Carson's Nature

Paper Summary:

Rachel Carson's 1962 book, "Silent Spring," unquestionably served as a catalyst in the formation of the modern environmental movement, rousing many to action, and profoundly altering the public conception of government, industry, and the human relationship to the natural world. This paper explores the myriad ways in which Carson revolutionized nature writing and her profound impact on American life.

From the Paper:

"Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of Carson's writing is its lack of overt glorification of the natural world. Gone are Muir's mountain "temples," "bathed in light, bathed in floods of singing water," or "the wild sheep of God" that populate Mary Austin's' landscape. Carson boldly does away with the grandiose language usually used to evoke emotion, and in its place she creates an overriding tone of objectivity. A trained biologist, she presents a vast body of information in a style that is succinct and straightforward, designed to have a logical, rather than artistic or spiritual, appeal. References to the divine, for example, are almost entirely lacking - a marked contrast between her work and that of most other writers. Rather, one races through a series of vividly sketched case studies and statistics, which together paint an increasingly convincing and dire picture. It is this tone of objectivity, somewhat ironically, that creates much of Silent Spring's tremendous emotional impact."

More papers on Carson's Nature:

• Essay # 56517 : "Rachel Carson"
• Analytical Essay # 41759 : "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" ."
• Analytical Essay # 53443 : "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: