Maxim Vitkovsky

12/1/16

Period 2

English 12

Silent Spring Book Critique

Silent Spring is an environmental awareness and protection book by Rachel Carson published on the
27th of September 1962. The book is about different chemicals used as pesticides, herbicides, and other
products including ones available to the public. It presents the reasons why the chemicals are used, their
history, their positive and negative effects, and alternatives to these chemicals. The author uses common sense,
scientific facts, and real evidence to support her claims. Her main claim is that even extremely minute amounts
of these chemicals can be very harmful to every living species, from plants to insects to humans. Carson has
included the full list of all sources used in the book to minimize the general negative critique of her work and to
minimize accusations of being a false alarmist.
This book has been so impactful for a multitude of reasons, the main ones being that it uses enough real
evidence, strong rhetoric, and provides both imagery and logical arguments for the reader. In the book, every
chapter, except the first one, has at least two examples to support each claim. Carsons writing style helps her
arguments seem more legitimate because a multitude of evidence follows every statement or opinion. The first
chapter serves as a very visual demonstration of what could happen in the future if such chemical use
continues. All the events portrayed are based on what has happened in the past. It is a worst-case scenario that
encompasses everything that could go wrong, but the fact that all of this has happened in different places shows
the reader what could eventually happen if people keep ignoring chemicals and their effects. According to the
book, some of these effects range from lightheadedness and flu-like symptoms to much more serious diseases
such as cancer, Addisons disease and even death.
Before this book was written, all the evidence was scattered so much that even most scientists didnt
know about these effects. Carson collected all that evidence and assembled it into a biased, yet highly evidencesupported book. This book gives evidence for every case you can imagine, from corporate sponsored mass
spraying of large areas of crops or lands and chemical waste from factories, to pesticide use by small farms and
daily products such as mosquito spray and even shelf paper. All of this is real and is supported by science. This
wide range of evidence that could appeal to anyone is the reason this book has had such a huge impact on
history.
This book is for any and every one who is interested in the environment, works on or lives near a farm,
or just wants to learn about harmful pesticides and herbicides and their impact on nature and human
civilizations alike, something every good global citizen should be concerned about. This book doesnt include
complex terminology or theories, so it is a good read for anyone. The purpose of this book is not to spread mass
hysteria as it acknowledges that changes like stopping widespread chemical use is a long process and will not
happened overnight, but to spread awareness about an issue that has mostly been ignored. Thats why everyone
should read this book even more that 50 years after its original publication. Many of the problems outlined in
this book are still not fully accepted and not widely known. This book is guaranteed to teach the readers many
things they didnt know about pesticides. For example, the fact that some chemicals can react in completely
unpredictable ways to form new and deadlier compounds is unknown by most people.
This isnt a local or even national issue. This is a global issue because these chemicals are used
worldwide and because in some instances, due to strong winds, ocean currents, or animal migrations,
chemicals used hundreds or even thousands of miles away can pollute a large portion of the globe. It is the duty
of every person, young or old, student or teacher, rich or poor, to spread this information as much as possible
and educate as many people as possible on these subjects. Thats why, as stated previously, not only
environmentalists and scientists, but also any and every person who possibly can should read this book.
Every claim in this book is supported by evidence and everything is logical and scientific, but still
manages to be simple enough for people who are not familiar with science to understand. Most of the negative
criticism of this book is not supported by such a large amount of evidence as the book has. Over more than 50
years, no one has come up with enough evidence to disprove these statements, so most of the criticism is based
on false accusations of the authors spread of defamation. There is also one case where a person has claimed to
drink one teaspoon of DDT (a powerful pesticide) per day with no harmful effects, but there is little evidence to
support that he was really eating it. And even if he was and didnt have a negative effect from them, that means
that he could be immune to this or has found a way to, knowingly or unknowingly, get these toxins out of his
system. In either case, one example isnt enough to prove Carsons claims and her huge amount of evidence as
false. Due to this, most people would agree that this is a valid argument and would subsequently enjoy reading
this book.