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For the Time Being by Annie Dillard • Chapter 1 Study Guide • Loibner-Waitkus • UA-PTC • PAGE 1

FOR THETIME BEINGBY ANNIE DILLARDSTUDY GUIDE

CHAPTER 1Allen Loibner-Waitkus


PEOPLEAkiva ben Yosef—(50–135 CE) widely known as Rabbi Akiva, was a tanna of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second century (the third tannaitic generation). Rabbi Akiva was a leading contributor to the Mishnah and to Midrash halakha. He is referred to in the Talmud as Rosh la-Hakhamim “Chief of the Sages.” He was executed by the Romans in the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Baal Shem Tov—(aka Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer) (circa 1700-22 May 1760) often called Baal Shem Tov or Besht, was a Jewish mystical rabbi. He is considered to be the founder of Hasidic Judaism.

Buddha—(circa 563 BCE–circe 460 BCE) a title given to the founder of Buddhism, Siddartha Gautama. Born a prince in what is now Nepal, he renounced wealth and family to become an ascetic, and after achieving enlightenment while meditating, taught all who came to learn from him.

Bundy, Ted—(24 November 1946–24 January 1989) an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, burglar and necrophile who assaulted and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s, and possibly earlier. Shortly before his execution—after more than a decade of denials—he confessed to 30 homicides committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. The true victim count remains unknown, and could be much higher.

Confucius—(28 September 551 BCE–479 BCE) a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius, also known as Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. His followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred Schools of Thought era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during the Qin Dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius’s thoughts received official sanction and were further developed into a system known in the West as Neo-Confucianism, and later New Confucianism (Modern Neo-Confucianism). Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited many of the Chinese classic texts, including all of the Five Classics, but modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself. Confucius’s principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong family loyalty, ancestor veneration, and respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives, recommending family as a basis for ideal government. He espoused the well-known principle: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself,” the Golden Rule. He is also a traditional deity in Daoism. Throughout mankind’s history, Confucius is widely considered as one of the most important and influential individuals in affecting the lives of humanity. His teaching and philosophy greatly impacted people around the world and still linger in today’s society.

Connell, Evan S., Jr.—(17 August 1924–10 January 2013) an American novelist, poet, and short-story writer. His writing covers a variety of genres.

Constable, John—(born 22 July 1952) an English playwright, poet, performer, and activist, author of The Southwark Mysteries. He is also known as John Crow, the urban shaman of Cross Bones.


Cosell, Howard—(25 March 1918–23 April 1995) an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, “Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. There’s no question that I’m all of those things.” In its obituary for Cosell, The New York Times described Cosell’s effect on American sports coverage: “He entered sports broadcasting in the mid-1950s, when the predominant style was unabashed adulation, [and] offered a brassy counterpoint that was first ridiculed, then copied until it became the dominant note of sports broadcasting.”

Elijah—a prophet and a miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab (9th century BCE), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worship of the Jewish God over that of the Canaanite deity Baal. God also performed many miracles through Elijah, including resurrection (raising the dead), bringing fire down from the sky, and entering Heaven alive “by a whirlwind.” He is also portrayed as leading a school of prophets known as “the sons of the prophets.” Following his ascension, Elisha, his disciple and most devoted assistant, took over his role as leader of this school. The Book of Malachi prophesies Elijah’s return “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD,” making him a harbinger of the Messiah and of the eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible. References to Elijah appear in Ecclesiasticus, the New Testament, the Mishnah and Talmud, the Quran, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and Bahá’í writings.

Genghis Khan—(1162–1227) founder of the Mongol empire; born Temujin. He took the name Genghis Khan (“ruler of all”) in 1206 after uniting the nomadic Mongol tribes. When he died, his empire extended from China to the Black Sea. His grandson Kublai Khan completed the conquest of China.

Hadrain, Emperor—(24 January 76 – 10 July 138 CE) Roman emperor from 117 to 138 CE. He is known for building Hadrian’s Wall, which marked the northern limit of Britannia. He also rebuilt the Pantheon, constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma, and may have rebuilt the Serapeum of Alexandria. Philhellene in most of his tastes, he is considered by some to have been a humanist, and he is regarded as the third of the Five Good Emperors.

