In her essay "A Fable for Tomorrow", Rachel Carson condemns society's pitiable attempt to tame the all mighty force of nature. She encourages us adopt a different attitude towards nature by taking an alternate road which would not destine us to destruction. Carson thoroughly describes the discoveries of technology and science, such as nuclear fusion and radiation, synthetic chemical compounds, and insecticides to prove that man is using the treasures of nature to better destroy it. Carson states that "the rapidity of change and the speed with which new situations are created follow the impetuous and heedless pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature". In other words, men's countless interventions on the flow of nature's mechanisms do not take account of any possible consequences, which could be fatal because the pace of man is too fast for nature's natural response. Carson foreshadows pandemics, the discontinuation of life and reproduction, and perhaps a complete retreat of nature. Nature's gifts of intelligence to man will ultimately backfire if he doesn't use it in an intelligent manner.
Carson's essay breathes the notion of time. Evolution and adaptation take place over time and humanity is disrespecting this reality, accelerating every process with a massive exponent. In the text of Walden, Thoreau makes many radical judgments on humanity's use of time. "Our life is fritted away by detail". He asks questions such as "why should we live with such hurry and waste of life". He strongly suggests that the way we live is not in harmony with the way nature wants us to live. Our life is not inspired by life itself but rather is the summation of countless impertinent concerns. Like Carson, Thoreau refers to technology; "Men think that it is essential that the Nation has commerce, and export ice, and talk through a telegraph and ride at 30 miles per hour". From this we understand why Thoreau disagrees with the contemporary way of life. Those are the details which strip us away from any genuine connections with our surroundings and impede us from living. We are so concerned with gossip, numbers, money, and inventions that we forget to truly look around and live according to nature's laws. The sources which gave birth to the judgments made by Thoreau are simultaneously the cause of Carson's concerns about the future of the planet. While a man is wasting his life, he is also tampering with his prosperity's chances to experience life.
In his essay 'Nature", Emerson condemns society's way of life in a similar way and also encourages men to turn to nature to find peace. He states that men are blinded by "impertinent griefs" and that "few adults can truly see nature". Those griefs are inevitably the same as the ones described by Emerson and condemned by Carson. He says that in nature "all mean egotism vanishes". This logically implies that when not in nature, man is filled with egotism. Would this be the source of his concerns? "Nature" is an outreach to society; Emerson is trying to guide it to peace by pointing it to the great outdoors. His description of common human behavior goes hand in hand with Carson's judgment of the contemporary society. The accumulation of years of torment over superficial issues and of "egotism" could contribute to transforming Carson's dark visions into reality. If only men knew how to fully appreciate nature, Carson's statements would be irrelevant. Men wouldn't be concerned with money and numbers and try to find happiness by tampering with nature. They would rather find happiness within it's confines.
