In her memoir recounting her upbringing and juvenescent adventures, An American Childhood, Annie Dillard describes the various aspects of her familial life and her freedom to pursue certain whims of curiosity. At the beginning of the novel, Dillard starts off by describing how her father inspired her with his ambitious (but ultimately futile) effort to sail down to New Orleans and by sharing stories of her mother encouraging her to find images in the clouds or to play pranks on unsuspecting strangers. As the book continues, Dillard tells the reader about her parents’ support of her eagerness to learn by providing books and initiating discussions about her discoveries and experiments, among which included capturing and preserving butterflies.