Inuit— a member of an indigenous people of northern Canada and parts of Greenland and Alaska

Luria, Isaac—(1534–25 July 1572) a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Syria. He is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah, his teachings being referred to as Lurianic Kabbalah. While his direct literary contribution to the Kabbalistic school of Safed was extremely minute (he wrote only a few poems), his spiritual fame led to their veneration and the acceptance of his authority. The works of his disciples compiled his oral teachings into writing. Every custom of the Ari was scrutinized, and many were accepted, even against previous practice.

Jones, Kenneth Lyons, M.D.—a world-renowned pediatrician, dysmorphologist and researcher in the field of birth defects. He is a distinguished professor and chief of the Division of Dysmorphology and Teratology in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego.


May, Robert M.—(born 8 January 1936) an Australian scientist who has been Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, President of the Royal Society,[8] and a Professor at the University of Sydney and Princeton University. He now[when?] holds joint professorships at University of Oxford and Imperial College London. He was also a crossbench member of the House of Lords from 2001 until his retirement in 2017.

Moses—a prophet in the Abrahamic religions. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was adopted by an Egyptian princess, and later in life became the leader of the Israelites and lawgiver, to whom the authorship of the Torah, or acquisition of the Torah from Heaven is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbenu in Hebrew, he is the most important prophet in Judaism. He is also an important prophet in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá’í Faith, and a number of other Abrahamic religions.

Picard, Max—(5 June 1888-3 October 1965) a Swiss writer, important as one of the few thinkers writing from a deeply Platonic sensibility in the 20th century

Presley, Elvis—(January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll” or simply “the King.”

Qin, Emperor—(18 February 259 BCE–10 September 210 BCE) the founder of the Qin dynasty and was the first emperor of a unified China. He was born Ying Zheng or Zhao Zheng, a prince of the state of Qin. He became the King Zheng of Qin when he was thirteen, then China’s first emperor when he was 38 after the Qin had conquered all of the other Warring States and unified all of China in 221 BCE. Rather than maintain the title of “king” borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty from 220 to 210 BCE. His self-invented title “emperor,” as indicated by his use of the word “First,” would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia.

Sachs, Nelly—(10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) a Swedish poet and playwright of Jewish German birth. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokeswoman for the grief and yearnings of her fellow Jews. Her best-known play is Eli: Ein Mysterienspiel vom Leiden Israels (1950); other works include the poems “Zeichen im Sand” (1962), “Verzauberung” (1970), and the collections of poetry In den Wohnungen des Todes (1947), Flucht und Verwandlung (1959), Fahrt ins Staublose (1961), and Suche nach Lebenden (1971). She was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966.

Samaritans— an ethnoreligious group of the Levant originating from the Israelites (or Hebrews) of the Ancient Near East

Shaumatoff, Alex— (born 4 November 1946) an American writer known for his literary journalism, nature and environmental writing, and books and magazine pieces about political and environmental situations and world affairs. He was a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine from 1978 to 1987, a founding contributing editor of Outside magazine and Condé Nast Traveler, and was the senior-most contributing editor to Vanity Fair since its re-inception in 1986 through 2015 before he pseudo


retired. He is known for reporting from the most remote corners of the world.

Smith, Lee—(born 1 November 1944) an American fiction author who typically incorporates much of her background from the Southeastern United States in her works.

Teihard de Chardin, Pierre—(1 May 1881–10 April 1955) a French idealist philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of Peking Man. He conceived the vitalist idea of the Omega Point (a maximum level of complexity and consciousness towards which he believed the universe was evolving) and developed Vladimir Vernadsky’s concept of noosphere.

Tillich, Paul—(20 August 1886 – 22 October 1965) a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century

Voltaire—(21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778) a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state

von Drehle, David—(born 6 February 1961) an American author and journalist

PLACESArras—a town in northeastern France; pop. 43,663 (2006). In medieval times, it was a center for the manufacture of tapestries.

