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1、AN ECOLOGICAL STUDY OFSILENT SPRINGA Thesis Presented toThe Foreign Studies DepartmentXian University of Architecture & TechnologyXian, ChinaIn Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofBachelor of ArtsbyZhou Wenjing June 2011ABSTRACTSilent Spring is one of masterpieces of 20th centur
2、ys American writer Rachel Carson. Rachel Carson is the first author expressed clearly her ecological thought standing on the position of nature in the European-American literature. In the book, Carson cites a large number of informative information to disclose the world a series of ecological crisis
3、 caused by chemical pesticides. This thesis intends to give an ecocritical study of Silent Spring through the perspective of ecocriticism, probing the profound ecological implications reflected in this book. This study is of great help in leading us to understand the relationship between man and nat
4、ure being sharing rather than confrontation.Key Words: ecological ideology, nature, man, chemical pesticides摘要 寂静的春天是20世纪作家蕾切尔.卡逊的代表作。卡逊是欧美文学史上第一个站在大自然的立场上明确表达自己生态学思想的作家。在这本书中，卡逊引用大量详实的资料，向世人披露了化学杀虫剂引起的一连串的生态危机。本文是通过对寂静的春天的文本分析，从生态批评的角度进行解读，挖掘其中的生态学思想，探索卡逊在寂静的春天中给我们的启示：人与自然的关系是分享而不是对立。关键词：生态意识，自然，人类
5、，化学杀虫剂ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI would like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me during the writing of this thesis. A special acknowledgement should be shown to Mrs.Yang, from whose lectures I benefited greatly. I am particularly indebted to Mrs. Li, who gave me kind encouragement and useful in
6、structions all through my writing. Finally I wish to extend my thanks to the library assistants who supplied me with reference materials of great value.TABLE OF CONTENTSAbstract.iiChinese Abstract.iiiAcknowledgements.ivChapter 1 Introduction.12 Writing Background of Rachel Carson and Silent Spring .
7、3 2.1 Rachel Louise Carson: A Fighter of Environmental Protection.3 2.1.1 A Brief Introduction to Rachel Carson.4 2.1.2 Her Contribution to Ecological Literature.6 2.2 A Brief Introduction to Silent Spring. .7 2.2.1 The Theme of Silent Spring.7 2.2.2 The Influence of Silent Spring. .73 The Overview
8、of Ecocriticism.10 3.1 The Concept of Ecocriticism. .10 3.1.1 Definitions to Ecocriticism. .10 3.1.2 The Core Idea of Ecocriticism. .12 3.2 The Ecocriticism in Literature. .134 The Ecological Analysis in Silent Spring.15 4.1 Unique Ecological View.15 4.1.1 Conventional View in Traditional Literature
9、.15 4.1.2 Carsons Ecological View-Harmony between Human and Nature.17 4.2 Beautiful and Vivid Ecological Description.22 4.2.1 The Description of Natural Scenery.22 4.2.2 The Detailed Description of Beautiful Lives.24 4.3 Carsons Writing Skills in Silent Spring .25 4.3.1 The Embedding of Story.25 4.3
10、.2 Symbolic language universally use in Silent Spring26 4.4 Profound Ecological Pondration.27 4.4.1 Systemic explicit and implicit ecological crisis.27 4.4.2 Revealing the original source of ecological crisis.29 4.4.3 Advocating ecological responsibility.30 4.4.4 The scientific methods of solving ec
11、ological Problems.31 5 Conclusions.33Bibliography.34 CHAPTER1IntroductionIn Silent Spring, Rachel Carson cites a great number of informative information to disclose the world a series of ecological crises caused by chemical pesticides：chemical pesticides release into the air, come to earth with the
12、rain, fall into the soil, enter into the grass or corn or wheat grown there, and in time take up their abode in the bones of a human being where they remain until his death. Similarly, chemicals spray on croplands or forests or gardens stay long in soil, entering into living organism, passing from o
13、ne to another in a chain of poisoning and death. These informative information and startling facts just like “a sound of thunder in the wildness” bring the American public into gigantic “war of pesticides”.This book contains a strong sense of ecological consciousness, seeking for sharing rather than
14、 confrontation relationship between human and nature, illustrating the function of science and technology being keeping balance instead of extinction, and showing us that ecological crises result from the controlling of nature.This thesis consists of three parts. In the first part this thesis intend
15、s to give an overview of ecocriticism and ecocriticism in literature. Second part is the brief introduction to the author and Silent Spring. The third part is the main part, which deals with the analysis of unique ecological view in the book, the beautiful and vivid ecological description, and profo
