...Hersheys bars. Cherrios. Coca cola drinks. All deadly delicious; every one of them loaded genetically manipulated ingredients that planted in a monocrop manner and sprayed with carcinogenic pesticides, causing a detrimental effect on the environment, biodiversity and the sustainability of all species--to the oblivion of many Americans. Biologist Rachel Carson reveals the consequences of similar poisons purging on the natural world in her book, Silent Spring, in which she uses a myriad of rhetorical strategies such as diction, syntax, and pathos in order to convey the gravity of Earth’s current situation to her readers. From the opening passage, Carson is quick to jump to the tone of the disgust when she immediately correlates the words...
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...English 101.11 4 October 2013 Rhetorical Analysis: Exigence: When Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was published in September 27, 1962, it triggered a storm of disputes over the use of chemical pesticides. Her book helped raise awareness for the environment, warn humans of the dangers of using pesticides such as DDT, preserve several plant and animal species, and make the atmosphere cleaner. Her intent in writing Silent Spring was to warn the public of the dangers related with pesticide use. Throughout her book are countless case studies documenting the harmful effects that chemical pesticides have had on the environment. Along with these facts, she explains how in many occasions the pesticides have done more harm than good in eliminating the pests they were supposed to destroy. Carson points out that many of the long-term effects that these chemicals may have on the environment, as well as us humans, are still unknown in addition to her report. The argument in Carson’s Silent Spring led to the passing of environmental legislation and the establishment of government agencies to better regulate the use of these chemicals (Griswold 2012). Kairos: While working for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, Miss Carson first became aware of the effects of chemical pesticides on the natural environment. Her main concern was the government’s use of chemical pesticides such as DDT, a colorless substance used as an insecticide that is toxic to humans and animals when swallowed or absorbed...
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...Here on Earth many people are destroying our environment and that can cause dire situations. Our planet faces a potentially catastrophic crisis. As Rachel Carson explains in “Silent Spring,” we have been mistreating the Earth by carelessly using chemicals without knowing the possible repercussions. Her writing inspires us to take action before it is too late. To begin, animals can become extinct when we are not careful we can have many unwanted consequences. Carson states that when one chemical was used, it caused “no chicks to hatch.” The farmers complained that they were unable to raise any pigs the litters were too small and the young only survived for a few days. What she means is that the pesticides being used, stop the animals from growing. The farmers were both losing crops and animals just because of those pesticides. This should inspire us to take action because if certain animals become extinct, the entire ecosystem could fail. If the pesticides were never used these farmers wouldn;t be experiencing horrible things happening to their plants and animals....
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...Keith Lyman Professor Patrick Welsh AMH2020 – 218620 21 October 2016 Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring Book Review In the environmentally historical book Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, the horrific consequences of insecticide use on the environment and ecosystem are chronicled. Carson’s novel was originally published as a three-part journal article in the New Yorker in June followed by the publication of the book in September of 1962. The book is known for beginning the modern environmental movement, which eventually led to the banning of “the domestic production of DDT and the creation of a grass-roots movement demanding protection of the environment through state and federal regulations” (Carson/Lear 9). Carson used her widespread knowledge...
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...Silent Spring: A Journey to a Radical New World Synopsis Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson, describes the catastrophic effects of humanity’s interference with nature. The novel focuses on the overuse of pesticides and the toxic contamination it can cause. Carson highlights the damage done to wildlife, livestock, domestic animals, and humans; at both a visible and molecular level. She explains the futility of chemical methods in controlling insects and gives examples of effective biological alternatives. This book was instrumental in banning the insecticide DDT, as well as in raising public awareness of environmental needs. Agreement with the author I agree with the majority of the opinions that Carson expresses, and particularly...
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...OUTLINE: I. Introduction- II. WHY did Silent Spring make such an impact that, to some degree, it ushered in the 1960s? a. Paragraph I i. Topic Sentence: Before one can evaluate the enormous success or Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring one must weigh in on the era Carson was coming off of in order to understand why her book had such an impact at the time that it did. 1. By 1950 American had faced 2 World Wars and an economic Depression U.S. becomes super power 2. 1950’s there is a shift to consumerism and conservatism 3. Average Citizen wants nuclear family and suburbia b. Paragraph II ii. Topic Sentence: Now that the United States was finally economically sound and our international relations, while not at its best, were somewhat stable; American society was able to focus on issues that for so long had not had the time to address. 4. The Cold war and nuclear threat became a key role in the formation of the environmental movement 5. Humans now have power to significantly change the environment around them 6. Nuclear weapons also introduced other technologies that threatened nature such as pesticides and chemicals for agriculture iii. Concluding Sentence: These new threats along with the a shift to a more liberal U.S. mindset provided Rachel Carson and Silent Spring impeccable timing to make the largest impact and start a revolution that at any other...
