There are two landscapes depicted in the opening chapter of Rachel Carson’s, Silent Spring: “A Fable for Tomorrow.”(Carson 1) the idealized, but typical “town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings” and the diseased version of that same town after an “evil spell had settled on the community” (Carson 2). Carson uses idyllic, fairytale type imagery to get the reader invested in the town’s welfare, setting the scene as one of peaceful tranquility. Through the use of a mysterious antagonist she encourages curiosity in origin of the negative outcome of that same town, while imposing a feeling of adversity. When we discover, in the second to last paragraph of this chapter, that this is only a possible future, we are meant to feel a need to prevent the described dystopia from occurring.
This use of imagery effectively sets Carson up to describe the ill effects of DDT and other man-made chemicals on the environment (as described in the chapter: “Elixirs of Death”), which is what caused the “shadow of death,” (Carson 2) to fall on the fictional town she described. This is setting up a causal relationship between our use of pesticides and other toxins and the death of the harmonious ecosystem where, “laurel, viburnum and alder, great ferns and wildflowers delighted the traveler’s eye,” (Carson 1). By establishing a cause for the sinister degradation of the environment we are also provided with a means to combat this possible future. Carson is arguing for the discontinuation of certain human behaviors for the benefit of humans, and the ecosystem we inhabit.
In the three short pages of her first chapter, Carson is able to capture a scene often seen in narratives, a story of mysterious misfortunes that result in a happy place being transformed into one of sickness and disease. Through the use of a familiar story we are able to relate to the unfolding drama of the unfortunate, and as of yet, fictitious town. The use of the familiar and relatable scenario establishes a concern for the outcome of the town in the reader, as well as establishing an interest in discovering the culprit behind the town’s destruction. This draws us in emotionally, and so, when it is revealed, over the course of the book, that we are the cause of the “strange blight” (Carson 2), Carson is playing on our sympathies to urge us to alter this possible future.
Your post is impressively clear and descriptive. I appreciate that you took the time to analyze the writing devices that Carson uses to captivate her audience into action instead of glossing over her technique and summarizing the result. In particular, I like that you noted how the idyllic imagery is intended to create an investment in the town’s welfare. This is an excellent close reading and was a pleasure to read.
I agree that Carson’s use of imagery and familiar storytelling compels us and causes us to care about this fictional town, even though no one place is suffering all of these disasters at once. The only problem I see here, is that the ending of this fable undoes all of her hard work. Once it was revealed that this place was not of reality, I felt immediately detached and almost uninterested even though I was aware from the start that this story was simply a fable.
This was a great close reading, I really enjoyed it! You clearly took time into analyze Carson’s use of imagery and storytelling through a fable. Carson definitely grabs the readers attention through her imagery to make the reader feel invested in the towns welfare. Once I was finished reading the first chapter I was left confused on where exactly Carson’s book was going to go. The notion of a fable to end with a moral of the story, a learned lesson everyone can take away from the short story. In this case, Carson completely undoes all her work in the first two pages with the last two paragraphs. Which again, left me detached and confused.