2. Heaven and Earth in Jest
We could consider this chapter an introduction and a thesis for the book. What is her research question? What are her research methods? How does she organize her discussion?
What does this book have to do with epistemology and theory of knowledge? How does Dillard seek her answers in this book?
One of the best parts of this book is Dillard’s striking imagery and description of the world around her. What are the most striking and significant instances of descriptive language in this chapter to you? What purpose do they serve?

3. Seeing
What does the title mean? What and how does Dillard want to see?
What is the significance of the hidden penny? How does this opening image inform the rest of the discussion of seeing?
The concluding part of the chapter talks about “The tree with the lights in it.” Dillard is going to continue to come back to this tree throughout the book. Why? What is it and why does it evoke so much meaning for her?
Have you ever been changed by a moment of beauty? Describe a moment when you were struck by the beauty of something you saw or experienced—how did that affect you? Why?

4. Winter
Seasons are often symbolic and metaphorical. What do we usually associate with Winter? How does Dillard explore the concept of winter? Give 2-3 examples. Why does she see winter in this way? Also, why is the first season she explores winter instead of, say, spring?
What does the image of the wind at the end of the chapter mean? How is it important to Dillard’s journey? Do other images in the chapter create a similar effect?
Compare the organization of this chapter to previous chapters. What is similar and what is different?

5. The Fixed
What is “the Fixed”? Why is it frightening? How does Dillard deal with the concept?
Why are insects and bugs a representation of “The Fixed”? What examples from the insect world does she use to discuss her concept? Why does she use these examples?
Each of the following is a significant image or symbol in the chapter. For each, describe how it relates to the theme and find a quote that demonstrates its significance.
The Mason Jar
Shadow
The Polyphemus Moth
The Pine processionary caterpillars
The Praying Mantis

6. Present/Spring
What is the difference between the Present and the Fixed? Why is catching the Present desirable, but not the Fixed?
What does the term Trompe L’Esprit mean? How does it relate to the Present?
What is the relationship between Time and the Present? The relationship between innocence/experience and the Present? The relationship between consciousness and the Present? The relationship between death and the Present?
Explain the following symbols and how they are explored in these chapters:
Trees
The Creek
The Wind
What does looking at small things in the soil (The Present) or in the duck pond (Spring) mean? How does she draw significance from them? Why does she look at them?
How does Language become a metaphor? What is the right question to ask about birdsong? Why? How does she get from the beauty of birdsong to the disturbing image of the pond scum life?

7. Intricacy
Sometimes in the book, Dillard uses second person to convey her ideas (such as on page ). Why does she do this? What is the effect?
This chapter is the climax of the her ideas in the first half of the book. Explain how this chapter relates to the ideas she has been building, and how it is a culmination and climax of the via positive portion.

8. READ!
You know you want to!

9. Fecundity Dylan Thomas Poem/Pied Beauty Poem
What images / writing patterns are mirrored between Fecundity and Intricacy?

10. Stalking / Night Watch
The Tao of Stalking: What methods does Dillard explore here? How is the approach to seeing fish/muskrats/grasshoppers reflect her ideas for the second half of the book?
What is the “Principle of Indeterminacy”? How does it reflect the problem of via positiva/via negativa?
What does the idea of falling mean in Night Watch? How does she relate to/incorporate “The Fall of Man”? Is falling a bad or good thing here? Point out a few quotes in which she explores the idea of falling and explain them.
What does he final image of being surrounded by locusts mean in terms of her theodicy/quest?

11. Horns of the Altar
What does being eaten mean for Dillard? How does it apply to our via positiva/via negativa scope of the book?
How does the idea of being eaten influence her understanding of previous images: the sharks, the mockingbird, the tree with the lights? How does she respond to new realization? Does it unravel the numinous? Does it reaffirm it? Or something else?
In what way does she use the gnawed fringe image to connect to and revise previous understandings of the universe?