I think Smith likes the animalcules because they offer him an escape from the plain and ordinary. Evidence for this can be seen throughout the entire article, most of it describing tiny bits of pond scum most people have never heard of. One passage in particular confirms this: " I look up from the scope and stand to stretch. Already my viewing eye is dulled. Already the yard beyond the back porch looks huge and messy and cobbled; the flowers seem ragged compared to the bright world beneath the lenses." (pg 26)
Smith thinks that the world of pond scum is more beautiful and intricate than the world he lives in. The creatures in the pond scum he cannot see in everyday life and this excites him because they are exotic and different. He spends pages and pages describing the creatures he sees. His tone is excited and vocabulary suggests that as well.
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First of all...I love your blog layout :)
ReplyDeleteSecond of all...it's interesting to think that someone finds the microscopic world more interesting than the rest of the world. It makes me think about the world from a totally different point of view, even if it's just for a second. He almost seems like a kid at Christmas, looking at these animalcules. I wonder why he seems to find the rest of the world so boring and mundane?
I don't think I could ever be so excited as Smith was about looking at his animalcules. I understand that it is partly the mysteriousness of them that Smith is so intrigued by, but still I can't imagine that being more interesting than what goes on in our world. Have you ever been interested in something at the level at which Smith is interested in animalcules?
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