Brighton—a seaside resort on the south coast of England. It is part of the city of Brighton and Hove and the ceremonial county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex.

Caesarea—a town in north-central Israel. Located midway between Tel Aviv and Haifa on the coastal plain near the city of Hadera, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. With a population of 4,970, it is the only Israeli locality managed by a private organization, the Caesarea Development Corporation, and also one of the most populous localities not recognized as a local council.

Galilee—a region in northern Israel. The term Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee and Lower Galilee. In the modern common usage, Galilee refers to all of the area that is beyond Mount Carmel to the northeast, extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the ridges of Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa north of Jenin to the south, and from the Jordan Rift Valley to the east across the plains of the Jezreel Valley and Acre to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the coastal plain in the west, including Beth Shean’s valley, Sea of Galilee’s valley, and Hula Valley, although it usually does not include Haifa’s immediate northern suburbs. By this definition it overlaps with much of the


administrative Northern District of the country (which also includes the Golan Heights and part of Menashe Heights, but not Qiryat Tiv’on). Western Galilee is a common term referring to the western part of the Upper Galilee and its shore, and usually also the northwestern part of the Lower Galilee, mostly overlapping with Acre sub district. Galilee Panhandle is a common term referring to the “panhandle” in the east that extends to the north, where Lebanon is to the west, and includes Hula Valley and Ramot Naftali mountains of the Upper Galilee. Historically, the part of Southern Lebanon south of the east-west section of the Litani River also belonged to the region of Galilee.

Gobi Desert—a barren plateau in southern Mongolia and northern China

Himalayas—a vast mountain system in southern Asia that extends for 1,500 miles (2,400 km) from Kashmir east to Assam. The Himalayas consist of a series of parallel ranges that rise up from the Ganges River basin to the Tibetan plateau. The backbone is the Great Himalayan Range, the highest mountain range in the world, with several peaks rising to over 25,000 feet (7,700 m), the highest being Mount Everest.

Lake Windermere—the largest natural lake in England. It is a ribbon lake formed in a glacial trough after the retreat of ice at the start of the current interglacial period. It has been one of the country’s most popular places for holidays and summer homes since the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere Railway’s branch line in 1847. Historically forming part of the border between Lancashire and Westmorland, it is now within the county of Cumbria and the Lake District National Park.

Mongolia—a landlocked unitary sovereign state in East Asia. Its area is roughly equivalent with the historical territory of Outer Mongolia, and that term is sometimes used to refer to the Mongolian People’s Republic. It is located between China to the south and Russia to the north. While it does not share a border with Kazakhstan, Mongolia is separated from it by only 36.76 kilometers (22.84 mi). At 1,564,116 square kilometers (603,909 sq mi), Mongolia is the 18th largest country in the world by land mass and has a population of around three million people. It is also the world’s second-largest landlocked country behind Kazakhstan and the largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea. The country contains very little arable land, as much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 40%-45% of the country’s population.

Mount Meron—a mountain in Israel. It has special significance in Jewish religious tradition and parts of it have been declared a nature reserve. At 1,208 meters (3,963 ft) above sea level, Mount Meron is the highest peak in Israel within the Green Line, though many peaks in the Israeli-occupied area of the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, which was annexed and removed from military jurisdiction in 1981, are higher.

Ordos—a desert and steppe region lying on a plateau in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China (centered ca. 39°N 109°E). The soil of the Ordos is a mixture of clay and sand and, as a result, is poorly suited for agriculture. It extends over an area of approximately 90,650 km. It comprises two large deserts: the 7th largest desert in China, the Kubuqi Desert in the north, and the 8th largest desert in China, the Muu-us Desert in the south.


Peking—(now known as Beijing) the capital of the People’s Republic of China and the world’s second most populous city proper and most populous capital city. The city, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government with sixteen urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together the three divisions form the Jing jinji metropolitan region and the national capital region of China.

Putney—is a district in south-west London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is centred 5.1 miles (8.2 km) south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centers in Greater London.

