Caroline Jilek

23 April 2019

In Class Essay

Nature contains beautiful phenomenons, some of which few can witness. The world’s

skies are untouchable by humankind, and therefore somewhat mysterious. The birds who “rule”

the skies are part of that mystery. John James Audubon and Annie Dillard had different

experiences while observing the winged creatures which they describe in two separate passages

using similes and imagery, while their shared experience is conveyed through metaphors.

The flocks of birds accounted for in both Audubon and Dillard’s passages are portrayed

differently through the opposing similes used in both passages. The beating of the hundreds of

pigeon wings sounded “like thunder,” as they flew frantically in the sky (Audubon 33-34).

Thunder is often thought of as a somewhat frightening sound, it is violent, it thrashes, it shakes

the sky. The flock of pigeons described in Audubon’s passage appear to be quite scary, as if they

hold the ability to swarm one and carry them off in a dark tornado into a brewing storm. In

contrast, the starlings’ flight is “like a fluttering banner,” (Dillard 8-9). When a flag or banner

flutters in the wind, a breezy summer day comes to mind. Their flight is graceful and their

movements soft compared to the recklessness of the pigeons from the previous passage. Dillard

portrayed the starlings as birds riding the wind and floating about in it unlike Audubon who

described the pigeons as a chaotic storm.

Watching the birds brought about a certain shape in each author’s mind, their opposing

views are shown through imagery placed at the end of each passage. The flight pattern of the

pigeons “resembled the coils of a gigantic serpent,” (Audubon 42). Serpents, or snakes, are long

and skinny but they can coil up into a very tight shape. Audubon was describing the vast amount

of pigeons and the small space in which they were located. The large amounts of pigeons could

be seen as unsettling and almost frightening by the reader, as serpents are parallel with those

adjectives. Dillard, however, saw the starlings in a different way. The birds were portrayed as

tiny particles within a human body, “winging through the gaps between… cells,” (Dillard 25-26).
The birds were thought of as tiny and graceful and gliding with ease. That is different from

Audubon’s view who described a compact snake wriggling in the sky compared to tiny birds

soaring between small cells. How Audubon and Dillard saw and described the birds shows their

different experiences.

However different the authors’ feelings were regarding the birds, they used the same

metaphor to describe them. Audubon recalled counting flocks, using “dots” as the way to number

them (Audubon 10). He understood the smallness of the birds compared to the outstretched skies.

He addressed how the dots added up greatly though which expresses the great impact the birds

can make. Dillard uses the same metaphor, the birds are “specks” who fill the sky gradually

(Dillard 1). Like the “dots” the “specks” add up quickly, covering the sky like stars. The birds

are magnificent to both authors, as they are able to work together to conquer something so great-

the sky. Both Audubon and Dillard describe the miniscule birds being great in numbers and

holding wonderful power.

Observations come differently to all, it depends on one’s point of view and the

environment and conditions that surround them. John James Audubon and Annie Dillard both

accounted their experiences with swarming birds. They conveyed somewhat differing sides

through simile to describe the birds in which they were dealing with and imagery to show the

patterns the birds formed and how they could make one fell. They both understood the power of

the tiny creatures which was shown through metaphor. Nature holds mystery and within that

mystery resides strength, the strength of something is often times underestimated.