Pilgrim At Tinker Creek Summary

Sounds ranging from the constant, rhythmic waves to the loud wind wafting past my ears envelop me as I stand at the edge of the cliff in Croatia. There is chaos and serenity at this moment, much like nature, and when I took in all the information from the environment my senses were overwhelmed yet astounded at the same time highlighting the sheer power of nature and the effect it has on our lives. Much like this event, one of the biggest aspects that Dillard addresses and looks into, if not the main aspect, in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek specifically, the chapter The Present is whether or not the world and nature have a higher purpose and meaning in the everyday lives of people. This chapter specifically deals with the importance of the present and what it may add to the idea of life's meaning. Dillard describes numerous experiences she’s had in the past to portray the bond she obtains with nature and the various lessons she learnt regardless of whether she was aware or unaware of its effects in that particular moment. Dillard seems torn on whether or not self-conscious or conscious is a better state to experience the
world in, and provides vivid examples to highlight this dilemma. She values self-consciousness and even states that self-consciousness as a defining feature that separates us from other creatures, because self-consciousness allows us to filter information and make us more aware of our surroundings.
This in term allows us to learn more aptly and obtain information about specific aspects of nature and the creatures by focusing on them and blocking everything else out. However, her main argument is based on the idea that self-consciousness obstructs the way we live and portrays the image that we would be too focused on the aspects that we generally are aware of and risk the loss of ability to take everything in and be one with nature. Throughout the text consciousness and innocence was emphasized as the optimal way of achieving the sense of taking in every moment through examples of others such as puppies and
children. The notion of consciousness was first introduced on the second paragraph of page 82. Dillard states “Consciousness itself does not hinder living in the present. In fact, it is only to a heightened awareness that the great door to the present opens at all”. This portrays this idea that consciousness is integral to access this immersion into nature that she describes as it is one of the tools to achieve it. Consciousness, says Dillard, helps us live in the present by giving us data for comparison. The powers of reflection and verbalization help us recognize the moments in which we fully live in the present. The positive connotation attached to consciousness highlights the contrasting opinion she has about self-consciousness when Dillard states that “Self-consciousness, however, does hinder the experience”. The repetition of words to convey two different tones stresses her stance and opinion on the matter.
The comparison between the way the puppy experiences the same moment as Dillard was intriguing. The puppy at the gas station experienced the present but he didn't realize it in the same way, because puppies don't have the same consciousness as humans. She builds on this idea that age and innocence, due to different levels of self-consciousness, are integral aspects on the way the present is viewed. A puppy, who has almost no filters, enjoys the same moments differently due to the fact that a puppy “has no data for comparison”. Through this notion, Dillard implicitly states that humans, adults in particular, allow past experiences to control the vision of the present through subconscious filters.