Director, Environmental Studies
Professor of English

STUDY QUESTIONS ON RACHEL CARSON

Sources:
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, chapters 1 & 2 (pp. 1-13), plus concluding paragraphs (pp. 296-297)
Daniel Payne, Voices in the Wilderness, chapter 8

PAYNE, VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS, CHAPTER 8: RACHEL CARSON

1. Payne claims that Silent Spring “marks a literary and political dividing line between the conservation era and modern environmentalism.” In what way? What is the difference between “first-generation” and “second-generation” environmental issues? Payne says that the political debate changed the way nature writers contributed to the discussion – in what way? (137)

2. According to Payne, what was the rhetorical style of Silent Spring? Who was the audience that Carson shaped Silent Spring to? Why did she aim it at them? How did this target affect her writing? (143ff)

3. For Payne, what are the three factors in her rhetorical effectiveness? (137) What does Payne say her enduring legacy is? (149)

RACHEL CARSON, SILENT SPRING, CHAPTERS 1 & 2, and final paragraphs of the book

4. What is the purpose of “A Fable for Tomorrow?” Why start the book with this? In what way would it make the book more effective? In what way might it turn some readers off?

5. Note her choice of words in the three sections of the readings (chapter 1 and 2 and final paragraphs). What kind of language does she use? Do you think her word choice makes the fable more powerful and effective? Might her language detract from the effectiveness of the book, at least for some people?

6. What is her ecosocial critique in chapters 1, 2, and the final paragraphs of the book? Look closely at all the reading and make a list (there are numerous points). Do you agree with her ecosocial critique? Why or why not?

7. What is her philosophy of nature in the readings (chapters 1, 2, and final paragraphs)? Why does she begin chapter 2 (and in a sense the book) with the first sentence?

8. In the final paragraphs (296-297), what is the “constant theme” in dealing with the problem of sharing our earth? According to Carson, why is this theme important? (296)

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