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Silent Spring Ra

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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 her main message in the aspect that a situation much like this one can happen in reality if we continue to harm the environment at the rate we are headed.

Carson also uses imagery to convey to the reader that a any town can become lifeless and dull if it is abused. In the beginning of the text, Carson describes this town as lively and beautiful. “Along the roads, laurel, viburnum and alder, great ferns and wildflowers delighted the traveler’s eye through much of the year.” This allows the reader to visualize that this town was full of life and nature. Also, the use of these plants that are seen on the road in this town, which are hardly seen in modern times, shows how her “theory” is correct. Carson’s imagery transitions from a beautiful place of tranquility, to a sick place of plague and death. “ Everywhere was a shadow of death.” “The birds for example-where had they gone?” Her use of imagery allows the reader to comprehend the massive shift in the town’s beauty and life. The birds’ disappearance explains the title “A Silent Spring” because there were no birds to sing due to this plague. Carson’s use of imagery allows the many readers to discern the effects that humans can have on nature.

Although this story is fiction, Carson creates a very real situation that could take effect if humans continues to harm the environment. Her use of tone and imagery in her book brought light to the abuse on the environment as it helped to ban the use of DDT pesticides on agriculture.

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