from An American Childhood

In this excerpt from Annie Dillard’s memoir, the author tells of a man who furiously chased her when she was young in order to scold her. Although she was frightened and she knew she was in trouble, she also found the experience thrilling. Think of a time when you had conflicting emotions. Maybe an incident left you both happy and sad, scared and delighted, or angry and amused. Write a paragraph describing the incident and explain why you felt the way you did.