Annie Dillard Seeing Summary

In “Seeing” by Annie Dillard, she wants to tell everyone that we should notice the small things in life. Many people go through their lives going from point A to point B, but they fail to realize all of the wonders that the world has to offer. Many people often succeed in seeing the “natural obvious”, which is seeing what one expects to see, but they fail to see the “artificial obvious”, which is seeing what one does not expect. Seeing more closely and noticing the unexpected, the “artificial obvious”, will lead to further happiness. People need to break away from their assumptions and begin to become aware of the small things that life has to offer. She supports this with the case of the frog. She couldn’t find a frog, which was supposedly in front of her. A dozen “enthusiastic campers” told her that the frog was in front of her and that it was green. When she …show more content…
Dillard teaches that there are different ways of approaching what is in the world. Not only by appreciating the little things around us, we can also look at the world in another perspective by erasing our preconceptions. She starts by talking about how pennies are a “gift from the universe.” She believes if we can appreciate these small simple gifts, the rest of what you find will be in their own way riches and lead to happiness. An example of something around us we never gave a second thought to is a penny. Yes, a penny is worth little but it is the outlook a person has that determines its worth. I find this point is very exciting, because if a penny is counted as one cent it’s worth nothing, but if you count it as a gift you get a treasure. In “I Stand Here Writing” by Nancy Sommer, she mentions that she wants her students to use themselves as their own sources. He wants her students to think and to write in their own ways. This relates to Dillard, because she also emphasis on looking at the world in a different