Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek features various creatures struggling to survive in the perilous habitats of Tinker Creek. From her own experiences living near the stream, she presents detailed descriptions of the death of different insects and animals, mainly due to attacks by other creatures of the same species. Throughout the various chapters of her book, she tracks and studies creatures to construct an overarching theme of life. Dillard argues that for a creature to survive, it must cause the deaths of others, even if that means killing members of its own group. In an attempt to expose this horror of reality, Dillard makes stunning use of the muskrat, often seen as a peaceful creature enjoying still water. By presenting the muskrat as a victim of its predators as well as a predator of its own species, Dillard reveals that even the most peaceful creatures, like the muskrat, are both the objects and subjects of death. Chapter 11, entitled “Stalking,” characterizes the muskrat as the prey of numerous predators and the object of death. Although Dillard observes the muskrat as it serenely floats down the stream earlier in the chapter, she suggests that the muskrat is no exception to the theme related to death. Dillard states that the muskrat is "the bread and butter of the carnivorous food chain" (195) and compares it to rabbits and mice since any animal large enough to eat mammals will eat the muskrat. To support this idea, she lists common predators of the muskrat that hunt and kill it for their own survival. From hawks and owls to foxes and mink, the muskrat finds its enemies everywhere in the sky, on land and in the water. The muskrat's struggle to avoid its predator...... middle of paper ...... Through this sentence, Dillard argues that for newborn muskrats to live to adulthood, the other muskrats protect them even if it means killing their children. Once again, the theme of life and death is affirmed through the muskrat since the death of the young muskrat was caused by adult muskrats in order to ensure the safety of the new muskrat. born. Thus, the muskrat serves remarkably as a predator of its own family and an agent of death to survive in the cruel nature of Tinker Creek. Annie Dillard states and defends the argument that the death of one creature is a necessity for another creature to survive. Through the case of the muskrat, she demonstrated that several predators, whether or not they are of the same species, can hunt a single creature. For life to continue, another life must be sacrificed and death is natural.