Louis Kanagin
English 102
February 8, 2011
Mary Elder
Save the Wetlands, Save An Egret.
In S.G. Brown’s essay, he conveys his love for the marshlands, every plant and creature alike. S.G. Brown claims that due to industrialization, the wetlands are going to be lost if action is not taken soon. By draining the wetlands the government has taken away the natural beauty and the protection that the wetlands offer. He states that the wetlands are a primary defense against natural disasters such as fire or flooding, which has been problematic in the drained wetlands. An example would be Hurricane Katrina; had the wetlands not been drained and the levees collapsed, the events that would proceed that would not have been as bad as they were.
There are a few things that Brown states that should be reason enough to rejuvenate the wetlands. This includes the rare ecosystem with plant and animal life that can only be found there. The reading provides an example of the turtles that hunters harvest and poach, as well as the Sand Hill Crane, which is the only bird that has retained its prehistoric call. He provides an alternative to the hunting of the wetland turtles: to raise them on a farm and take them from there. He also brings up the “restorative” effects that the wetlands have on the human soul. “We restore them in order to be restored by them” (Brown, 271).
The Essay on The Ministers Black Veil Verses Goodman Brown
The Veil of the Minister and Goodman Brown Nathaniel Hawthornes short stories The Ministers Black Veil and Young Goodman Brown are two stories that are thick with allegory. Young Goodman Brown is a moral story which is told through the perversion of a common townsperson. In Young Goodman Brown, Goodman Brown is a Puritan who lets his excessive pride in himself interfere with his relations with the ...
Having lived or visited many different national parks, he attests to the unparalleled beauty of the wetlands. Claiming that no price could be put on the beauty the wetlands contain, he suggests to purchase and re-flood the wetlands so that they do not go away, thus passing their beauty to the generations yet to come.
Due to how isolated the wetlands are the animals have to have adapted over time, also known as natural selection. The animals found in the wetlands would not be able to live in other regions because they are not use to them, and would not make it. By maintaining the marshlands, it creates an environment and gene pool suitable for the species that live there, and those that are nearing extinction. Also reintroducing water in the drained flood lands to an extent will help bring the biome back to what it used to be.
Louie Kanagin
Eng 102
Mary Elder
February 10, 2011
Response.
Brown is long winded to say the least. The details he goes into helps to prove his point or objection. Brown has enough personal experience to make the claims of the beauty that the wetlands possess. Nature itself seems to be connected to him by the soul, to the point he says that the wetlands beauty rejuvenates the soul. I do not agree with this claim. Although there are very few individuals that are so connected to nature that the mere sight of nature helps refurbish their body, this is not something with which an everyday person can associate. Brown somewhat sounds rather extremist. He claims that industrialization has been a key factor in the depreciation of the wetlands and that it will continue to do so unless measures are taken to restore them as much as possible.
Brown also talks about the natural defense that the wetlands provide the areas surrounding them. Claiming that if we protect them that they will protect the people, Brown fails to recognize the advances in technology. Man-made structures are more than able to do the work that nature is able to provide. I would love to see a beaver make a dam where Hoover Dam is and provide the same results. His counterpoint would be the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. In this situation, yes man made structures have failed us but more often than not manmade structures will last longer and do a better job than natural structures. The waters that were released when the levee broke demolished New Orleans, and Brown claims that the wetlands alone could have buffered this.
The Essay on Young Goodman Brown An Analysis
Young Goodman Brown: An Analysis Most criticism and reflection of Nathaniel Hawthornes "Young Goodman Brown" centers on the theme of good versus evil. Critics, also, debate interpretations of the main characters consciousness; is Young Goodman Brown awake or dreaming? What is certain is that he lives and dies in pain because his belief in his righteousness leads him to isolate himself from his ...
Brown suggests that the biodiversity that the wetlands contain should be a good enough reason to preserve them. “The Everglades restoration plan is significant because it attests to the efficacy of the most important means of sustaining bio-diversity” (Brown, 274).
With the wetlands being taken away, it is also affecting the animals and plants that can only be found in that area. He goes on to give examples as to what could happen if the without un-preserved wetlands. The buffalo and the carrier pigeon both became extinct due to over hunting and the colonizing of their grazing grounds. The same thing is happening to the turtles, native to the wetlands, and the land is being used for buildings or houses. Brown gives an alternative given in the essay that is in current implementation. Instead of the overhunting of the turtles farms are beginning to harvest turtles and mass-producing them for sales. This keeps the native turtles at peace and leaves the consumers just as happy as before. With the restrictions on hunting the turtles being so strict, the use of farming the turtles is beneficial to both Brown and the hunter. Not only are the turtles in danger, but also the other animals that are being hunted for their furs, which were hunted to near extinction during the colonizing of America.
Brown says that there cannot be a price put on the beauty of the land. Having visited or lived on many different parks he has enough credit to say the land is beautiful. However I do not agree with his full statement. A counter example would be that a person can have an abnormally large nose and can receive a nose job. The nose reduction will cost the person a couple thousand but the end result, at least in their eyes, will be beauty. To clarify, America is a capitalist society in which a price can be put on not just beauty but pretty much everything else, which includes his beloved wetlands. “The state will purchase 180,00 acres from U.S. Sugar” (Brown, 274).
The Essay on Young Goodman Brown Losing Faith
In the book Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Goodman Brown wife's name is important to the story because Goodman Brown loses his faith but his wife Faith keeps her faith. The story takes place in a puritan town in Salem back when there believed to be witches. Goodman Browns grandfather and relatives took part in killing and beating the witches in town. The story starts out on a cold ...
There is obviously a price on the wetlands, seeing as how it is being purchased from somebody. What Brown doesn’t seem to comprehend is that in this day and age people care about making money. He is blinded by his love for the wetlands that he sees them as a possession of the Earth, not a landmass that is vacant and ready to be sold and industrialized.
At the end of the day I do not believe that he is thinking with his head as much as he is thinking with his heart. He claims that people’s views on the wetlands would change if they heard the beauty of the Sand Hill Cranes call. I have heard the call before and it could be described as many things, however beautiful is not a word that I would use to describe the call. Although the wetlands have been here for so many years, I do not think that they need to be preserved as much as Brown wants them to be. The state they are in now is adequate as is. Brown fails to recognize other points of view on the subject and thus narrows his credibility.
