Annie Dillard’s mother inspired her to be who she is as a writer. Her mother’s love for language shines through in the way Dillard pieces together words and structures her works. The ideas instilled in her to never settle or conform to norms in life and is evident in many of her works and particularly in An American Childhood. Although her mother may have felt trapped as a housewife, she inspired her daughter to be free to express herself through language. Dillard’s mother was fascinated by the sound of words and how they worked together. Often, she would repeat the same phrase, enjoying the way it melodiously played from her vocal chords and rolled off her tongue. “Terwilliger bunts one,” a seemingly simple phrase called out by a radio
