Essay Questions

Summarize and explain the significance of the chapter Total Eclipse.

This is the first chapter of Teaching a Stone to Talk. The narrator uses physical phenomena to philosophically analyze life. In this chapter, the narrator and her husband set off to The Yakima Valley to view an eclipse that had widely been broadcasted in mass media. The narrator, her husband and other enthusiasts climbed on top of a hill in order to have a proper view of the anticipated eclipse. There they witnessed the eclipse and the earth became dark when the eclipse occurred. The narrator also spotted a ring of light in the sky that was millions of light years away.

The significance of this chapter is to show the reader how completely mesmerizing and life-changing the viewing of an eclipse is. It is beyond the scientific theories and explanations and one must reach deep within themselves in order to grasp the intensity of it. This chapter challenges readers to experience all they have learned and learn anew.

How does the narrator depict religion in the novel Teaching a Stone to Talk?

In Teaching a Stone to Talk, the narrator Annie Dillard is sarcastic towards religion. She attends Catholic mass every Sunday at a small Catholic church. It is a situational irony that Annie attends mass every Sunday even though she dislikes the mass and the faith.

Anne laughs at the mundane way that mass is carried out. She also is very skeptical about a choir named the Wildflowers who wanted to bring more life to the church by singing more lively songs and performing musical instruments like the guitar. It is ironical that even though the narrator dislikes the boring mass, she is not appreciative of the Wildflowers Choir for trying to cheer up the mass.

Describe the narrator’s character.

The narrator is in the first person in the book. The novel, Teaching a Stone to Talk is about her experiences and the lessons or philosophy she draws from certain life experiences. The narrator is depicted as adventurous, sarcastic, outgoing and a deep thinker.

The narrator loves to travel and explore. She went to The Yakima Valley to view an eclipse, She traveled to South America to see how the place was and she followed a weasel in order to have a more accurate picture of its day to day life. The narrator uses her experiences to learn more about life. She is an active person who learns about her environment and studies it.

Sarcasm is another trait that the narrator has. This is towards the church and Science. This is because Science does not accurately capture the environment. The narrator is sarcastic towards the church because she thinks it is mundane and does not shed light towards the solutions of the problems in the modern world.