In his article “The Loss of The Creature,” Walker Percy presents the case that human or “creature’s” experiences are most often trivial because of our preconceived notions. Percy believes we can only truly enjoy these experiences if we leave the “beaten track.” Only then can we see the true beauty of the experience.
Percy gives three examples to prove his point. His first example describes a tourist’s plans to go see the Grand Canyon. Oftentimes, tourists have preconceived expectations about the wonder, and feel that they are let down with a dreary sight rather than the miraculous wonder they have fantasized. The second example Percy uses is of a couple who, while wandering through Mexico looking for an “unspoiled” place (a place which has not been tainted by modernism), get lost. They stumble upon an Indian village and live with the locals for a little while. After returning home, they tell their friends that they had an experience better than they expected. The third example Percy uses is that of a biology teacher who gave his students a dogfish to dissect. The students look at the dogfish as another specimen to be dissected for a grade instead of trying to learn about it as a piece of unexplored creation.
In his article “The Loss of The Creature,” Walker Percy attempts to show how in our experiences we do not really see what we think we see. I believe he was correct in. However, I did not always believe this. When I first read “The Loss of The Creature,” it did not make sense to me. After rereading it and thinking about what Percy said, I started to understand.
Let’s take the first example for instance. If I were to go and see the Grand Canyon, would I really see it, or would I only compare it to the mental picture I have in my mind? Well right now just thinking about the Grand Canyon produces a mental picture which I have formed from pictures I have seen