An American Childhood

The author of this memoir, Annie Dillard, tells her story primarily through a first-person omniscient point of view. The details of her perceptions of the world comprise the core of the memoir, providing a trustworthy narrator for Dillard’s growing intellect as she reveals the important developments in her life from age 5 to age 18. A precocious, extremely intelligent, and resourceful child, Dillard delves into many adventures, fully engaging with her life.

During her entire childhood, Dillard’s intellectual curiosity drives her. She takes up hobbies and interests across a wide range of disciplines. For instance, she learns to draw; to recognize, collect, and categorize rocks (a collection that reaches 340 rocks); to catch and catalogue insects; to study the history of Pittsburgh, particularly the French and Indian war; and, finally, as a teenager, to read many books on WWII and its impact on the world.

The goal of all her studies and interests remains to penetrate the world—to understand it, occupying her mind and all of her attention and focus. Dillard refers to this goal as being “awake.” Throughout her busy intellectual life—reading and categorizing books, testing rocks, and investigating water placed carefully by the heater to grow the elusive amoeba—Dillard strives to understand and remember everything.