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Annie Dillard's Essay 'So This Was Adolescence'

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“So This Was Adolescence” was a unique and creative title for this essay. The author could have titled the piece something a little more boring but that wouldn’t have grabbed the reader’s attention like this title did. The wording of her title lets the reader know adolescence isn’t a great experience. The title is almost saying this is it; that’s all it is. The title fit the essay exceptionally well because in her essay Annie Dillard explains her adolescence experience and how awful it was. Dillard included many metaphors when writing this essay. The metaphors added more depth to her writing. In the first paragraph she compared her life to turnpike tunnels. Her life began being winding and changing much like the tunnels around mountains do. Dillard’s life was also dark the same as the tunnels. During adolescence it may be hard to see …show more content…

The author could have chosen to say adolescence was rough or it was awful, but they wouldn’t make the reader understand just how awful it was. The example she gave about whipping her bed with her belt shows the reader how much anger she had. Many people have probably been in a situation like this before. A time where the anger builds up and whipping or punching something helps to let off some steam. This forms a strong image in the reader’s mind that they can relate to. One of the best images Dillard creates is playing the piano and the drums. She explains how she beats the keys over and over again until they break. This creates an image of a girl so frustrated and distressed that she beats the piano creating an awful noise that expresses the way she is feeling. She also explains how her fingers are so strong she can do push-ups with them. This image shows how much she plays the piano for her fingers to be this strong. All the imagery she includes helped the reader receive an excellent understanding of her

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