Silent Spring Book Evaluation

Andrew Hibbard

Professor Melissa Santos

English 102-016

October 29, 2017

Silent Spring Book Evaluation

            In Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, she discusses the grossly negligent use of pesticides in our society, during the mid-twentieth century, and the effects they had not only on the environment but on humans as well. She also points out, even after all the harm caused from pesticides the “pests” that were trying to be removed can come back and sometimes in stronger forces than before. It is obvious that her goal in writing this book was to educate people about the harmful effects the chemical pesticides have. After reading the book I can say without a doubt that she achieved this goal. Her message is strong, and she uses examples that hit home so it is easy for everyone to understand.

            During this time, people did not know the harms of these chemicals. The chemicals became a huge part of people’s lives. They even volunteered to be sprayed with DDT to show that it was harmless. Little did they know it can cause many issues including cancer. Carson’s book opened the eyes of the readers and changed the world for the better. As Tim Radford from The Guardian said, “Rachel Carson educated a planet”. Without Carson to educate people on these problems it would have taken far longer for people to learn about these harms and even longer for people to do something to change them.  

            Carson goes in to depth on how the environment is all tied together and how chemical sprayings effect everything in that area. Insects and animals in the sprayed areas suffer. In addition to the immediate damage done, the chemicals would sit on the crop and often still be present on it when it was being sold. People were most likely eating far more DDT than they even knew. Not only were the sprayings harmful, but they were very overpowered. People did not do the research to figure out exactly how much chemical was necessary, so people were using far more than needed. In addition, the pests that were being targeted were often able to spring back later or it would leave room for another pest to ravish the lands. The chemical would kill many insects on the area. Those who survived would then have more space and less competition allowing them to thrive and often cause another issue that farmers would treat with just more chemicals. The information Carson uses in her book makes it memorable and easy to comprehend.

            I would recommend this book to people who are interested in environmental protection or the history of conservation. Also to anyone who just wants general knowledge on how the environment works and how certain foreign chemicals will interact with it. Really, I think that this is a good book for anyone to read because it is on a topic that everyone should have knowledge about. We need to know about our environment and we also need to know our past mistakes so that they don’t happen again in the future. This book is able to change your state of mind and make you think in a different way. Without this amazing piece of literature, the fight for conservation may have been much harder.