Pigeon Feathers
by John Updike
Elements of Literature
pp.105-123
obscure 106-1 (adj)
obscurely (adv)
little known
cowering 108-1 (adj)
cower (v)
only living things can cower
unless word is used in a
figurative manner
*sporadic 108-1 (adj) sometimes without
sporadically (adv)
warning or advance notice
retrospectively 108-1 based on memory
(adv)
affecting things past
retrospective (adj)
Commonly used: “In retrospect . . . .”
complacent 108-1
(adj)
complaisant
marked by self-satisfaction; “good enough”
attitude
agreeable; will easily follow directions or orders
*constituent 110-2
(n)
constituency (n)
a component or element; an essential part
people who make up a supportive group
*impudence 114-2
(n)
impudent (adj)
impudently (adv)
“mouthy” Know how to pronounce!
explicit 118-1 (adj)
literally and obviously expressed
*rapt 118-1 (adj)
raptness (n)
NOT “wrapped”
“rapt in thought” “gave rapt attention to”;
engrossed in
*adamant 119-1 (adj) unshakable or insistent especially in maintaining a
adamantly (adv)
position or opinion; insistent; unyielding
adamancy (n)
Strong writing
• Write about something personal, rather than general.
• Pay attention to EACH sentence. Do you have any
“There is/are” “It is/they are” sentence beginnings?
– Reword those sentences to avoid that pattern.
• Highlight all the verbs. If you notice that you tend
toward weak verbs, change most of them.
– Use strong verbs rather than adding adverbs.
– Rid your writing of the helping verb would.
• Highlight (different color) repeated words—nouns in
particular. Change words. Rewording may be needed.
• Highlight all the pronouns. Does each pronoun have a
clear and near antecedent?
Into the Wild Blue Yonder
Near-Disaster
As a little sister to five
One day when I
brothers, I did my best to
was seven, I decided to keep up with them, but one
swing by myself from the day I learned that taking a
rope swing in our barn. I risk could lead to disaster if
jumped from the hayloft, I chose to be foolish. . . . .
hanging on to the swing. After that heart-stopping
I almost fell down to the near-disaster, I decided to
ground because I almost be less impetuous about my
let go. I learned that I
actions and to carefully
evaluate my brothers’
could get hurt if I take
actions and examples.
some risks.
John Updike
March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009
• Updike was an American novelist, poet, short
story writer, art critic, and literary critic.
• Updike's most famous work is his Rabbit series
(the novels Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit
Is Rich; Rabbit At Rest; and the novella "Rabbit
Remembered") which chronicled the life
of Harry "Rabbit"
• A Rabbit Is Rich (1981) and Rabbit At
Rest (1990) both received the Pulitzer Prize.
• Describing his subject as “the American small
town, Protestant middle class,” Updike was
well recognized for his careful craftsmanship,
his unique prose style, and his prolific writing.
• He wrote, on average, a book a year. Updike
populated his fiction with characters who
"frequently experience personal turmoil and
must respond to crises relating to religion,
family obligations, and marital infidelity."
This is NOT a Christian story, though
you will meet a character who seems
to be looking for God.
In this story look for . . .
•
•
•
•
Erroneous philosophies
Pressure from godless preacher
Pressure from unregenerate family members
Secular authors whose philosophies can lead
to a breakdown of faith in God
In this story look for . . .
• Pantheism—Worship of nature
• Humanism—
– Worship of man
– Worship of science, technology, etc
Allusion as a Literary Tool
• What is an allusion?
– a reference within a written work
to something outside it
– A writer using an allusion takes for
granted that he has a reader with
knowledge and experience similar
to his own
• What were some allusions in
“Pigeon Feathers”?
Irony as a Literary Tool
• What is irony?
– the use of words to express the opposite of what one
really means
– incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of
events and the actual result
• What are some ironic incidents in “Pigeon
Feathers”?
David’s Spiritual Journey
buries pigeons and
notices the intricacy
of their feathers
What is
David
certain of
now?
shoots pigeons
observes
dog—Nature is
beautiful
searches Bible
What is the
resolution?
questions Rev.
Dobson
questions
Mother/listens
to Father
reads H.G.
Wells—is
horrified
Do you think that David
becomes a believer?
Why or why not?