Period 2: Annie Dillard’s “Living Like Weasels”
Socratic Seminar Discussion Questions
1. Do you think that the organization of Dillard’s nature essay on weasels is similar
to the organization of Doyle’s “Fishering”? Does it follow the formula from “The
Greatest Nature Essay Ever”?
2. Why does Annie Dillard use the account about the weasel fixed by the jaws to the
eagle’s throat? What does this suggest about a weasel’s life and what is Dillard
trying to suggest about our lives, including her own?
3. Is it possible for humans to “live any way we want”? Can we live like the weasel?
Or in what ways are we able to live like the weasel?
4. Analyze the author’s use of figurative language to achieve her purpose.