“Search for the Rare Ivorybill”

Don Eckleberry’s “Search for the Rare Ivorybill” recounts the last efforts of man to preserve the ivory-billed woodpecker.  Before getting into his own experience, Eckleberry begins by telling of the rediscovery and subsequent loss of the species.  Even before he gets into his own personal story you can feel his emotion peeking out when mentioning the “disastrous news” that there was only one ivory-billed woodpecker left.  Eckleberry smoothly brings himself into the story as he established his wish to draw the last ivory-billed woodpecker.  The emotion is used more freely here as this part of the story is his.  The mood starts off depressingly as he questions whether he will even be able to see the bird as he doesn’t know if it is even still around.  Eckleberry drags things out and builds the tension until he finally found the bird and the mood is exciting because he found what he was looking for.  However, he ends the story on a sad note, talking about the “poor lone ivorybill” and in the end, mentioning its probable extinction. 

I have to agree with Kim that the most impactful line to me was the last sentence about the extinction of species.  It is a line that bridges out from just the ivorybill and onto the world as a whole throughout its history.  In response to Kayla’s questions, yes, I do believe it would pass in society today, and does.  I believe there could be a reward for spotting the last of a species but I believe it would be a bad idea because that just makes it all the more valuable for people to go find and either disturb the habitat or kill it themselves just so that they can have “the last something.”  That was a good point to compare Eckleberry to Treadwell.  I hadn’t considered that.  This would, however, only really be in passion and not action.