Intellectual Development
The most frequently featured theme within the novel is the theme of intellectual development. The novel is narrated in an omniscient third-person perspective and there is an interesting dynamic that occurs between events that are narrated, wherein she describes the experiences that make up the young/formative years of Annie Dillard, a precocious young woman. These insights regarding young Annie are shared by the narrator, no less than Annie Dillard as a mature adult. Her intellectual development from an impulsive youngster to a more introspective adult is formed by her voracious appetite for reading, her innate curiosity, and her ability to observe and chronicle events around her. Her opinions change over time as she reads more, experiences more, and is exposed to more and more of the world at large.
Growth and Maturity
The novel is also a bildungsroman of Annie Dillard. Her life milestones aren’t marked by social events so much as key events that evoke a learning experience upon her; learning experiences that usher her into a new stage of mental and emotional maturity. One of her earliest memories is being afraid of a “monster” in her room as a five year old child. When she discovers however that the “monster” was nothing more than the shadow created by a car’s headlights she makes the conclusion that her imagination can be harnessed to work to her advantage. As she continues to mature she realizes more and more how little she knows and becomes even more fascinated by facts and history. She becomes a voracious reader as a result and her readings and natural inclination to question things becomes the impetus for her continuous growth and maturity as a person.
Increasing Awareness Her Surroundings
In the process of learning new things, Annie also becomes more and more cognizant that he isn’t alone in the world she lives in. Her innate curiosity and independent spirit always has her marching to the beat of her own drum, seemingly lost in her own thoughts; because of this she also tends to be either aloof or an annoying know-it-all. This begins to change however once she begins widening her horizons through new books and being exposed to more varied social circles her indifference and opinionated outlook upon the world at large slowly begins to change.
A Respect for History
Events in the novel are told in retrospection by an adult Annie Dillard and a consistent theme throughout the novel is her deep respect for history; whether this is an individual’s personal history or the collective history of a community or nation. Annie is acutely aware of how the past is a crucial foundation for the present and the future and as such she goes out of her way not just to know events in the past but also how the events eventually culminate into the scenarios that are placed in front of her. Eventually, she learns to make the connection that people are as affected just as greatly by events that happen to them as a place or location can be affected by events.
Social Structures
Annie’s strong independent streak has on many occasions caused her to butt heads with established authorities. Far as Annie is concerned, established authorities and the systems they create are a hindrance to her independence and her duties towards them are treated as an unwelcome obligation to be fulfilled. She is particularly critical of school and organized religion, two major forces that operate during her formative years; so much so that she actually goes through a very rebellious phase of her life, actively going against these two institutions. Whereas may of her peers are able to compartmentalize their opinions of these two organizations in order to act more “appropriately” in social situations Annie cannot as she feels this to be a deep betrayal of her convictions. During her retrospections however she does reveal that her youthful struggle with authority was misguided and misinformed being based on her limited, often black-and-white understanding of “right.” A good example of youthful rebellion fueled by her arrogance was her formal letter addressed to the local church she and her family attended. She wrote a scathing letter condemning the institution for its decadence and hypocrisy. She regrets this action later on when she realizes that in doing this she humiliates her parents badly and sours their relationship with the church.