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...Silent Spring was written by Rachel Carson. It was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company in 1962, containing 378 pages. It’s a nonfiction book about widespread pesticides use and its dangers on both wildlife and humans. This book contains a lot of evidence about these serious charges for these pesticides and is recommended for anyone who is interested in the environment and is ready to take heed. This book is mainly about DDT and how it has caused damage to the plants, insects, birds, agricultural and domestic animals, and even humans. There are many examples from where communities are effected from the use of pesticides. The author was trying to raise important questions about human’s impact on nature with chemicals....
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...University of Phoenix Material Environmental Movement Matrix Choose five items from the following list and identify their significance during the 1970s: • Cuyahoga River, OH (Cleveland) fire 1969 • Love Canal • Silent Spring • Population Bomb • Endangered Species Act (1966, 1969, & 1973) • Clean Water Act (1972, 1977) • Conservationism vs. environmentalism • Acid rain • Ozone layer • Rainforests • Depletion of fossil fuels • Climate change Event Significance Silent Spring The publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962 marked the beginning of modern environmentalism. Carson, known as the “godmother of modern environmentalism, impacted the American public’s consciousness with her detailed exposition on the dangers of environmental pollution to human health. By examining the ecological impacts of hazardous substances that pollute both the natural and human environments, like pesticides, Carson fundamentally altered the way Americans perceived the environment and the dangers of toxins to themselves. Conservationism vs. environmentalism By the 1870s, resource exploitation dominated development patterns in the West. Natural resources were devoured by destructive practices in mining, overgrazing, timber cutting, monocrop planting, and speculation in land and water rights. In 1902, for example, the Reclamation Act established the Reclamation Service, whose mission was to accomplish “the reclamation and settlement of the arid lands. The Reclamation...
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...Silent Spring RA Renowned biologist and author Rachel Carson, in her book, Silent Spring, describes a harmonic and beautiful town which experiences a plague over time. Carson’s purpose is to warn the world that if we continue to abuse the environment, we could very well end up like this town. She uses imagery and tone to convey that this can be the outcome of our actions. Throughout the text, Carson’s tone shifts from reminiscent and joyful to dark and lifeless to show that the people had caused this plague by abusing nature. Her tone is lively as she describes this town as a beautiful and harmonic place where life is flourishing.“THERE WAS ONCE a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings.” Carson uses this joyful tone to convey the reader that this town truly was a place of beauty and life. As she concludes describing this beautiful town, her tone suddenly shifts. Her tone becomes dark and lifeless as she describes a “strange blight” that the town experienced. Carson explains how “Some evil spell had settled on the community… and there was a strange stillness.” She also explains how the people were confused as the plants, animals, and even some townspeople had died. Then, she explains how there was, “No witchcraft…. The people had done it themselves.” The people were confused as to why the town was withering away, however, they had abused the environment so much that they had caused this blight. This relates to...
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...An Effect On the Environment I believe “Silent Spring” is inspiring people just because how bad the problem is. In the story “Silent Spring it is explaining how pesticides can be very dangerous. Not only does pesticides kill it hurts the environment and nature. These chemicals are very deadly to everything in range of it killing lots of things off. Animals, plants, and humans as well. For example, it killed off the town in “Silent Spring.” In paragraph three it states “A strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change.” This shows how sudden and quick the town changed and illness spreading. Along the roadsides vegetation was withered. There was also a strange stillness, showing how there are no more birds chirping. Everything...
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...Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring gives a strong argument against the use of pesticides such as parathion. Silent Spring was aimed at people with similar ideas to her own, and her goal in writing this book was to inspire those people to rally together and take action against what she believed was unjust and cruel. Her book proved to be a successful motivator and transformed America’s views on the environment. One of the things that made Carson’s book so powerful was its almost apocalyptic tone. Her word choice was extreme at times, but not so much that it was ineffective. Her very first sentence from the passage talks about the “habit of killing” and how humans choose to “eradicate” creatures that annoy them. Already she establishes an extremely negative view on the use of pesticides...
