Dec 23, 2009

Silent Spring | Style

Clarity
A writer's style is always at some level shaped by her purposes, and these can usually be identified without too much difficulty in a work of nonfiction. Indeed, in the case of Silent Spring, Carson really only has one aim: to raise public awareness about the dangers of pesticides, with the ultimate goal of bringing about more prudent pest-management practices. What stylistic necessities does this task impose on the writer? The first is accessibility. If her message is aimed at the public, then she must write in a manner that is suitable for the widest...