Many people have questioned a lot of the government’s actions dealing with chemicals in general. Pesticides have been a popular topic since the realization that these chemicals were poisoning the earth. Rachel Carson led this extremely controversial environmental movement with her book Silent Spring in 1962. The book The Gentle Subversive tells the story of the life of Rachel Carson and how even as gentle, polite and proper she was, she was a subversive by encouraging the rethinking of the “relationship between the human beings and nature by shifting from an anthropocentric notion of earth to a biocentric worldview in which people coexisted with nature and not over it” (Lytle 237).
Carson grew up on a farm in Springdale, Pennsylvania with a mother pushing her to learn as much as she could about nature. Her mother was a very educated and well read woman, especially for that time. She encouraged Carson to learn more through and about nature rather than books. Rachel loved nature and all that it had to offer. She began
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Parts of the government pushed to silence Carson by saying she had ulterior motives behind these claims. “Carson explained that, while she was unmarried, she was not a feminist. She was interested not in “things done by women or men, but in things done by people”” (Lytle 177-178). They also blamed her for the deaths of many due to malaria. ““Her 1962 book Silent Spring detailed the alleged ‘dangers’ of the pesticide DDT, which had practically eliminated malaria.” Without that “cheap, safe, and effective” weapon to control insect-borne disease, “millions of people¬¬- mostly poor Africans- have died due to the environmentalist dogma propounded by Carson’s book.”” (Lytle 214). Despite her illness and all the slander that came her way, she pushed on and forced an arrival of several laws to protect the environment as well as a ban on the domestic use of
Albert Einstein once said, "Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." Similar to Einstein, the author Rachel Carson believed that human kind should embrace nature's and help preserve its beauty and life . In the passage from the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, the author informs and persuades her audience against the dangers and misuse of pesticides. Rachel Carson is a renowned writer, ecologist, and scientist who dedicated her life to the conservation of the environment. Throughout her career as an editor in chief, marine biologist, and environmental activist, Carson continued to educate the public about the
The following involves the second chapter of Carson’s book, Silent Spring that was written in 1962. In this chapter Carson argues persuasively the adverse impacts of pesticides upon the environment and the risks on human health and the environment associated with these “genetic invaders” (Carson, 1962). Many of the extremely diverse people from Carson’s audience targeted were under the impression that chemicals like DDT, at that time in history, were safe for their health. Carson reconciles and attempts to persuade the public to consider the idea that DDT, which in the 1950s and 60s was one of the many chemical pesticides being manufactured and sold to
Rachel Carson is considered one of America's finest science and nature writers. She is best known for her 1962 book, Silent Spring, which is often credited with beginning the environmental movement in the United States. The book focussed on the uncontrolled and often indiscriminate use of pesticides, especially dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (commonly known as DDT), and the irreparable environmental damage caused by these chemicals. The public outcry Carson generated by the book motivated the U.S. Senate to form a committee to
In the mid-20th century, farmers used a toxic insecticide named parathion in an attempt to control pests detrimental to their crops. Rachel Carson was a biologist who wrote pamphlets (Lear) on conservation and natural resources designed to inform people on the beauty of the living world. In an excerpt from her 1962 work Silent Spring, Carson calls upon the public to take action against the use of parathion by highlighting its catastrophic nature and vilifying the agricultural community for their negligence.
Rachel Carson is a noted biologist who studies biology, a branch of science addressing living organisms, yet she has written a book called Silent Spring to speak about the harmful effects of pesticides on nature. Carson doesn’t write about birds’ genetic and physical makeup, the role of them in the animal food chain, or even how to identify their unbelievable bird songs, yet strongly attests the fight for a well developed environment containing birds, humans, and insects is just and necessary. To Carson, the war for a natural environment is instantly essential for holding on to her true love for the study of biology. Thus Carson claims that whether it be a direct hit towards birds or an indirect hit towards humans and wildlife, farmers need to understand the effects and abandon the usage of pesticides in order to save the environment by appealing to officials, farmers, and Americans in her 1962 book, Silent Spring. She positions her defense by using rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questioning to establish logos, juxtaposing ideas, and using connotative and denotative diction.
From the dawn of humanity, nature has been sacrificed for the sake of progression. Forests are chopped down and paved with concrete, while everyday scientists work to enhance species chosen as beneficial while killing those thought of as nuisances. By the mid 20th century, this had become an accepted and encouraged faucet of life, that is, until biologist by the name of Rachel Carson published Silent Springs, a book dedicated to stopping the mass extermination of blackbirds. Through carefully constructed arguments and rhetoric, the novel was able to transform the American mindset of their view on nature. Therefore, Rachel Carson uses figurative language and appeals in order to portray the mass spraying of wildland as harmful.
