Essays 19 and 20 Summary and Analysis

Essay 19: Infernal Paradise

Barbara visited the island of Maui in Hawaii. At sunrise, she and her traveling partner, Steve, took in the island's famous dormant volcano, Haleakala. They ventured down the trail that led to the bottom of the volcano. It was an unusual experience—the strange topography of the crater creates its own climate—both arid desert and moist fern forests.

It was just by random chance that life plant and animal life began on the rocky Hawaiian islands a million years ago. The Polynesians were the first humans to inhabit the islands. Eventually, sugar cane and pineapple plants crowded out the original endemic plants. The natural forest was destroyed by logging. At least two hundred plants that were endemic to Hawaii are extinct, with another almost one thousand threatened. Literally hundreds of original birds are...