Safad—a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of 900 meters (2,953 ft), Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters. Since the 16th century, Safed has been considered one of Judaism’s Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias; since that time, the city has remained a center of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. Interest in the Kabbalah was brought to the city by the rabbi Isaac Luria in the 16th century. Due to its mild climate and scenic views, Safed is a popular holiday resort frequented by Israelis and foreign visitors. In 2015 it had a population of 33,358.

Sea of Galilee—a freshwater lake in Israel. It is approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13 mi) long, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. Its area is 166.7 km2 (64.4 sq mi) at its fullest, and its maximum depth is approximately 43 m (141 feet). At levels between 215 meters (705 ft) and 209 meters (686 ft) below sea level, it is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world (after the Dead Sea, a saltwater lake). The lake is fed partly by underground springs although its main source is the Jordan River which flows through it from north to south.

Ukraine—a sovereign state in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the east, northeast, and south, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to the west, Romania, and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. Ukraine is currently in territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014, but which Ukraine and most of the international community recognize as Ukrainian. Including Crimea, Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km2 (233,062 sq mi), making it the largest country entirely within Europe and the 46th largest country in the world. Excluding Crimea, Ukraine has a population of about 42.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world.

Verdun—a town in northeastern France

Xi’an—the capital of Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city located in the center of the Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China. One of the oldest cities in China, Xi’an is the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi’an is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.


Yellow River—(also known as Huang He) the third longest river in Asia, after the Yangtze River and Yenisei River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of 5,464 km (3,395 mi).Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai province of western China, it flows through nine provinces, and it empties into the Bohai Sea near the city of Dongying in Shandong province. The Yellow River basin has an east–west extent of about 1,900 kilometers (1,180 mi) and a north–south extent of about 1,100 km (680 mi). Its total drainage area is about 752,546 square kilometers (290,560 sq mi). Its basin was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilization, and it was the most prosperous region in early Chinese history. However, because of frequent devastating floods and course changes produced by the continual elevation of the river bed, sometimes above the level of its surrounding farm fields, it also has the names China’s Sorrow and Scourge of the Han People.

Ypres—a town in northwestern Belgium, near the border with France, in the province of West Flanders; pop. 34,812 (2008). It was the scene of some of the most bitter fighting during World War I.

RELIGIONBuddhism—a widespread Asian religion or philosophy, founded by Siddartha Gautama in northeastern India in the 5th century BCE. Buddhism has no creator god and gives a central role to the doctrine of karma. The “four noble truths” of Buddhism state that all existence is suffering, that the cause of suffering is desire, that freedom from suffering is nirvana, and that this is attained through the ‘eightfold’ path of ethical conduct, wisdom, and mental discipline (including meditation). There are two major traditions, Theravada and Mahayana.

Hasidism—a Jewish religion. It arose as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine during the 18th century, and spread rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most affiliates reside in the United States, Israel, and Britain. Israel Ben Eliezer, the “Baal Shem Tov”, is regarded as its founding father, and his disciples developed and disseminated it. Present-day Hasidism is a sub-group within Ultra-Orthodox (“Haredi”) Judaism, and is noted for its religious conservatism and social seclusion. Its members adhere closely both to Orthodox Jewish practice – with the movement’s own unique emphases – and the traditions of Eastern European Jews, so much that many of the latter, including various garments or the use of the Yiddish language, are nowadays associated almost exclusively with Hasidism.

Kabbalah—the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible, first transmitted orally and using esoteric methods (including ciphers). It reached the height of its influence in the later Middle Ages and remains significant in Hasidism.

Mahabharata—one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyana

Midrash—an ancient commentary on part of the Hebrew scriptures, attached to the biblical text. The earliest Midrashim come from the 2nd century CE, although much of their content is older.


Mishnah—the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions known as the “Oral Torah”. It is also the first major work of Rabbinic literature. The Mishnah was redacted by Judah the Prince at the beginning of the third century CE in a time when, according to the Talmud, the persecution of the Jews and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period (536 BCE – 70 CE) would be forgotten. Most of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, while some parts are Aramaic.