Thoreau and Emerson encourage men to turn to nature to find contentment. Carson, years later, demonstrates how men's use - and disregard - of nature will lead to its destruction. The three authors would agree that the pace of life is inappropriate and that the time frame we are given on earth is terribly misused. The declarations made by Carson on the future of nature illustrate the consequences of this same pace of life and use of time. If men could truly stop and see the world for the world itself, Carson's warnings would die away. In nature, men would discover that they are apart of something greater then themselves, something which should not be tamed by them.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The main idea of the book was that the perceived split between man and nature isn’t real and that your body is associated to the world around you. In Rachel Carson’s time, nature was considered to be an “it” and also man had a dominion over animals which some people took as permission to kill them without any guilt. Rachel Carlson highlighted that “we” humans are not distinct from “it” and we were dependent on the world around us. Rachel’s Carson’s book was a success as it raised awareness of the social hazards of DDT As of now pesticides have been increasingly regulated, and also safety standards for pesticides have been improved with much credit to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. This paper is based on the thesis is that Rachel Carson’s Silent spring was not only prescient in 1962 when it was first published but it remains…
- 1228 Words
- 5 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The philosophy of transcendentalism encompasses several core values, such as simplicity, people being inherently good, and everyone being able to understand a higher truth through intuition. Transcendental thinkers such as Thoreau and Emerson produced several works each, much of which encompasses these values. Together, the values of transcendentalism and the writing by the supporters of these values act as pillars to hold up transcendentalism, like supports for a large building.…
- 592 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Rachel Carson uses an accusing tone to express her feelings towards her argument that Americans do not worry about the environment enough. Throughout the selection, Carson shifts from what is happening to the black birds, to what is happening to the humans. Both the humans and the birds are dying due to the farmers using parathion. In the text, she says that “The…
- 674 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the first chapter, the author talks about how most people’s attention is on eye-catching images, instead of what is going on in the world. People care more about murders, airplane crashes, etc. instead of the exploding populations or the growth in the amount of nuclear weapons that exist. Because of this, our environment starts to deteriorate. The environment will continue to deteriorate, and such events will be out of control until the human race realizes just how selectively the environment persuades the human mind, and how the biological and cultural history determines our comprehension. The book is about fundamental connections to our past and how the human race can “retrain” for a new world of the future. The book’s intent is to help people from all walks of life, educators, decision makers, physicians, businessmen, etc., change the way they make decisions. People might begin to change and secure the human future if they understood the fundamental roots of the many problems we face. At no point in history, has the human race had the power to destroy its civilization and ruin a lot of the planet’s life-support systems in a matter of hours. Over the past three decades scientific evidence developed many forms of the nature of both the human mind and predicament, and has now pointed to the way to the changes needed. The evidence of this has been from many different forms of studies, including neuroscience, evolutionary biology, climatology, geochemistry, and cognitive science.…
- 2059 Words
- 9 Pages
Good Essays -
Before writing a major piece for a newspaper, a good reporter must do some serious research and investigation to learn more about the piece. In order to investigate these philosophical men and their writings, you will complete two assignments for the assessment for this lesson.…
- 314 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Emerson helped Thoreau in many ways, he found Thoreau work when needed and encouraged him greatly in his writing. Perhaps one of the most beneficial things Emerson ever did for Thoreau was loan him some land on the outskirts of Concord where he would build a hut on the shoreline of Walden Pond, a famous location in his writing. Here Thoreau would spend countless hours tramping through the woods and fishing all the while observing nature around him. Nature is seen as a beneficial force in the works of Henry David Thoreau. If one understands, studies and reflects on nature, then lessons about the meaning of being human are sure to follow. Through intimate relationships with nature, Thoreau constructs his own identification and philosophy.…
- 172 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
In the passage from “Silent Spring”, by Rachel Carson, she portrays her strong emotions about American’s attitude towards the environment and the mindset obtained that it is justifiable to kill species because of an inconvenience they might cause. Carson is able to render that through rhetorical strategies such as exemplification, repetition, and cause and effect.…
- 648 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
This paper will compare and contrast two essays. The first being "Living like Weasels" by Annie Dillard. The second essay called "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. They both focus on the natural world and human living. The essays seem similar on the surface but use different types of analogies and examples to relate the two topics. The first essay was longer of the two and more focused on the mimicking of nature for humans.…
