Okefenokee Zoo

In the passages about Okefenokee Swamp discussed in class, there was a large difference in the names used to describe the swamp: a "wildlife refuge" in passage one and a "hellish zoo" in passage two. These two names are a world apart, yet they describe the same place. This is possible because of perspective. People outside the swamp cannot fully understand the harsh life lived inside it. As Ms. Valentino says, "passage one looks like it could be in a sixth grade textbook". It resembles the views of the outside world on the swamp. Looking at a travel brochure, most people would see the swamp as a fun tourist attraction, which is the portrayal of the swamp in the first passage. The first passage comes from someone who has not been to the swamp, someone making assumptions based on facts. The second passage gives detailed imagery about the harsh and adventurous world of the swamp. This passage resembles The Things They Carried in which the war horrors were seen from someone who actually witnessed them. Anyone can write about a place or event based on facts and data, but to experience the world in the first person can create a whole new story about the same exact thing.