Tuesday, October 20, 2015

What are the characteristics of bats as they are portrayed in the short story "My Life as a Bat"?

Throughout the story, the narrator reveals many characteristics of bats, showing their physical features, their habits and behavior, and the way she imagines their personalities or souls.


In Section 1 of the story, we're told that bats are merciless killers, but they don't hate their prey. They also don't pity or gloat.


Section 2 reveals that bats dislike encounters with humans, and that they enjoy finding a cool, quiet place to rest, away from the harsh glare of the sun.


We find out in Section 3 that bats hate getting tangled up in things, and that they are definitely not the awkward, evil-looking creatures that vampire films portray them as.


In Section 5, we see that bats have soft, round bodies; that their teeth are sharp, their eyes are shiny, and their wings are slippery; that a bat’s nose looks like “a dead leaf” or “a radiator grill;” and that mother bats lick their babies tenderly.


Putting this all together, bats are characterized in the story as beautiful, graceful, efficient, and appreciative of comfort and quiet.

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