Analysis Of Okefenokee Swamp
A place that inhabits some of the most exotic and dangerous creatures including bears, bobcats, puma, and alligators. What is it you may ask? The Okefenokee Swamp. In the passages regarding Okefenokee Swamp, the authors share their opinions on the atmosphere of the swamp and all that it brings to the table. According to writer 1, the swamp includes “exotic flowers, lilies, and rare orchids'' but according to writer 2, the swamp is “like some hellish zoo”. In the first passage, the author distinguishes the swamp as alluring and a great place to vacation, meanwhile the second passage is being described as anything but alluring. Both authors contradict each other with different purposes to illustrate both the ups and downs of the Okefenokee Swamp through pathos.
Passage one implements information on some of the most prominent qualities of the Okefenokee Swamp, focusing on an uplifting tone and a positive word choice, but fails to inform the reader of the less inviting characteristics of the swamp. The author brings the attention of the reader to the apex of the swamp. According to the first author, the swamp has an abundance of good characteristics. It `[lies] about 50 mi inland from the Atlantic Coast,” and “The Swamp includes low sandy ridges, wet grassy savannas, small islands” and more. The tone of the narrator is optimistic and makes the description of the swamp inviting, similar to a solicitor trying to sell their products. The author is trying to sell Okefenokee Swamp to the reader. Although the Swamp has many great attributes; the narrator fails to inform the reader of some of the downfalls of the swamp like the threatening animals. The author’s purpose in this passage is to share all of the highlights of the swamp through pathos. To illustrate, the author mentions that “the swamp is populated with diverse and abundant wildlife” expressing the appeal to a content environment instead of an environment that is repellent. All in all, the author sets the tone of the passage in a way to sell the swamp to the reader and show all the fascinating attributes that the Okefeonokee swamp encompasses.
In the second passage, the author describes Okefenokee Swamp as a place that is uninviting using imagery and word choice to display how the features of the swamp can be revolting. The author explains the repellent atmosphere of the swamp in detail referring to the dangerous animals, and bothersome insects. For example, the author describes the swamp as “Vast and primeval, unfathomable, unconquerable, [and a] soul of silt.” Using a tenacious choice of words the authors’ main purpose of the passage is to draw the reader away from the swamp through pathos. This passage is the complete opposite of the first passage; it explains all that the swamp lacks and doesn’t mention any of its pleasant qualities. It elucidates on all of the dangerous animals like “the seething galaxies of gnats and deer flies and no-see-ums, the ticks, mites, hookworms[,] and paramecia that exist only to compound the misery of life.” Through the author mentioning this, they draw away from the touristic features that the swamp may offer. To summarize, the author makes Okefeonokee swamp sound uninviting and repulsive because of the diction and imagery he uses to describe the swamp.
In conclusion, both authors contradict each other in their passages by using pathos to describe the swamp from their own point of view. The first author describes the swamp as inviting and pleasant, while the second author describes it as unappealing and miserable. Using an uplifting tone the first passage sells the swamp to the reader by describing all of its desirable features, and the second passage does quite the opposite through using imagery and diction the author does a good job of painting a picture of the wretched swamp drawing the reader away from the swamp. All in all, the authors compare their point of view on the swamp through pathos using tone, diction, and imagery to inform the reader of all that the swamp has to offer.
