Kasey Arnold....Making Nature Sacred/ Reflection of Piligrim

This is a fun chapter for me to read, since I am in the process of reading Pilgrim now for my research paper. Gatta explores many concepts that I find extremely interesting. But the one that is the most obvious, yet I did not realize until I read this chapter, was the religious symbols within her book. A pilgrim is one who is goes on a journey to a holy place for spiritual reasons. By titling her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Dillard is able to give her readers a taste of what her book will be about—a journey to finding deeper insights to nature. A river often times in literature is a metaphor for life; the water generates twists and turns no one can foresee. Dillard is in search for this life. She is supplicating to the river to find out answers to these pertinent questions that involve life, death, instinct, nature and evolution. The river provides these answers as she continues in her quest for truth.