16、und ecological ponderation. CHAPTER 2The Background of Rachel Carson and Silent Spring Rachel Carson is a famous ecological writer who makes a great contribution to ecological literature. At the same time, she is also a common woman who is eager to have happy and ease lives. However, she sacrifices
17、her own life to her career, to the whole ecological system.2.1 Rachel Louise Carson: A Fighter of Environmental ProtectionRachel Carson, one of the founders of modern environmentalism, American marine biologist, eco-literature writer, launches an unprecedented environmental protection movement in th
18、e United Stated even in the whole world because of the publishing of Silent Spring, establishing her status of “mother of modern environmental protection movement”.She is courageous and excellent, with a deeply humanistic care, and strong sense of responsibility and mission. Carson began her career
19、as a biologist in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s. She was widely praised in 1951 for her bestseller The Sea Around Us and won her financial security and recognition as a gifted writer. Her next book, The Edge of the Sea, and the republished version of
20、 her first book, Under the Sea Wind, were also bestsellers. Together, her “Ocean Trilogy” explores the whole of ocean life, from the shores, the surface to the deep sea.In the late 1950s, Rachel Carson began to turn her interest in chemical pesticides and focused on writing another book. The result
21、was Silent Spring (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented portion of the American public. Silent Spring, while meeting with fierce denial from chemical companies, spurred a reversal in national pesticide policyleading to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticidesthe book l
22、eading to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter.2.1.1 A Brief Introduction to Rachel CarsonRachel Carson was born on May 27, 1907 on a small family farm near Springdale, Pennsylvania, just up the Alleghe
23、ny River from Pittsburgh. She loves literature from her childhood, and publishes some works in childrens journals at the age of four. She is introverted. She loves reading and writing poetry and is also an avid nature explorer. She is a lover of nature and birds. Her works at her childhood mostly in
24、volve animals. In her literature, the natural world, particularly the ocean is her favorite. A biology class in sophomore year wakes up her enthusiasm and curiosity for nature, and she decides to major in zoology. Carson began her career as a biologist in the US Bureau of Fisheries. In the late of 1
25、950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation and the environmental problems caused by chemical pesticides. The result is Silent Spring, bringing environmental concerns to an unprecedented portion of the American public. Carson is honored as “mother of modern environmental protection movement” b
26、ecause of her creative contribution. American publication “Time” named Carson as the Top 100 most influential people of the century. New York University School of Journalism at the selection the best news of the century of the 100, Silent Spring is in the second place. 2.1.2 Her Contribution to Ecol
27、ogical LiteratureIn general, Rachel Carson has four famous works, including Under the Sea Wind (1941), The Sea Around us(1952), The Edge of the Sea(1955), and Silent Spring(1962). The former three are called “Ocean Trilogy”. All her works are connected with nature. Her ecological literatures have de
28、eper influence on not only the whole literature world but also the whole humans. Her works seem to change our life and make us realize what is happening currently.Carsons works have been translated into French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, etc, which cause a wilder response and a dee
29、per attention. What Carson calls up is not only one country but humans. We can say that Carson is the first person who really puts ecology into literature. Strictly speaking, Silent Spring is an ecological work. In order to write it, Carson spends a lot of time and efforts connecting and communicati
30、ng with many Euro-American scientists, and working on huge research work, and reading thousands of papers. And, Rachel Carson brings readers into a literature aesthetic state with her exquisite emotion and beautiful description, so it is also an excellent literature work.2.2 A Brief Introduction to
