Skunk Dreams

I found this reading extremely interesting, and I was surprised to find myself somewhat undecided about what to make of it. The author's talent with language is what first jumped out at me. That ability allowed the reading to flow, which made it very easy to read. The abstractness of the reading, however, made me analyze it for quite a while to make sure I had a complete grasp of the author's theme and perspective.

Literally, the reading is broken down, somewhat haphazardly, into a series of descriptions of dreams and reality that are at the heart of the author's motivation. The idea of natural beauty relates each of the author's thought trains. They are not-so-chronologically ordered, linked only by the author's thought process. I found this organization unique and enjoyable, and the author's choice to write in this fashion gave a certain dream-like quality to the essay itself.

The content of the excerpt is just as abstract its organization. Opening with a past personal experience, the author then fast forwards to a seemingly unrelated account of her dream in a cheap motel, and finally lands on her experiencing of that dream years later. She weaves in and out of reality and dream fantasy to give the essay a wayward quality, perhaps modeled after her actual life story. The author explicitly refers to her love of natural beauty, and this literal language acts as a foundation for the deeper thoughts and themes found in the reading. My interpretation of the reading is that the author models the story after her life. She explains her life in terms of her past and present dreams and surroundings, utilizing animals' personalities to explain her own feelings and motivations. I especially like the scene where the author meets the elk in the exact way she foresaw years earlier. The author makes sure this scene is one the reader can see in his or her own mind, an effect she proves to be more than good at throughout the essay.

This reading, to me, is the equivalent of a Jackson Pollock painting. It's a mass of color and energy and beauty, encourages numerous interpretations, and means something a little different to each reader. I also think this is exactly the picture the author intends to paint. She adds structure, however, to balance the abstract qualities of the piece (beginning and ending with her admiration of the skunk's character, perhaps relating to it), but also doesn't hesitate to unleash all of her thoughts and creativity. The more I reflect on the reading, the more interesting I find it, and the more I recover from my initial skepticism. Skunk Dreams, as I see it, is the author's attempt to metaphorically depict her own life and create an enjoyable read for her audience. For me, she succeeded.