Silent Spring Parathion Analysis

From the start, the reader becomes interested and questions the concept of deadly poisons, its authorization, and its detrimental effects. As the reader continues to read through the excerpt, they answer these questions themselves when Carson uses rhetorical questioning. By having the audience use their own logical reasoning and contemplate their own answers, he/she may almost always put some blame on the people who allowed the usage of poisons. For example, when she exclaims, “... who guarded the poisoned area... Who kept vigilant watch to tell the innocent stroller… coated with a lethal film?” (Carson), one deems who’s fault it would be if someone were to get hurt from parathion. Would it be the farmer for using parathion, the stroller for being curious, or the guard who wasn’t there to warn people about the deadly poison? Carson effectively shows the audience that it doesn’t matter who would be at fault, rather the substance that caused this situation in the first place--parathion. allows the reader to choose a side pointing mostly towards her side because the set of questions one after the other makes you choose and

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.

The United States faces constant change due to its massive innovations and its enormous population. Yet, although changes have paved the path for the United States to become a world leader in many subjects, some changes leave drastic consequences for its population. In “ The Obligation to Endure,” Rachel Carson discusses the use of pesticides in the food production across the United States. Throughout her text, she utilizes rhetorical methods such as parallelism, pathos, and repetition to add substance to her text. Her use of these rhetorical devices furthers her argument since they allow the reader to have a better understanding of the reading. Similarly, Michael S. Malone utilizes rhetorical devices in his text “ The Next American Frontier “ to amplify his argument, as he argues technology is the next innovation that will take the United States into a new era. Malone furthers his argument through the use of rhetorical devices like pathos, parallelism, and repetition. However, Carson contrast Malone’s argument about the benefits technology can have on the country by demonstrating how the developments of pesticides to keep bugs away from plants unraveled into a large-scale environmental concern.

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

Carson emphasizes the hazards of parathion by exposing its fatal consequences, thereby invoking a need for its prevention. For example, Carson claims that the issue of blackbirds eating nearby cornfields could have been easily resolved, but farmers resorted to sending airplanes on a “mission of death”. Carson uses warlike imagery through the farmers’ intention for the planes to be used against the birds through parathion instead of for transportation. Her dramatic phrasing for the operation depicts danger more seriously if she had used less stirring language such as ‘to spread the poison’. Carson goes on to state that parathion is “not a specific for blackbirds,” but a ‘universal killer,’ implying that the poison is a threat to almost everything including humans. By providing a detail in the issue that relates to humans directly, she gives even those who do not care as much about nature a cause for concern - a risk to their own lives. Furthermore, Carson reports the

In the article “The Obligation to Endure” by Rachel Carson she explains the danger and harm that comes with using toxic chemicals such as pesticides on our crops. By doing so Carson brings to light that are numerous amounts of people that are un aware of the toxic chemicals that they are unknowingly inviting into their homes and bodies. This is also seen in “Preface” when author Carl G. Herndi  says, “Writers need to make the invisible visible” (xxiv). Furthermore, this can be seen as a wake up call to all humanity. Both Carson and Herndl want to inform people onto what is going on in the world we live in, and to get people to start questioning rather harmful toxics are truly needed, and if so to what extreme.

Carson speaks about the diminishment of us as a human being. With the amount of harmful pesticides we use without fully understanding its consequences, we are slowly killing our human race. When pesticides are sprayed on crops and insects, they end up getting into our bodies. Adopting the easy way of getting rid of insects is harming us in the long run.

Carson describes the effect of animals being poisoned by illustrating how their “ back bowed, and the forelegs with the toes of the feet tightly clenched were drawn close to the thorax… the head and neck were outstretched and the mouth often contained dirt. ”(Carson 100) When attempting to convince the audience, Carson does an excellent job at creating these scenes that evoke an emotional response from vivid imagery that “shakes” the audience. By describing this horrid scene Carson effectively evokes a sympathetic response to the animal in pain swaying them on the side that places them against the use of pesticides. In order to encapsulate the detrimental effects pesticides haves on the natural world, she never hesitated to capture the ordeal by using very descriptive examples of its effects. This is illustrated when she begins describing “typical symptoms… swam erratically, gasped at surface, and exhibited tremors and spasms.”

This suggests that the roadsides was once beautiful and bloomed with healthy and lively vegetation; however, they are now destroyed due to the use of pesticides. From these examples, it can be shown that even though pesticide is beneficial, its deadly effects outweigh its benefits; in addition, it is a dangerous substances to the environment, organisms, and even human.

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.

The film begins in Central Park, viewers witness people beginning to stand in place and then walk backwards after this they begin to kill themselves in quick ways using whatever is available (4:14). As the film progresses there is no explanation as to why this is happening, but the characters do figure out it is the plants that are releasing a deadly toxin that makes people commit suicide. The film is taking a very dramatic approach to inform viewers of climate change, but as Sean O Heigeartaigh states in his article, “Hollywood Global Warming Dramas Can Be Misleading”, “Films like this risk providing ammunition to climate change deniers when reality doesn’t follow the fast-moving template of Hollywood fictions” (Heigeartaigh). The Happening introduces a sudden climatic change that no one can comprehend even after it is over. It does not follow viewer’s realities because such an event caused by climate change has never occurred so suddenly or to the extremes that the film portrays. During a class discussion about the film, our teacher asked us to talk about what we thought the movie was trying to express in terms of informative meaning. No one had a clue what the film was trying to convey. Most thought that it was a crazy horror film about plants making people commit suicide. As it turns out the film is a Cli-Fi story, but upon first viewing that can be hard to see. The average viewer who is not in school

America the Beautiful! So why are we destroying it everyday with the use of pesticides? It has been proven that pesticides have affects on it's surrounding, although made to improve earths resources, they typically take there negative effect on the environment in time. Pesticides affect more than the environment; they also affect the animals and humans living in the environment. There are alternative, to this major problem but, we as the caretakers of earth must act fast. In the following paper I'm going to share with you what pesticides are. I'll tell you why they are not safe to use and some of the affects of pesticides. Last, I will talk about some new alternatives there are

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

It is also shown that pesticides are partly responsible for the rising cancer rates and birth defects among children (“Pesticides”).

One concern about pesticides and herbicide usage is the amount of residues left on the end product of crops sprayed with the chemicals, and their effects on human health. (Williamson, 2007, p. 184). However, these effects are closely tested and levels are strictly regulated to ensure there is no danger from possible pesticide residues. Since 1910, many rules, regulations, and agencies have been formed to monitor the safety of the pesticides and herbicides used in conventional farming. These chemicals must meet specific safety standards in order to be registered for use, and regulations on levels of each product safe for use are also put in place. (Tafel et al.,2007, p.184). All pesticides are rigorously examined to ensure they have no significant effects on human health, or the environment. The residues in the food chain are closely monitored, and regularly tested, to ensure they are below legal limits. In a recent survey of residues