31、Silent Spring2.2.1 The Theme of Silent Spring Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement.The book documents detrimental effects of pesticides on the environmental, particularly on birds, fish, surface water, undergroun
32、d sea, soil, and so on. The book argues that uncontrolled and unexamined pesticides use is harming to even killing animals as well as humans. Its title means to evoke a spring season in which no birds singing, because they had all vanished as the result of pesticides abuse. Its title is inspired by
33、a poem by John Keats, “ La Belle Dame sans Merci”，which contains the lines “The Sedge is witherd from the lake, And no birds sing” (Carson 1).Carson accuses the chemical industry of spreading universally critically.2.2.2 The influence of Silent Spring The realistic significance of Silent Spring is t
34、he first voice that calls on respecting nature, loving nature, and protecting nature. Although Silent Spring and its author suffer from some attaches, finally, the brave and fearless spirit of science of Carson and the strict informative arguments in Silent Spring prove the facts that she mentioned
35、in the book are true. Rachel Carson opens a new way that never exists in the history of human thought in thousands of years. This way to humans tomorrow and the destiny of the whole creatures on earth corrects the previous wrong sense of “man can conquer nature, control nature”, and changes the mad
36、ideas of anthropocentric. The influence of Rachel Carson and Silent Spring is not only on human present real life, but also nature and its surroundings. What our world will be if all mentioned in Silent Spring becomes reality? When the sky is not blue, the bird cannot fly; when the river is no longe
37、r clear, the fish have left home; when the air is no longer fresh, fragrant flowers have lost; when the clouds covered the sun, the world will not dim light; when the ice melted, the earth is an ocean; when the citys steady stream of cars, since there is no point serene. (Carson 45)As one member of
38、humans, what should we do? Therefore, the other significance of Silent Spring shows that environmental problem originates from deeper level of human life and society, politics, and culture. In order to change previous ideas and belief of human, it needs a long and arduous process.CHAPTER3An Overview
39、 of EcocriticismSince the 1960s of 20th century, the ecological trend was booming companied with the clear realization of the increasing severe environmental crises and the rapid development of global movement of environmentalism. Ecocriticism is the core branch of the ecological thinking. It rose i
40、n the 1970s, developed in the late 1990s and is still experiencing its booming growth at present. 3.1The Concept of Ecocriticism 3.1.1 Definitions to EcocriticismEcocriticism is the study of literature and environment from an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to analyz
41、e the environment and brainstorm possible solutions to the contemporary environmental situation. Ecocriticism is an intentionally broad approach that is known by a number of other designations, including “green (cultural) studies”, “ecopoetics”, and “environmental literary criticism”.In 1962, Rachel
42、 Carsons famous book Silent Spring caused uproar in America. “Her work was highly praised for its environment consciousness and for extending ethical care to non-human world for the first time, thus heralding the emergence of ecological trend” (Qin Zhiyong, 2004). Glotfeltys definition in The Ecocri
43、ticism Reader is that “ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment”, and one of the implicit goals of the approach is to recoup professional dignity for what Glotfelty calls the “undervalued genre of nature writing”. Lawrence Buell defines “ecocritic
44、ism . . . as a study of the relationship between literature and the environment conducted in a spirit of commitment to environmentalist praxis” (430, n.20).Simon Estok noted in 2001 that “ecocriticism has distinguished itself, debates notwithstanding, firstly by the ethical stand it takes, its commitment to the natural world as an important thing rather than simply as an object of thematic study, and, secondly, by its commitment to making connections” (“A Report Card on Ecocriticism” 220).As Michael P. Cohen has observed, “If you want to be an ecocritic, be prepared to explain what you d