- 1231 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In a modern world human beings are essentially running out of resources. It is often heard that evidence of environmental damage being created by humanity is inconclusive. It is not a subject often discussed within modern media and until recently, a majority of the population remained unaware to the growing issues currently challenging the Earth. This ecological crisis could persuasively be blamed upon the rapidly advancing world of technology, however anthropogenic studies, (MacKenzie, D. 1999), along side growing environmental evidence show mankind has not evolved at the same speed of these new found technologies, hence is technology to blame for our ecological crisis or is mankind? Do these machines now control individual lives and are human beings becoming slave to the very technologies they have created? This thesis will explore these questions within developing nations and argue that it is not technology at fault for the Earth's increasing temperature's and environmental damage, rather western societies ideology that mankind is unable to survive without it, (technology).…
- 1392 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
In her essay “The Obligation to Endure”, Rachel Carson alerts the public to the dangers of modern industrial pollution. She writes about the harmful consequences of lethal materials being released into the environment. She uses horrifying evidence, a passionate tone, audience, and the overall structure of her essay to express to her readers that the pollution created by man wounds the earth. There are many different ways that pollution can harm the environment, from the nuclear explosions discharging toxic chemicals into the air, to the venomous pesticides sprayed on plants that kills vegetation and sickens cattle. The adjustments to these chemicals would take generations. Rachel Carson explains “…even this, were it by some miracle possible, would be futile, for new chemicals come from our laboratories in an endless stream; almost five hundred annually find their way into actual use in the United states alone” (614).…
- 1083 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
A Comparison of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson's Beliefs concerning Simplicity, the Value and Potential of Our Soul, and Our Imagination.<br><br>Henry David Thoreau tests Ralph Waldo Emerson's ideas about nature by living at Walden Pond, where he discovers that simplicity in physical aspects brings deepness to our mind, our soul to its fullest potential, and our imagination to be uplifted to change our lives. These two men believe that nature is what forces us not to depend on others' ideas but to develop our own. Nature is ever changing so we must keep searching for explanations about human life. They feel that nature is the key to knowing all.<br><br>Thoreau lives at Walden Pond to find the true meaning of life. He wants to experience things for himself. Thoreau says, "I wanted...to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion" (Thoreau 235). He takes Emerson's advice who says, "Let us demand our own works and laws and worship" (Emerson 215). Emerson tells how modern generations live life vicariously through the stories and traditions foretold. We do not experience things for ourselves. We take what our ancestors and others before us have said and do not think twice about whether we should try things for ourselves. Emerson decides not to conform to modern ways, but to be an individual.<br><br>Furthermore, in Nature, Emerson says, "Standing on the bare ground - my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space - all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball" (Emerson 215). Here, he is saying that being in such a simple environment he is able to see things more clearly. He has deeper thoughts. Like Emerson, Thoreau also wanted to live a simple life, in order to find deeper meaning in life. Thoreau says, "I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life, ... and reduce it to its lowest terms" (Thoreau…
- 772 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World. Linda Hogan hints in her essays and stories that our modern world has lost its connection with nature and that we have lost respect for the earth, or have gone against nature in general. Linda Hogan’s writings imply that the world is “out of balance”. She even says “The broken link between us and the rest of the world grows too large…” (130). I am in total disagreement with her claims.…
- 755 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Nature being important part of everyone’s life is something both Emerson and Muir can agree on. Emerson shows how nature isn’t there to judge or influence one’s…
- 241 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
Into the Wild is a movie based on the adventure of Chris McCandless as he breaks away from his civilized life and travels across the country to live in Alaska. Chris bases his journey off the core beliefs of the novel Walden by Henry David Thoreau. The novel is a description of Thoreau’s life as he exiles himself from society and returns to nature, living in the woods surrounding Walden pond. Thoreau expresses his beliefs about the negative aspects of civilization, money and the importance of self reliance and simplicity. Having a troubled life, Chris is intrigued by Thoreau 's concepts and seeks to incorporate them into his own life. The movie displays the path Chris takes as he tries to follow in the footsteps of Thoreau, but there are many differences in the life Chris leads and the one captured in Walden.…
- 1643 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Although a lot of effects have manifested in today’s time, there’s only a little effort exerted to lessen these harms. First, critics pointed out that the nature is an ever-evolving entity. As it is ever-evolving, whatever we do to it – may it be good or bad – actually doesn’t have any bearing because it is destined to change the nature that we once knew. Another thing that critics pointed out was that humans are part and parcel of nature itself. Critics say we are one with nature. If this is the case, it is possible for ourselves to be blamed for whatever experiences nature we have and we can be held liable because we are nature.…
- 529 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays