Response to The Nature of the Everglades by Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Photo by Captain Rich Smith: http://www.captainrichsmith.com/files/image/Everglades%20Fishing%20Backcountry.jpg

"There are no other Everglades in the World." (Douglas 104) Just by the opening of the excerpt, you can see the amount of appreciation and love Marjory has for the Everglades. She even goes as far as saying there is no other place in this world as beautiful as the Everglades. She then dives in to telling the history of the Everglades. I thought it was interesting that people thought of it as a fantasy or something that really was not there for the mere fact that they did not know what to call it. They did not know how to name something that contained many different forms of nature. When you look at it, it does kind of look like a beautiful fantasy. It is as if it is too beautiful to be real.

Photo by National Parks: http://rkd-cdn.nationalparks.org/sites/default/files/styles/park_page_image/public/everglades.jpg?itok=TEklBxAw

"So it is with the Everglades, which have that quality of long existence in their own nature." (Douglas 107) Douglas compares the Everglades to wholeness. When you think of it, they are. It was here long before humans came about and has been here for a long time. I am sure it has changed over time and looks different then how it used to look, but it is still whole. This adds to their beauty because it is an aged beauty. Just by looking at it, you get a sense of piece and tranquility. It has not been harmed by human hands and it sits quietly. The Everglades represent all nature because it contains a body of water, grass, and rocks, along with different species. It makes me think if we all preserved our environment, would it look this beautiful?


"Small or great jungles, they loom out of the brownness of the saw grass in humped solid shapes, like green whales and gray-green hangars and domes and green clouds on the horizon." (Douglas 128) When reading this excerpt, I felt like I was reading a book. There was so much detail and I was able to picture everything she was saying as if I was actually there. She used a lot of metaphors and imagery to show her love for the Everglades. It also shows why we should continue to conserve the Everglades. She is almost convincing the readers the best way she knows how as if to say 'Hello don't you see how beautiful this is?' Some people might think she was a little too descriptive instead of being more direct with it. She is so passionate about what she is telling is, that she thinks to break it down into 3 different sections, the grass, the rock, and the water.