Silent Spring Sparknotes

The book I chose for this assignment was Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Carson, an environmentalist, published this book in 1962. Since then, the book has exploded with excellent reviews and has also been nominated for many impressive awards. Silent Spring is intended for people who deeply care about our environment and want to be more informed about the dangers of pesticides and what we can do to reduce these harmful impacts. This report will consist of a summary of this book, and also what I thought about it. Silent Spring instantly caught my attention with the opening chapter. In the first chapter, Carson writes about a beautiful, fictional American town that is soon bombarded with a mysterious disease. Everything that was once beautiful,

Chapter 4 of Silent Spring touched on one of our most important natural resources, water. A quote from Carson states, “In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference.” (Carson, 1962). This passage is saying that human beings have disregarded the importance of water, and the pesticides we have used are polluting the water. While reading this passage I couldn’t help but to think of Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town is the first major city in the world to run out of water. Cape Town is a textbook example to show just how careless we are with the resources that we need for survival. This passage is showing us the vitality of water, and that we all need to be more considerate of what we are putting on this earth in terms of pollutants and pesticides. An additional passage I found thought-provoking states “TO HAVE RISKED so much in our efforts to mold nature to our satisfaction and yet to have failed in achieving our goal would indeed be the final irony.” (Carson, 1962). Through this quote, Carson is talking about how humans have tried so hard to eliminate insects from their natural habitat, that these insects have found ways to overcomes the pesticides. Therefore, adapting and changing in ways we haven’t dreamed of. Carson’s book is an interesting take on

The book applies greatly to my life by educating me on how significant it is to be competent on the subject of pesticides and nature. By reading this book, I have become more aware of what I am doing to take care of earth and will better myself by doing things like recycling and reusing water bottles. For the most part, I agree with Carson on her view and would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about our balance with nature and what pesticides and insecticides are doing to that stability. This book is a wonderful way to educate people, and I think many people would benefit from reading Silent Spring. Overall, I rate this book very good and think it is worth the read. Pesticides do more harm than good, and mankind needs to come together to protect our environment and the nature and ecosystems around