Assignment 5

It seems like Orlean wrote this article to enlighten those of us who are so opposed to taxidermy. Although it may never get the attention of an all-natural animal lover, for someone that at least eats meat  or perhaps just willing to read, it softens up and justify, if you will, what taxidermists do. She describes the extent of the  role, stating that people at this competition often make a living of taxidermy which surprised me. I would never think that the moose head over my great uncle's fireplace is what provided him with the ability to put food on his table. Actually, the only way I would think that a moose head could provide dinner is if it was cooked, but that was before I read "Lifelike".

Orlean made the topic of "Lifelike" a taxidermist's job description and the seriousness of being involved in taxidermy- being a "zoology nerd", being sure that every detail is on point, staying up-to-date on the "new style of eyeballs" available this year. Through Orlean's topic, the enhanced detail of her article revealed her purpose, which was to create enough imagery through written text to make the audience go "hmm I never knew taxidermy was really that serious".

Reading "Lifelike" brought me under the impression that Orlean wanted readers to take a step back from rude comments about others' interest in taxidermy and actually visualize a day in the life of it. This is someone's "nursing degree"; by giving a patient a dose of too much anesthesia, they could die. The point is no matter the profession, precision is key, and I mean VERY key when it comes to taxidermy. Orlean lets readers know once again by conversation she hears: "The taxidermists take the competition very seriously. During the time I was in Springfield, I heard conversations analyzing such arcane subjects as exactly how much a javelina's snout wrinkles when it snarls and which molars deer use to chew acorns as opposed to which ones they use to chew leaves. This is important because the ultimate goal of a taxidermist is to make the animal look exactly as if it had never died, as if it were still in the middle of doing ordinary animal things like plucking berries off a bush or taking a nap."

1. Based on "Lifelike", did it change your thoughts on what taxidermy really means to some?

2. Did reading this make you want to dig deeper into  the life of a taxidermist to see if the detail listed in the article was true?