Name: Fabien Calloud

“The Deer at Providencia” (78)

1 Why was the deer not simply killed?

The deer was not simply killed because when hunting people let the deer hang so that it
takes time for the deer to die. In this story the hanged deer served as an entertainment for
the people in the village. They left the deer to harvest it for their dinner. They left the
deer for its meat to become more tender which would taste better. The villagers were
looking at how the deer struggling to escape as if it was a ritual for the villagers.

2 How did the men think Annie reacted?

The men were shocked of how Annie reacted because it was not what they were
expecting, “I had no expression on my face when u was watching the deer” (page 81)
This reaction came to a surprise to them. As the only women present the men were
curious of her reaction. One of the men talked about if his wife was present that she
would not be able to witness such cruelty.

3 Dillard has a photo on her mirror. ***How does this make her feel (83)?
***What connection does this have to the deer?

The photo on her mirror is a photograph taken from a newspaper about a man whose face
was burnt. She reads the whole clipping every morning. This is connected to the deer
because she talks about dignity for the Alan McDonald, the man whose face was burnt,
and the deer. The connection we can assume with the deer is that Annie feels pain seeing
both the burnt face and the deer, even though she had no expression on her face when she
was in the jungle. Another connection that we can see between the deer and the man is
the unfairness of how things happened to both of them. One was chased by dogs and the
other was burnt twice. Another thing to point out is the way both events are shown to
other people. The deer is hanged for the villagers and the man’s accident is published in a
news article.

4 What does Dillard mean by “Big Time” (83)?

I think what Dillard means by “Big Time” is that she is referring to the real life. In which
things happens that is out of control and there is nothing we can do to stop it. In this case
with the man getting burnt for the second time, that is something that is unlucky, but it
happens. I think that she uses “Big time” to emphasize on how we live in a world where
anything can happen.

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 Name: Fabien Calloud
“The Deer at Providencia” (78)
5 Dillard says, “[P]lease explain … what is going on” (84). Why?

Dillard says this because she wants the two of them to know what is happening to them
and that she would’ve liked to warn to explain and to comfort them at that time where
they we’re in a difficult position. Also, I think that is would be a question of honor, and
respect for both of them who shouldn’t have suffered like they did.

6 “Providence” means God’s thorough care for the creation (God “provides” for
every creature and person). How might Dillard use “Providencia” ironically?

The word might be used ironically because providence means God’s thorough care
for the creation then why do we see the deer and the man getting burnt twice suffering
rather than being helped by God. It’s also ironic because the story she is telling is all
about suffering and not how the two events are taken care of. This story does not justify
how God is supposed to take care of his creation, on the contrary it feels like he lets them
suffer. God is supposed to care and not let the deer or the man getting in harms way.

7 What line made you think (quote it and give page number)? Why?

“The deer lay on its side at the rope’s very end, so the rope lacked slack to let it rest its
head in the dust. It was “pretty”, delicate of bone like all dear, and thin-skinned for the
tropics. Its skin looked virtually hairless, in fact, and almost translucent” (page 79) This
line made me think because of how much details she gives about how the deer is. It made
me uncomfortable to read it because of how cruel they treat the deer, especially knowing
what happens to the deer next. It also feels like if the author is not shocked about what
she is seeing, and she find it totally normal about what is happening to the deer. One last
thing I thought about this line was what the deer was thinking at that point, if she was
suffering or knowing that the deer might die soon.

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