Rhetorical Analysis Of Rachel Carson's 'Silent Springs'

Silent Springs, Rachel Carson

Speaker: • Rachel Carson is the speaker of “Silent Springs.” You can conclude this because the story is in first person point of view since she uses “I.”

• You can assume that Rachel Carson is a 57-year-old female who may have gone through an emotional tragedy in her life causing a tragic change in events. Carson states, “A grim specter has crept upon us almost unnoticed, and this imagined tragedy may easily become a stark reality we all shall know” (Carson 9). By including this quote the reader can assume that Carson has faced some event in her life that came in a huge shock to her which drastically changed her life. It shows how her life was completely changed and a unexpected event became a reality.

Occasion: • Carson had the motive to write this piece based on real-life experience as shown in the chapter. She claims, “Yet every one of these disasters has actually happened somewhere, and many real communities have already suffered a substantial number of them” (Carson 9). This shows that real places have dealt with these tragedies. Carson also was prompted to write this piece based on her background in marine biology and her employment as a biologist for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service portraying that she has prior knowledge to the issue.

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This piece is a critique since Carson evaluates and analyzes the precautions people should take in order to benefit human lifespan.

The rhetorical occasion of this excerpt is to inform others about the dangers of chemicals on earth’s vegetation and animal life.

• The larger occasion is that the audience needs to take a step forward by preventing the use of dangerous and hazardous chemicals. The immediate occasion Carson is trying to convey is how these harmful chemicals not only affect the insecticides but also

humankind.
Audience: • This piece is not only directed to an individual but to the general public.
• You can assume that the audience is unaware of the potential risks of these harmful chemicals.
• No, the speaker does not use any certain vernacular to pertain to a unique audience. This piece is understandable by everyone who is interested in the effects of such dangerous chemicals.
Purpose: • The author’s reason for writing the text is to inform the audience about the negative repercussions of the problem.
• The author conveys the message of the purpose using factual evidence.
• The message of this passage is that we need to change the way we all think and worry more about how things not only affect us instantly, but also has many long-term effects.
• “I am saying, rather, that control must be geared to realities, not to mythical situations, and that the methods employed must be such that they do not destroy us along with the insects.” (Carson 22).
• The speaker tries to spark a reaction in the audience by putting fear into their eyes by stating that the chemicals can kill us as well as the insects.
• The text is supposed to make the audience feel fearful.
Subject: • Rachel Carson persuades the audience that these chemicals are dangerous to the lives of humans as well as insecticides. Carson writes to piece to make an attempt in trying to prevent the audience in making mistakes, which will greatly affect future generations.