In the book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson’s main concern is the widespread use of synthetic pesticides and their impact on the environment. Carson concentrates on a commonly used pesticide in the 1950s called DDT. She opposes the indiscriminate spraying of DDT because it has profound consequences on the environment, humans and animals. Carson collected information about how the DDT can cause cancer in humans, harm animals such as birds and remained in the environment for long periods of time. Subsequently, the chemicals in the pesticides are extremely harmful so she tries to raise awareness and convince others that there are better alternatives.
This book was focused on the concern of pesticides that industries, along with us as individuals, have been dumping (both knowingly and unknowingly) into water. Carson was concerned that the chemicals which the farmers spread on their fields, and even the chemicals we use in our homes (among others), in the end, might come back around and harm us. The beginning of the book tells a story of a place, that was once so beautiful, turned dead and ugly due to a “strange blight that crept over the area” and destroyed everything. Later in the book, she goes on to explain that chemicals, particularly one known as DDT, are the major cause of environmental damage and the near extinction of
Within this book, she tackled the issue of harmful pesticide usage, bringing to light an unknown issue. Carson's research forced the mass population to view pesticides as a harm to public health, thus, emphasizing the public's role within environmental frameworks. Ultimately, Carson made society rethink their relationship with the natural world.
When Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was published in 1962, it generated a storm of controversy over the use of chemical pesticides. Miss Carson's intent in writing Silent Spring was to warn the public of the dangers associated with pesticide use. Throughout her book are numerous case studies documenting the harmful effects that chemical pesticides have had on the environment. Along with these facts, she explains how in many instances the pesticides have done more harm than good in eradicating the pests they were designed to destroy. In addition to her reports on pesticide use, Miss Carson points out that many of the long-term effects that
Carson then completed her master’s degree at John Hopkins in zoology in 1932 of June. Upon graduating, Carson began working at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to write radio scripts. She eventually became Editor-in-Chief for all publications for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services where she wrote articles and pamphlets. After being diagnosed with breast cancer Carson died from a heart attack on April 14, 1964. Rachel Louise Carson was a best-selling author for her groundbreaking and influential book, “Silent Spring” that opened America’s eyes about the use and abuse of dangerous new chemicals in agriculture and pest control.(rachelcarson.org/biography.asp) paragraph 1
The author introduces us to Cassie by using Man vs self conflict, including when Cassie’s mom died she wanted to find out what happened. Another example would be when she felt like she wasn’t wanted and I quote “My dad lived half a world away. My mother was missing presumed dead. I was everyone’s problem and nobody’s Teenager presumed trouble.” Cassie also had a conflict within herself because she really lost all of her family like her dad, mom, and aunt.
In fact, Carson outlines her evidence and claims for the global environment and the whole of humanity. In addition to this, it is worthy to mention that, Carson was directing her message to policymakers because they had the power to ban the manufacture of the pesticides and insecticides. Furthermore, Carson’s messages were directed at certain companies and the manufacturers of pesticides such as DDT. The catalyst of this message stemmed from the widespread use of insecticides both at home and in offices. As it seemed, there was a widespread rate of ignorance and misinformation across the public on the harmful effects of these pesticides.
Rachel Carson played a pivotal role in shaping the Environmental Movement and American culture because of her honest, direct disclosure of the matters at hand. Although Carson was not the first person to make these scientific discoveries, she was able to radically change the way millions of Americans perceived the environment and the dangers of toxic chemicals to themselves through vivid, articulate, yet easily understandable language. For instance, in her chapter titled “Elixirs of Death,” she says “For these chemicals are now stored in the bodies of the vast majority of human beings, regardless of age. They
In her essay Rachel Carson targets anyone who will listen as her audience. She wants to inform human beings of the effects chemicals have on the environment. Rachel Carson’s audience had little knowledge of the effects radiation and pesticides might have on nature or to themselves. She successfully enlightened her audience to the harm man was causing to the environment not only presently, she also wrote of future ramifications. She predicts “Future historians may well be amazed by our distorted sense of proportion. How could intelligent beings seek to control a few unwanted species by methods that contaminated the entire environment…?” (Carson 615). This statement might make her audience scrutinize their actions through the eyes of future generations.