This past week in class, we discussed Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." Corresponding to this week's theme of the environment, Carson writes about the dramatic decline of our environment. She describes the use of pesticides and chemicals that she claims has drastically impacted our environment for the worse. Carson uses several rhetorical devices to convey her message that this contamination issue has gotten worse throughout the years and we need to work together to make a change and help put the environment back on track to becoming as beautiful as it once was. Through her use of logos, ethos and pathos working together, Carson effectively argues her point.
Carson uses logos, ethos and pathos together to effectively convey her message. She uses many facts and a great deal of quantitative data to get her message across. Carson talks about pesticides, in which "almost five hundred annually find their way into actual use in the United States alone. The figure is staggering and its implications are not easily grasped -- 500 new chemicals to which the bodies of men and animals are required somehow to adapt each year, chemicals totally outside the limits of biologic experience." By stating that such a large quantity of harmful chemicals are introduced each year, Carson uses a factual example to emphasize to her audience the astonishing amount of pesticides in use. By using this example, the audience begins to face the reality of the situation and realize that five hundred chemicals are being sprayed in our environment. This fact grabs the audience's attention and causes them to want to make a change, which is Carson's goal in her message. This example relates to the message because it outlines the cause of the decline of the environment and urges the audience to realize that they need to make a change. Carson also states "The United States Office of Plant Introduction alone has introduced almost 200,000 species and varieties of plants from all over the world. Nearly half of the 180 or so major insect enemies of plants in the United States are accidental imports from abroad, and most of them have come as hitchhikers on plants." This example of logos incorporates quantitative data into it to prove to the audience that there is a huge number of plant species in the world and a large amount of pesticides have come into contact with those plants and harmed, or even killed them. These facts raise awareness that the chemicals are doing more harm than good, which causes the audience to really think about the damage pollution has done. The audience now has a new perspective on the issue after hearing the exact numbers, and are now more likely to try and reduce the use of pesticides. This example is also pathos because it intends to make the audience feel bad that they've caused this much harm to the environment through the use of pesticides. The example is in other words, saying that the pesticides have not only killed the insects, but have accidentally killed plants as well. This makes the audience feel sympathetic toward the plant life that have unintentionally died off due to the excessive spraying of chemicals. Both examples I mentioned build up Carson's ethos as well. Her knowledge of facts and statistics proves that she knows what she is talking about and that she knows background information to help support her argument. Also, by citing her source (The United States Office of Plant Introduction) it proves that she's not making up the information and the audience can trust that she's a credible writer. By appearing trustworthy and credible, her argument appears stronger and more effective since the audience can believe her point. Logos, ethos and pathos all work together to convey Carson's message.
The three rhetorical strategies of logos, ethos and pathos all contribute to Carson's message. These devices all work together to convey the message that we all must work together to reduce the amount of pollution in the environment. By using facts and quantitative data, Carson proves her knowledge on the issue and appeals to the audience's logic. By citing her sources and being able to connect research to the current issue, she proves she is credible. Finally, by appealing to the audience's emotions, her argument strengthens and people start to pay more attention to the pollution issue. Carson works three rhetorical devices into her parts of her essay to overall prove her message.
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