The Black Vine Swamp

The Black Vine Swamp is the location of the students' field trip. It is also the setting in which Red Diamond is drilling for oil and the location in which the mother panther is sited and the baby cub is found. The setting supports the theme that man is destroying the environment for monetary gain and how this destruction impacts the ecosystem. Red Diamond is on the environmental destruction side. Drake McBride does not care what he has to destroy to make money. While Jimmy Lee Bayliss has more of a conscience, he still sets a fire in the swamp to protect Red Diamond's interests and illegally drills on protected land. Twilly, Mrs. Starch, Smoke, Nick, and Marta are on the other side. They do what is necessary to protect the ecosystem.

The setting is also used to show that people are not what they...