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...* Provide a brief explanation of the cause and effects associated with this case. Rachel Carson had a history of interest with the chemical called DDT. She had tried to get DDT some attention unsuccessfully until her book came out in 1962. She had a friend who wrote her about the large bird kills on Cape Cod from the use of DDT. DDT around the late 40’s and 50’s was thought of a miracle pesticide and its use became very popular. Carson tried over a long period to get a magazine to support her in showing the negative side of DDT usage. But after a long time she had a lot of her own research and decided to go on with her own book. Her book “Silent Spring” showed how ddt entered the food chain and then we stored in the fatty tissues of animals and even humans which was the cause of cancer and genetic damages. Carson discovered that a single application of DDT to a crop would kill insects for months, and it would kill more than just the target insects. Even after being diluted by rain it would still remain toxic to the environment for a long period of time. Carsons book concluded that DDT, along with other pesticides had irrevocably harmed birds and other animals which had contaminated the worlds food supply. * Provide a brief explanation of biomonitoring and the steps involved in risk assessment. Relate these to the case study. Biomonitoring is a method for determining which chemicals get into members of the populations and what those concentrations are. It can be used to monitor...
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...Silent Spring - How Rachel Carson Changed the World On September 27, 1962 Rachel Carson released her sixth book, Silent Spring. On publication day, the advance sales of Silent Spring totaled 40,000 copies and another 150 copies were sent to the Book of the Month Club (Frontline: Fooling With Nature, 1998). Silent Spring remained on the bestseller list for almost a year. The world was beginning to take notice. Countless experts and organizations have proclaimed Rachel Carson’s book the starting point of the environmental movement. Carson described numerous case studies where the use of hazardous pesticides, insecticides, and other chemicals led to environmental problems all over the world. Whether directly or indirectly, everything in the environment is connected and affected by each other. Silent Spring describes, in depth, the harmful effects that chemical control has placed on all components of the environment. They include: air, water, land, wildlife, plant life, and humans. I will discuss each of these categories as examined in Silent Spring along with my personal analysis. First I will discuss the damage from chemicals released in the air. Aerial spraying of pesticides, mostly DDT, began on a small scale over farms and forests. With the development of new insecticides and the availability of planes from the war, the sky almost literally turned into a shower of toxic chemicals. The justification behind the massive sprayings of the 1950âs was to exterminate exotic species...
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...Daniel Harting Period Five April 14, 2011 “Song of the River”: Literary Analysis In the poem “Song of the River” William Randolph Hearst uses rhyme scheme, alliteration, and imagery to illustrate his overall idea of the relationship between the cycle of life and the course of a river. He uses such devices to express the revolving cycles of a river and how its life span and rebirth correlates with life, death, and afterlife. The rhyme scheme the author creates in the poem has a rhythm which mimics the flow of life and a river. Throughout the poem Hearst describes the cycle of a river and then describes the cycle of life. He then incorporates a rhyme scheme which flows nonstop from start to finish. Within this scheme lies the evolving message in which Hearst is illustrating. The rhyme scheme also relates closely to the tone of the poem which is a peaceful calm tone following the movement of water into its rebirth and the transition of one’s life into the afterlife. Hearst creates the quotation “and the river flows to the sea, and the water again goes back in rain to the hills where is used to be” in order to demonstrate and clearly express the flow of a river to the sea using both rhyme scheme and tone. Lastly as Hearst’s message continues as does the rhyme scheme and tone seen in the words “till it reached the silent sea.” Hearst is comparing the river as is reaches “the silent sea” and life as it reaches the afterlife using the same tone and rhyme scheme as seen...
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...Examination of John Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale Outline and Thesis of “Ode to A Nightingale” by John Keats. Thesis: John Keats correlated the nightingale’s transcendent song with man’s desire for immortality. I. Brief History of Poem A. Outline details, including when, where written. B. Outline interesting relevant historical facts II. Break down of poem – stanza by stanza A. Include description of title. B. Identify rhyme and metrical device employed in poem. C. Include theme, setting description. D. Identify literary devices utilized by Keats III. Closing Analysis A. Speculate about Keats ultimate inspiration. B. Relate inspiration theme to Ode to a Nightingale theme. C. Close with analysis of irony of respective poems compared. D. Repeat thesis statement in closing for synchronicity of essay. Written in May of 1819, “Ode to a Nightingale” was one of five “odes” written by John Keats during that year [1]. The poem, which was published July of the same year in the Annals of Fine Art, was originally titled “Ode to the Nightingale”, but was apparently changed by the publisher twenty years following the death of John Keats(reference here) . According to a recollection of Keats’ good friend, Charles Brown, Keats’ inspiration for the poem came while sitting under a plum tree growing upon Hampstead Heath. There, Keats was said to be mesmerized by the melodic song of a nightingale who proved...
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