A Rhetoric Analysis of: “The Obligation to Endure” By Rachel Carson Abstract 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 …show more content…
Carson opens this argumentative essay with an analytical opening. Carson uses support for her thesis through-out the essay which includes one excerpt, “Along with the possibility of the extinction of mankind by nuclear war, the central problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of man’s total environment with such substances of incredible potential for harm-substances that accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even penetrate the germ cells to shatter or alter the very material of heredity upon which the shape of the future depends” (Carson, 1962). Furthermore, the preceding statement supports Carson’s intention to present an informative, persuasive, and logical point of view without shocking or confusing the reader. Carson presents the problem calmly in the opening paragraph and states her claim as a practical approach to stop or decrease the amount of the spraying of DDT pesticides in combined efforts to stop the super races of insects like mosquitoes for example from becoming immune. Including this support for her thesis Carson argues mosquitoes becoming immune to the man-made vaccines presently available would inarguably have serious, detrimental and adverse negative impacts upon the effectiveness of the
Education leads to the success of many influential people, such as Dr. Ben Carson. In 2013, Dr. Ben Carson, a highly respected pediatric neurosurgeon gave a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. Carson suggests that a lot of government policies under President Obama are failing. For example, national debt has severely decreased due to the lack of education. Through the use of optimistic and direct language, personal imagery with welcoming expressions and confident hand gestures, Carson gained the respect and trust of the audience, other well respected influencers and/or politicians. Carson’s ability to use these devices not only gained the trust of his audience, but also took control of his argument. This being, the United States should focus on
Throughout the mid-20th century, the world established new ideas and innovations. During this time, new farming techniques, including pesticides, were rampantly in use. The government policy at the time claimed these techniques were safe and dependable. However, the claim did not sit well with everyone. Rachel Carson was among the first people to challenge such regulations of the government. Carson’s legacy affected the lives of others through challenging the status quo, saving the environment, and creating a whole new world.
1. Carson is asking a rhetorical question (p.376), not making an argument. The rhetorical question is a device intended to encourage thought, in this case about the proper apportionment of power in our society. The use of DDT and other insecticides has outcomes that go far beyond the immediate desired effect of the user, yet there is no specific cost attached to these externalities. Carson recognizes that such decisions are often made by small groups of people with narrow interests, and simply wants the reader to question whether such a system of stewardship for the world is ideal. Given that the audience is the majority of people who are not party to such decisions, the question is a fair one to ask, since it engages the audience to think about their role as complicit bystanders in actions such as the use of DDT.
Within this book, she tackled the issue of harmful pesticide usage, bringing to light an unknown issue. Carson's research forced the mass population to view pesticides as a harm to public health, thus, emphasizing the public's role within environmental frameworks. Ultimately, Carson made society rethink their relationship with the natural world.
The final Republican presidential candidate, Ben Carson, addressed the South Carolina Tea Party crowd Monday morning that running for presidency was not his intention but his decision was led by God who opened the door.
In “The Obligation to Endure” by Rachel Carson, the author attacks the use of pesticides by farmers in the environment. Carson presents her side by stating that the effects of man-made chemicals have greatly altered
In The Obligation to Endure, Rachel Carson strongly expresses her opinions on the excessive use of pesticides and other chemicals in today's world. Carson claims that all the use if these chemicals ate slowly poisoning the earth, animals, food, and our bodies. This essay starts out with the statement, "The history of life on earth has been an interaction between living things and their surroundings" (329). I think Carson choose wisely when using this as her opening statement because she gets her readings thinking right from the beginning. Not only does Carsons essay catch her readers attention, she also presents her views on this topic and then backs it up with supporting evidence and facts; in turn making a very convincing argument.
In this essay “The Obligation to Endure,” Rachel Carson gives a brief expiation of how important the environment is for living things and its surroundings. Carson claims that people who are not aware of the possible harm and contamination are controlling the poisonous chemicals, which leaves the environment in danger. She argues that the increasing rate of change happened because of the circumstances that were created by men who rushed to make a decision without thinking of the consequences to nature. The writer also emphasizes that how men create unnatural chemicals will take the lives of generations before the environment and humans adjust to it. Carson claims that the use of pesticides to control insects is unsafe because this powerful chemical
Although, Silent Spring, was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides, and it inspired a grassroots environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Silent Spring meticulously describes how DDT
The late author and Ambassador Clare Boothe Luce claimed that every presidency can be reduced to a single sentence with an active verb, e.g., “Lincoln freed the slaves,” or “Nixon resigned.” What one active verb will best summarize the Obama Presidency? President Obama burst onto the national stage with a keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Just four years later, the frequent use of “Hope,” “Change,” and “Yes We Can” became rhetorical trademarks of his successful presidential campaign. The “bully pulpit” has served as a prominent feature of Obama’s presidency, and five points reveal the significance of rhetoric in assessing his presidential legacy.
Many people have questioned a lot of the government’s actions dealing with chemicals in general. Pesticides have been a popular topic since the realization that these chemicals were poisoning the earth. Rachel Carson led this extremely controversial environmental movement with her book Silent Spring in 1962. The book The Gentle Subversive tells the story of the life of Rachel Carson and how even as gentle, polite and proper she was, she was a subversive by encouraging the rethinking of the “relationship between the human beings and nature by shifting from an anthropocentric notion of earth to a biocentric worldview in which people coexisted with nature and not over it” (Lytle 237). Carson grew up on a farm in Springdale, Pennsylvania with a mother pushing her to learn as much as she could about nature.
Carson’s anchor text, “Silent Spring” is inspiring some people to solve the problem that could get worse in the future. For example, it makes people think we should care for the planet more because if we don’t, we could disappear in a second. In this anchor text, it is about the dangers of DDT. It is a dangerous pesticides many people try to get rid of. With this more people start to be puzzled.
Through her book, she successfully brought up the issue and dangers of DDT and also points out how uninformed the American public is, urging them to stop the pesticide use. Rachel Carson argues the use of pesticides
In our day and age, thousands of everyday things will pose great danger on individuals, families, animals, plants, and even whole species. Humans, of course, have largely identified and addressed common environmental dangers for hundreds of thousands years, proven simply by evolutionary feats. This is where the irony in human evolution is shown: we’ve spent years and years running from everything but ourselves. Our Stolen Future, Toxic Hot Seat, and Hormones Disrupted, three revolutionary new-age works based on scientific studies, depict the artificial dangers we face everyday. Though each source illustrates varied insight on these hazards in different ways -- synthetic chemicals in everyday objects, flame retardants in our homes, and bodily
In the movie, Pesticides: Harmful or Necessary, the author of the film tried to prove his point that there were good things and bad things about spraying pesticides. The film showed both Rachel Carson’s view that pesticides are harmful and Dr. Robert White-Stevens’s view that pesticides are necessary. The pesticides helped to protect their crops from bugs, but then it caused cancer among the humans. The pesticides killed all bugs, which then damaged the natural food chain. This is a difficult situation, without the pesticides, our food supply will get eaten by bugs.