The book is a memoir by Anne Dillard detailing her life from the moment she was five years all through eighteen years. When she is five years old, Dillard is anxious about a monster in her room. However, the monster turns out to be the headlight of a car. From that moment, she decides to integrate logic with imagination. Dillard appears to be naughty from a young age. In the book, she claims that she used to play with boys and loiter aimlessly within their neighborhood. Dillard presents herself as a person who developed a curiosity for observation at a tender age.
Developing interest in matters like the French-Indian War, drawings, and mineralogy shaped her consciousness. Dillard’s thoughts are captivated by what she reads and observes. As she grows older, Dillard begins having a change of thoughts. The memoir exposes readers to a world where the interpretation of incidents is based on an individual’s imagination. Dillard sees the world from a different perspective. From the narrative, Dillard is portrayed as a person who is amazed by even things that people consider normal. For example, when she enters puberty, Dillard is surprised by the turn of events. She can’t believe that she is growing into an adult.
The book accentuates the importance of developing consciousness and curiosity to explore the different potentials of an individual. Dillard develops curiosity and realizes that she might be different from other people. Such curiosity created possibilities in accordance with her consciousness. That curiosity led to self-motivation. Dillard’s intellectual development was enhanced because she questioned why everything was happening. Curiosity shaped who Dillard is today. In simple terms, her writing skills were enhanced by curiosity.
