When Dillard decides to spend a year chronicling life at Tinker Creek, she's ready to experience the glory of nature. She sees a cute frog in the water and starts observing… only to see the frog deflate before her eyes, the victim of a vicious, innard-sucking water bug. From mosquitoes that feed on snakes' heads to turtles covered in leeches to a dog walking down the road with a deer's leg in its mouth, the suffering and death Dillard witnesses make her wonder in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek whether the creator delights in torturing the creation.
Questions About Suffering
- Do animals suffer as much as humans? How does the suffering of a person differ from the suffering of a bug?
- What does Dillard learn about suffering by observing non-human life?
- Does suffering require the capacity to compare yourself to others?
- How does Annie herself suffer during her year at Tinker Creek?
Chew on This
If you're not aware of your own mortality, you might suffer physically, but you don't suffer existentially.
Because the frog's innards liquefy when the water bug injects its venom, it's unaware that its guts are being sucked out. What Annie witnesses is gross, but it's not prolonged suffering.