Audience Analysis of "Silent Spring"

The audience of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" is quite complex. While it most likely was intended for people involved in agriculture who used DDT, it proved far more popular than just this demographic. It was written to expose what was wrong with the pesticide and cause farmers to cease using it, it caused outrage among the population. People who never had put any thought into the actions of farmers read the work and had their eyes opened. Another key audience were the companies that make the pesticide. They had their dirty secrets revealed and had to be sent on the defensive. One of the companies that fought the hardest against Carson's work was Monsanto. The audience proved to be most of the US population. It opened eyes and changed the conversation in the nation, leading to a period of greater interest in the effects man has on nature.

Stasis Theory in Silent Spring

The stasis for "Silent Spring" is consequence/ cause and effect. Carson critically wrote about how the way we have been treating the world is unacceptable and will cause a lot of problems in the future. The use of stasis allows for a good connection of ideas influencing people to have an open mind and ultimately sparking the environmental movement. Mankind is contaminating the air, earth, water with dangerous man made creations. The consequence being that chemicals "comes to the earth in rain or drifts down as fallout, lodges in soil, enters into the grass or corn or wheat grown there, and in time takes up its abode in the bones of a human being, there to remain until his death." She clearly states what we are doing and the problem it is creating in that world. Another example being; because the world has been contaminated after millions years of changes to create a homeostasis with the environment, in time life can return to normal but since we have ruined it we ended up digging our own grave because "in the modern world, there is no time."

Ethos in "Silent Spring"

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring blew the lid off of the pesticide DDT and its effects on the environment. In terms of rhetoric the book relies heavily on logos, using very real logic and research to prove the point of DDT's harmful effects, and yet ethos also factors in. Before the book's release Carson was a marine biologist, as well as an accomplished writer. Her 1951 book The Sea Around Us won a national book award. With these things in mind her argument is far more powerful. Given that the subject matter regards animal life, particularly marine and avian life her expertise in marine biology makes her argument far more powerful. In addition being a writer, seasoned in conservationist work her point is also strengthened in terms of experience. In terms of intrinsic ethos, Carson establishes herself simply through her research. She makes it clear that she has dedicated years to the study of DDT and its effects. The work was not rushed, but rather drawn out, taking years to research the chemical and establishing herself as an authority.

Robert Dries

Stasis Theory in "Big Yellow Taxi"

In the song, “Big Yellow Taxi,” Joni Mitchell utilizes the Stasis Theory to present her support of the environmentalist movement, most strongly, the stasis of consequence/cause and effect. Throughout the song, Mitchell explains the impact certain events have had on the environment. For example, she writes, “Hey farmer farmer put away that DDT now give me spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees please!” This line describes a clear cause and effect relationship of how DDT usage as a pesticide consequently killed much wildlife. Additionally, Mitchell repeatedly sings the line “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” What this shows is the contrast between nature in its purest state, a sort of paradise, and the mundane and drab parking lots that are paved overtop nature’s beauty. This line is repeated at many points during the song, which successfully drives its message into the minds of the audience members. By expressing the consequences human actions have on the environment, Mitchell is able to form a solid argument for why society must pay more attention to environmental wellbeing. Using stasis theory, Mitchell presents the causes and effects of mistreatment towards the environment in her song “Big Yellow Taxi” with the intent to inform and persuade.

Sarah Neydon