"Silent Spring" by Rachael Carson

In Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, she uses pathos very well to draw in the reader with emotion. Carson starts of the essay with a very descriptive opening scene, "The town law in the midst of a checkerboard of prosperous farms, with fields of grain and hillsides of orchards where, in spring, white clouds of bloom drifted above the green fields. In autumn, oak and maple and birch set up a blaze of color that flamed and flickered across a backdrop of pines." (366) Carson's main context of the essay is about birds and how they are dying and populations are being diminished. Later in the text she uses logos to further explain her concern for the birds, "The death of 600 birds on a single estate in Norfolk was reported to the House of Lords, and 100 pheasants died on a farm in North Essex." (372) Carson gives a lot of facts, which also gives her credibility and that dives into the ethos. She mentions so many people that talk about their research, about their findings and it gives the reader a sense of trust. They can truly believe what is said in the essay. Carson's purpose to writing this is to let people know that there is a problem and it does need fixing. Carson gave many great examples of substance in this piece, I feel that Carson did a great job of drawing the reader into the essay and explaining the situation clearly.