Sabbath—(also known as Shabbat and Shabbos) the Sabbath is Judaism’s day of rest and seventh day of the week, on which religious Jews and certain Christians (such as Seventh Day Adventists and Seventh Day Baptists) remember the Biblical creation of the heavens and the earth in six days and the Exodus of the Hebrews, and look forward to a future Messianic Age. Shabbat observance entails refraining from work activities, often with great rigor, and engaging in restful activities to honor the day. Judaism’s traditional position is that unbroken seventh-day Shabbat originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution, though some suggest other origins. Variations upon Shabbat are widespread in Judaism and, with adaptations, throughout the Abrahamic and many other religions. According to halakha (Jewish religious law), Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night.[1] Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles and reciting a blessing. Traditionally, three festive meals are eaten: in the evening, in the early afternoon, and late in the afternoon. The evening meal typically begins with a blessing called kiddush and another blessing recited over two loaves of challah. Shabbat is closed the following evening with a havdalah blessing. Shabbat is a festive day when Jews exercise their freedom from the regular labors of everyday life. It offers an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and to spend time with family.

Shema—the first two words of a section of the Torah and the title of a prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. The first verse encapsulates the monotheistic essence of Judaism: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one”

Shekinah—the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning “dwelling” or “settling” and denotes the dwelling or settling of the divine presence of God. The Shekinah is the feminine aspect of Divinity, also referred to as the Divine Presence.

Talmud—the body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend comprising the Mishnah and the Gemara. There are two versions of the Talmud: the Babylonian Talmud (which dates from the 5th century CE but includes earlier material) and the earlier Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud.

Torah—the central reference of Judaism. It has a range of meanings. It can most specifically mean the first five books (Pentateuch) of the 24 books of the Tanakh, and it usually includes the rabbinic commentaries (perushim). The term “Torah” means instruction and offers a way of life for those who follow it; it can mean the continued narrative from Book of Genesis to the end of the Tanakh, and it can even mean the totality of Jewish teaching, culture and practice. Common to all these meanings, Torah consists of the origin of Jewish peoplehood: their call into being by God, their trials and tribulations, and their covenant with their God, which involves following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations and civil laws (halakha).


Zohar—the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology. The Zohar contains discussions of the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, redemption, the relationship of Ego to Darkness and “true self” to “The Light of God”, and the relationship between the “universal energy” and man. Its scriptural exegesis can be considered an esoteric form of the Rabbinic literature known as Midrash, which elaborates on the Torah.

VOCABULARYAbsolute, the—a term for the most real being. The Absolute is conceived as being itself or perhaps the being that transcends and comprehends all other beings.

austere—markedly simple or unadorned

cerebrum—the principal and most anterior part of the brain in vertebrates, located in the front area of the skull and consisting of two hemispheres, left and right, separated by a fissure. It is responsible for the integration of complex sensory and neural functions and the initiation and coordination of voluntary activity in the body.

chrysalid—a protecting covering; a sheltered state or stage of being or growth

Common (or Current) Era—(usually written CE) a year-numbering system (calendar era) for the Julian and Gregorian calendars that refers to the years since the start of this era, that is, the years beginning with AD 1. The preceding era is referred to as Before the Common (or Current) Era (usually written BCE).

cumulus—a dense puffy cloud form having a flat base and rounded outlines often piled up like a mountain

currycomb—a comb made of rows of metallic teeth or serrated ridges and used especially to curry horses

dire—desperately urgent

disparate—containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements

ether—the air or sky (among other, more complicated definitions)

haughty—having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempt for people or things perceived to be inferior


Hebrew—the Semitic language of the ancient Hebrews

hominid— a primate of a family (Hominidae) that includes humans and their fossil ancestors and also (in recent systems) at least some of the great apes

impalpable—unable to be felt by touch or not easily comprehended

lee—protecting shelter

loess—a loosely compacted yellowish-gray deposit of windblown sediment of which extensive

mallow—any of a genus (Malva of the family Malvaceae, the mallow family) of herbs with palmately lobed or dissected leaves, usually showy flowers, and a disk-shaped fruit

massif—a principal mountain mass

oleander—a poisonous evergreen shrub (Nerium oleander) of the dogbane family with clusters of fragrant white to red flowers

pachyderms— any of various nonruminant mammals (such as an elephant, a rhinoceros, or a hippopotamus) of a former group (Pachydermata) that have hooves or nails resembling hooves and usually thick skin

