Summary Of Kevin Fedarko's The Emerald Mile

Kevin Fedarko’s The Emerald Mile takes readers on a journey through the Grand Canyon behind the eyes of boat guides, who all seem to have a special connection to the canyon and the river. The boatmen in the book are used to convey a message that there is so much beauty to be seen in the canyon. The characters Martin Litton and Kenton Grua are examples of boatmen that share a special connection with the canyon because of the canyon’s beauty. When humans began building dams and using technology to go against nature in this beautiful canyon Litton was a man that tried to stop it but he could not stop the destruction completely. Kevin Fedarko sends a message to his readers that the Grand Canyon is beautiful and it should be preserved. Humans should not continue to create more structures in the canyon because it takes away from the natural beauty, but Fedarko also makes it clear that dams already built by humans have beauty in them too. The message that fedarko wants his audience to receive is that nature and technology can be combined and can create outstanding things, but there needs to be a balance. Humans cannot get too carried away with technology and forget to see the natural beauty that surrounds everything.
Kevin Fedarko uses metaphors to illustrate the beauty that is seen in the Grand Canyon.
On the very first page …show more content…
For anyone that has been in a cathedral, it is known to be a gigantic building with beautiful lights and windows, it truly is amazing. The Grand Canyon compares to a cathedral because of its deep walls and its beauty within. A civilization near the canyon is planning to expand which will require water to be pulled from the canyon in order to get water into the new parts of the town. Fedarko argues that this is “a terrible plan” because he believes that the canyon should be preserved. Fedarko wants the audience of his essay to understand that once the canyon is changed by humans and civilization,