there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. She intends to send a message that life will go on no matter what hurdles will be faced.

In this story, I feel Dillard writes of the devestating events of nuclear attack. She talks of the events leading to the event and the "eclipse" itself, and a small glimmer of hope at the the end of her tale.  She uses a very common event and relates it to a very devestating event that we all dread.  She makes a point to discuss the gruesome details of a nuclear event by the quotes I have outlined in this paper.  At the same time she discusses that life will go on afterwards.  She uses a return to basic life at the end of her story to demonstrate a promise of normalcy after such an event is possible.