Encircled+I+KM

John McPhee’s article "A Reporter at Large: The Encircled River – I,” is a very descriptive and intriguing piece. His writing flows so well that it feels like reading a novel; it is unlike any piece of journalism writing I have ever read. I had absolutely no idea what this piece was actually about, but I found that I didn’t really care because what he was saying was so interesting. He begins the article by explaining a trip he made to Alaska with several other comrades. They are kayaking way out in the wilderness of Alaska, for reasons unknown at this point. McPhee takes a lot of time to describe the fish that are native to the area, the grayling.

There is much discussion on the fish, so it seems that this must be what the article about, but as I read further I came to find that it wasn’t just the fish and their habitat McPhee wanted to discuss, but also the important roll these fish play in the native communities that still exist throughout the Alaskan wilderness. The issue that is brought up, however, is how the American government wants to develop the wilderness of Alaska in order to put in a pipe line for oil. This outraged the natives of the area, so the government developed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971 in order to compensate for lost land. It seemed all was well until certain native tribes, like the Forest Eskimos, who ran into difficulty; they still depended greatly on the caribou and salmon in the area and thus followed them as they migrated. This was a problem because hunting was prohibited on government land, so if the caribou migrated there, the indigenous could not hunt them.

McPhee expresses this, as well as the beautiful, untouched nature of the Alaskan wilderness with such passion that it leaves the reader motivated to try and preserve what little “pure” nature we have left. When reading this, “In Virgin Forest” came to mind; once again McPhee expresses the beauty of nature so well that it is very motivating to try and preserve it. With that said, I was reminded of the movie Avatar, as they try to save their native land from the industry. I picture the natives of Alaska and can relate them very much to the natives presented in Avatar.

McPhee’s main argument in the whole text only comes around very close to the end, so it was kind of confusing as to where he was going with it. But all of his build up teaches the reader a lot about the nature and the way of life in the Alaskan wilderness, so when he actually does present his argument, the reader understands where he’s coming from; a very interesting and smart way of writing a journalism piece.

--Katelyn Mokler