Indeterminacy and Insight: Percy's "Words-a-Pix" Method in "The Loss of the Creature" Reka Kovacs 12th Grade

Little kids often sit at their kitchen table, trying to connect the dots in the newspaper game section. They go from number to number, not knowing what the emerging picture will be until they reach the last one. As they slowly drag their pencil across the paper, connecting the last few dots, a masterpiece is revealed. Walker Percy’s “The Loss of the Creature” is his own Dot-a-Pix, except he intentionally leaves off the numbers. His essay is a group of random dots that he allows the reader to connect in any way they please. This gives each reader the sovereignty to create their own “masterpiece.” Percy does this intentionally. He does not explicitly pencil out his main claim because he wants each reader to interpret his paper through their own unique perspective. Even though the essay lacks a single sharpened thesis, it is nevertheless permeated by a constant theme: that of loss of sovereignty.

Percy masterfully composes his essay using a mixture of ambiguous, high-minded general statements, sometimes containing difficult vocabulary words with much more down-to-earth specific examples. This mix can become disorienting as it leaves the reader gasping for common threads of understanding that do not appear naturally. Only through...