A Comparison Of If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth

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(A comparison of “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth…” and “Silent Spring”) The earth is slowly deteriorating and what do we do about it? In these two stories Silent Spring and “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth…,” two perspectives on the possible outcome of our planet are illustrated. In the former, it describes a town and how it used to be a spectacular display of nature that became a wasteland because of human doings. On the other hand, “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth…” is a fiction piece showing what could occur if we do not change our ways now. Though one is a nonfiction selection, and the other a short story, each has a strong message sent to all to save our Earth before it is too late. In Silent Spring and “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth…”

Young Marvin has never seen Earth until his father takes him on a ride out to see the barren planet that used to be full of life. An extreme amount of radiation incapacitated any ability the Earth had to sustain life for generations to come. Arthur C. Clarke wants people to realize that the path civilization is on leads to ultimate destruction and that we need to do something about it before it is too late. The entire human race is left barely hanging on, and “unless there was a goal, a future toward which it could work, the Colony would lose the will to live, and neither machines nor skill nor science could save it then.” (Clarke 166) The world cannot survive without a purpose, but once everything seems lost, where does one find a purpose? This is why the world must unite as one to find this purpose and prevent what could be the Earth’s untimely end. Though this is a fictional story, the possibility of future truth is frightening. Herein lies its impact, in the possibility of being the unknown to come, and giving us a reason to change our ways

When the town in Silent Spring dies, it is because the human race failed to preserve the glorious bounties of nature that, until then, were taken for granted. The entire Earth in “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth…” is reduced to inhospitable lifeless rock for years and years to come. Both of these selections call people to realize the damage we are causing and change the ways that disrupt the natural way of things. There is only one Earth, and therefore, we must make sure that it lasts us as long as it possibly can, because the vast majority wants life to continue as it has. Humans steadily discover new ways to do things, finding unfamiliar concepts to try, yet we do not always take into account the effect these alternative methods have on the planet. In Silent Spring, it is “a white granular powder” (Page 170). In “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth…” the cause of ultimate and utter demise is, “an evil phosphorescence…. the radioactive aftermath of Armageddon” (page 165). Either way, the destruction is caused, it will not end well unless we answer the call to