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Analysis Of The Sixth Extinction By Elizabeth Kolbert

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From the beginning of The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert we can see a very different style of writing from what we previously encountered in Encounters with the Archdruid. The Story is told in a more colorful and up beat way. As we begin the book the author talks about humans and their destructive nature on the planet. I really enjoyed how Kolbert depicted as if she was telling the history of any other creatures. When she describes how man is pollution of the planet she did in a way that to me painted the picture of an animal that was destructive in nature, as If the best thing for earth and all of its inhabitants would be the removal of this plague. Although this is a strong interpretation of Kolberts words, I don’t think it is far …show more content…

The way that we see the Golden frogs as the victims of such a mysterious death pulls you into the story; you want to know more as they trek through the rain forest hoping for an explanation as their amphibious brothers’ wait in large tanks. The way in which Kolbert describes the surviving frogs as being in Griffith’s ark, showed me how important this project was to Edgardo Griffith. With each new animal that Kolbert discusses you begin to understand her drive and passion towards this extinction processes that is unfolding. In chapter 2 when she talks about the history of the mastodon, however Kolbert doesn’t ramble on about its diet and natural habitats but instead she talks about the enormous creator and how it came to be discovered. The way that Kolbert lets the story of the mastodon unfold is very interesting. We see it travel all over Europe and its “mammoth” effects on America and all over the world. Further on, into chapter 3 and 4 we see that the Ammonites of Gola del Bottaccione and Penguins. The Penguins in Iceland are going extinct and it is due to the brutality of shooting the older parents penguins leaving the baby penguins to fend for themselves. This barbaric action is made clear by the way in which Kolbert Writes, she shows you just how cruel humanity can be and how it is our job to undo the wrongs that have been done by saving the innocent

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