Okefenokee Swamp

“Okefenokee Swamp, primitive swamp and wildlife refuge in south eastern Georgia and Northern Florida…” compared to “Vast and primeval, unfathomable, unconquerable, bastion of cottonmouth, rattlesnake and le and leech, mother of vegetation…” show you the differences in the two passages describing Okefenokee swamp. The author of passage one gives his readers’ a very factual, unbiased report of the swamp, while the author of passage two tries to give his readers a enticingly dangerous and appealing view point of the swamp. Both of these view points were achieved through their sense of metaphors, syntax, and other devices to give the reader the sense of tone in the passages. In the first passage, the author gives a very informative, formal standpoint. “Diverse and exotic flowers” and “abundant wildlife” gives the reader a positive but informative feel for the swamp land. The author uses the denotative form of the words to achieve this. However, his lack of interesting and connotative diction gives the passage a dull feel.

His long sentences and lists of facts give the impression that the article could be seen in a tour guide. In the second passage, the author provides the reader with a biased point of view. “It gives birth to”, “exist only to compound the misery of life” and “hellish zoo” makes out the swamp to be an enticing and fearful place. The author exaggerates his sentences to try to convince the reader that Okefenokee is a “primeval and unfathomable” place. His long, descriptive sentences and use of metaphors like “sodden as a sponge” makes the article more interesting passage to read. In both passages, the authors fulfill their purpose of trying to inform the reader of Okefenokee Swamp, but in different ways. The author of passage one is not interested in helping for create a bias about the swamp, and the author of passage two wants the reader to feel a sense of fear and respectful awe of the swamp.