Another direction this paper could go in is simply the odd behavior of the squirrels. Throughout the week I have been observing them, and they have exhibited some interesting behaviors. A few days ago outside of Stockwell there were 4 squirrels evenly-spaced in a semicircle around a tree just staring at each other. Then, I saw a couple squirrels look both ways before crossing the street on North U. I am sure there will be more stories to tell after feeding them this weekend.
It will be a little difficult writing this paper in a way that is not satirical and does not sound like an episode of "The Crocodile Hunter," but I will do my best to imitate Synge's style of writing.
Haha Joy, I love this idea. I think you can really have a lot of fun with it. I think one way to go about it is to think about what squirrels look like where you're from and imagine it as though you're entering this strange new place where the squirrels are so different from anything you've experienced back home. What about them, (besides the fact that they're the size of a small mountain lion), is so special and unique about them, and what does it say about Ann Arbor as a place? Also, the interactions of squirrels with students is something I think is really interesting. Do students freak out when they see them? Why are they so amazed? I love the idea of going to a meeting of The Squirrel Club; I've always secretly wondered what that would be like. I think this could be a really interesting idea, especially if you can make that connection between what these strange squirrels may say about the University/city as a place, and the way to achieve that is to focus a lot on the reaction of the students. Let me know how it goes if you do wind up going to a meeting of the club!
ReplyDeleteI think the squirrels in Ann Arbor are certainly very unique. And they are a great topic to write on. I actually went to a meeting of squirrel club first semester of my freshman year...it will be slightly difficult to write about them without satire. However, they do have feeding squirrels down to quite the science. In your paper you should include their proper way to feed squirrels.
ReplyDeleteI also saw a friend of a friend on Jeopardy tonight talk about something called "squirrel fishing." This is apparently when someone ties a nut to a string and, once the squirrel has started eating the nut, the string holder hoists the squirrel into the air. It seems a bit cruel to me, but I think we make up for this mistreatment of squirrels by always allowing the little rodents to dart across the road. I've seen a lot of squirrels run into traffic on campus, but I've never seen a permanent squirrel road decoration.