I think Susan Orlean composed this article to inform her readers on the art of taxidermy and how serious it is to some people. The topic of her article is taxidermy, but I believe that her purpose is to take something that people look at in disgust without getting to know it and changing their view point.
It seems as if Susan Orlean wants her readers to learn about taxidermy and see how serious some people take it so that we will take it serious. I think she does this by giving the history of taxidermy and quoting people's conversations about where and how to get certain taxidermy items.
This article showed me that taxidermy isn't as bad as I thought it was. It actually serves a purpose. I think Susan Orlean wanted us to feel this way. Make us think this is a weird hobby, but change our minds..
