Passage Analysis of Dillard's "The Stunt Pilot"

In the essay “The Stunt Pilot” written by Annie Dillard, Dave Rahm’s air shows are described, and his inspiration to Annie Dillard is expressed.  In the seventh paragraph, Dillard describes the moment where his air show begins.  This passage is very close to the beginning of the essay and describes the moment she was struck with inspiration from his skill and relates it to artistic ability.  In typical Dillard style, she describes the moment as an observer in this moment, and later in the essay, continues to contribute meaning to this impactful scene. 

                  The artistic diction featured in this passage, emphasizes how Dillard feels about Rahm’s skill.  She states that he “made beauty with his whole body”.  The movements of his plane move “everyway a line can move, and it controlled three dimensions”.  Dillard sees the air show as an artistic manipulation of the plane, rather than a stunt.  The plane also creates “subtle slits in the air like sculptures” and is compared to a “gymnast” doing “cartwheels”.  All of this diction recreates the visions Dillard saw, that inspired her so much.  It is an example of her observation which she later develops into a meaningful application of life.

                  Dillard’s use of similes is also frequent in the passage.  By comparing the plane’s movements to so many different things, the reader gets a sense of how much more could be taken from the air show.   The plane “carved massive and subtle slits in the air like sculptures” which reveals how graceful the plane’s movements were.  Dillard also states that the plane’s looping arched its back “like a gymnast”.   Comparing the movements to a gymnast also gives a sense of gracefulness, but it is also interesting because it relates the movements to flexibility and ease, which is impossible for a fixed and structured machine.  The last simile Dillard uses is that the plane “played with its own line like a cat with yarn”.  This gives the entire show a sense of playfulness and ease that make the movements seem effortless.  However, all of these similes are used to describe the absolute skill and talent of Rahm.  His gracefulness, flexibility, and easy playfulness are obviously difficult traits to manage when flying in an air show, and Dillard is showing her appreciation of these skills.

                  In the passage’s longest sentence, sentence seven, parallelism is heftily relied on.  After each simile in this sentence, Dillard follows with an impendent clause, all linked together through semi-colons.  This extremely long sentence seems to create an effect of holding one’s breath.  The semi-colons provide pauses, where more action is taking place.  However, throughout the entire sentence, Dillard is unable to stop watching or describing the incredible event.   As the audience watches the plane, “it stalled”, “it spiraled and knifed”, “it turned cartwheels”, and “it played with its own line”.  All of these actions are reasons for why Dillard can’t end her sentence, because the plane keeps her surprised and watching. 

                  The organization of the paragraph is set up so that Dillard can introduce the moment.  She begins with the sentences “The air show announcer hushed” and “the crowd stilled” so the reader recognizes this is a moment to pay attention to.  The shortness of these sentences also reveal the anticipation that the crowd and herself were feeling.   The rest of the paragraph is the description of her own observations, and ends with “How did the pilot know where in the air he was? If he got lost, the ground would swat him”.  These ending phrases once again reaffirm her amazement she has for Rahm.  The last phrase also addresses her awareness that he is doing something dangerous, which reaffirms her awe for all of his artistic actions.

                  This passage is a perfect representation of how Dillard stylizes her essays.  She begins with her own observations, and tangles them into a web of realizations and life lessons that she reaches by the end of her essay.  In this passage Dillard’s acute sense of observation is evident, and leads to the beginning of her conclusions from this inspiring moment.  

Works Cited:
Dillard, Annie. "The Stunt Pilot." Ten on Ten: Major Essayists on Recurring Themes. Ed. Robert Atwan. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 1992. 115-25. Print.