A Rhetorical Analysis Of Carson's 'Silent Spring'

Carson emphasizes the impact humans have on the environment by integrating a disdainful tone and rhetorical questions. In the beginning of the Silent Spring, Carson’s disdain towards the careless farmers’ use of parathion is evident by her constant use of strong language such as “eradicating”, “habit of killing”, and “distasteful”. By using blunt diction, Carson emphasizes that the use of a dangerous poison, like parathion, are worsening the condition of the environment, and even portrays the farmers who use the poison as murders when she states that they are on a “mission of death”. In addition, Carson further highlights the unethical actions of the farmers by providing an example of how the “growing trend” of killing the “inconvenien[t]” has not only affected the animals living in the environment, but the humans as well. Thus, pointing out that if humans do not take in consideration the effect of parathion, then their harmful actions will soon catch on to affect innocent people like a “ripple” in “a still pond”. Furthermore, Carson’s sarcastic tone amplifies her disdain on the farmers’ poor decision when she suggests that they have “been persuaded [by] the merits of killing by poison”. Ironically, “merits” has a positive connotation

However, the ironic statement just further proves how farmers using parathion only see the short