Pliocene—of, relating to, or denoting the last epoch of the Tertiary period, between the Miocene and Pleistocene epochs. The Pliocene epoch lasted from 5.2 million to 1.64 million years ago. Temperatures were falling at this time and many mammals became extinct. The first hominids, including Australopithecus and Homo habilis, appeared.

supercilious—coolly and patronizingly haughty

tangential—touching lightly

terra cotta—a glazed or unglazed fired clay used especially for statuettes and vases and architectural purposes (as for roofing, facing, and relief ornamentation)

wry— bent, twisted, or turned usually abnormally to one side

IMPORTANT QUOTES“And friendly and pleasant, but easily distracted. There is a lot to be said for children who are friendly and pleasant. And you—are you easily distracted yourself, these days?” (3).

“If you gave birth to two bird-headed dwarfs, as these children’s mother did—a boy and a girl—you


could carry them both everywhere, all their lives, in your arms or in a basket, and they would never leave you, not even to go to college” (3).

“Will this peculiar baby live? What do you hope?” (3).

“Buddhism notes that it is always a mistake to think your soul can go it alone” (8).

“What were we doing, our generation, up so high?” (17).

“When a person arrives in the world as a baby, says one Midrash, ‘his hands are clenched as though to say, “Everything is mine. I will inherit it all.” When he departs from the world, his hands are open, as though to say, “I have acquired nothing from the world”’” (19).

“Confucius wept. Confucius, when he understood that he would soon die, wept” (19).

“The Mahabharata says, ‘Of all the world’s wonders, which is the most wonderful? [...] That no man, though he sees others dying all around him, believes that he himself will die’” (20).

“(Since this book hails thinkers for their lights, and pays scant heed to their stripes, I should acknowledge here that Judaism and Christianity, like other great religions, have irreconcilable doctrinal differences, both within and without. Rabbi Pinhas: ‘The principal danger of man is religion.’)” (27).

“God punishes the good, he [Rabbi Akiva] proposed, in this short life, for their few sins, and rewards them eternally in the world to come. Similarly, God rewards the evil-doers in this short life for their few good deeds, and punishes them eternally in the world to come. I do not know how that sat with people. It is, like every ingenious, God-fearing explanation of natural calamity, harsh all around” (30).

“Is it not late? A late time to be living? Are not our generations the crucial ones? For we have changed the world. Are not our heightened times the important ones? For we have nuclear bombs. Are we not especially significant because our century is?—our century and its unique Holocaust, its refugee populations, its serial totalitarian exterminations; our century and its antibiotics, silicon chips, men on the moon, and spliced genes? No, we are not and it is not” (30).

“The blue light of the television flickers on the cave wall. If the fellow crawls out of the cave, what does he see? Not the sun itself, but night, and the two thousand visible stars. Once, I tried to converse with him, the fellow who crawled out of his blue-lit cave to the real world. He had looked into this matter of God. He had to shout to make himself heard: ‘How do you stand the wind out here?’ [...] I don’t. Not for long. I drive a schoolkids’ car pool. I shouted back, ‘I don’t! I read “ Consumer Reports” every month!’ It seemed unlikely that he heard. The wind blew into his face. He turned and faced the lee. I don’t know how long he stayed out. A little at a time does for me—a little every day” (32-33).


SOURCESAll people, places, religious terms, vocabulary words, and quotations—with the exception of austere and disparate—come from the following edition:

Dillard, Annie. For the Time Being. Vintage Books, 2000.

The vocabulary words austere and disparate are tak-en from the author’s note to the first edition, which appeared exclusively in this edition:

Dillard, Annie. For the Time Being. Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.

All definitions were compiled by Allen Loib-ner-Waitkus using too many sources to mention, including Merriam-Webster.com and (gasp!) Wiki-pedia.

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FOR THE TIME BEING - static1.squarespace.com the Time Being by Annie Dillard • Chapter 1 Study ......

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