Fable For Tomorrow

Improved Essays
“A Fable for Tomorrow,” by Rachel Carson, is about a mid-western town that, at one point in time, is full of life and vegetation begins to show the havoc humans cause by trying to make things easier on themselves. In her fable, the problem humans bring upon themselves is caused by using pesticides and herbicides to make crop growing easier. Trying to make things easier caused many problems with the life of the vegetation, the animals, and even with the humans.
The vegetation, once so beautiful, turned to nothing by the use of the pesticides and herbicides; "Along the roads, laurel, viburnum and alder, great ferns and wildflowers, {is a delight to} the traveler's eye through much of the year"(367). Without much warning, the vegetation took a drastic downfall. At the end of Rachel's fable she says, "The roadsides, once so attractive, {are} now lined with browned and withered vegetation as though swept by fire." The humans completely destroyed the vegetation, but that was only one of the many things destroyed.
…show more content…
At the beginning, "foxes barked in the hills and deer silently crossed the fields"(367), but by the end, "mysterious maladies {are sweeping} the flocks of chickens"(368) and "the cattle and sheep {were becoming sick and dying}"(368). Without realization, the humans were beginning to destroy their livestock. Not only did it affect their livestock, but also the entire community around them. The countryside, being "famous for the abundance and variety of its bird life,"(368) now "only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh"(368). Now the humans have affected both vegetation and animal life, but they have also affected more than just the

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    On Easter island the humans were there own problem they are the reason there were no more trees and all the animals left they were selfish and all they cared about was making the biggest statue. In the Lorax the once-ler was only thinking about money so he cute down all the trees and that also cause all the animals to leave he polluted the air will his factories which ruined the water. There is only one blame for this and its humans. Tragedy of the commons is all about how an individual does something that is destructive to something else. Well has it suggests in Hardin's essay there really is no fix to this.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This except--by Rachel Carson-- was created in order to persuade readers that pesticides are killers, not humans, but to the whole world. Carson does this through an appeal to nature and an appeal to health. Carson evidently cares a lot about nature and her writing supports it. Her appeal to nature approach is very clear s the passage progresses. She addresses the need for change as she talks about the horrible events that occur with the use of pesticides.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dust storms would tear through towns and block out any light from the sun and made it very hard to see. The dirt would burn people’s eyes and make it very hard to breath. Dust would also get inside the house, in food, on animals, and cover anything that dust could fit into. Jackrabbits came down from the hills when they could not get food or water and invaded any space they could go. Herds of rabbits would roam through the plains tearing up any vegetation left standing.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Parasite Named Technology Advancements in technology were expected to make life easier and more enjoyable, but it has brought mayhem and destruction to our basic fundamental human rights. “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury explores the futuristic world where a house goes about its daily routine on its own. “The Future of Luxury” by Hans Magnus Enzensberger introduces us to the conjecture of the future where concepts that were was a given are considered luxurious. Technological revolutions have condemned our environment. “The nursery walls glowed.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To summarize, Diamond critically reflects on how agriculture was not merely a mistake we willingly made, but one we were forced to uphold due to circumstances we were unprepared to face the consequence…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    People do not often think about the consequences of their actions. The world we live in is the only one that we have, so we must preserve it in the best way possible. However, in their desire to rule over the laws and will of nature, humans have introduced substances into the environment that threaten all lifeforms, from the smallest insect and the tallest tree to the most unsuspecting person.…

    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Wilderness Conservation

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Finally, environmentalist Aldo Leopold describes wilderness as a way when “We all strive for safety, prosperity, comfort, long life, and dullness”…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Air Pollution Controversy

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Air Pollution Policy and Controversy Rachel Carson boldly warned the American people in 1962 that if the United States continued its agricultural and industrial practices, songbirds would cease to exist. Losing an important part of the ecological food chain would have repercussions, possibly worse than we could imagine. While literature like Silent Spring helped bring attention to environmental concerns in the mid to late 1900s, several fatal disasters struck a stronger chord. Smog in Pennsylvania and the fire-lit Cuyahoga, for example, illustrated just how dearly the environment needed policy reform.…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This was further exacerbated by their living in close proximity to domesticated animals because it led to diseases of animal origin that wreaked havoc on the now densely populated communities. Scott also wrote that the production of cereal grains led to subsequent taxation on it, which then led to slavery and war. And while writing was a beneficial invention during this time, this apparent sole achievement of the neolithic period is overshadowed by the general ill health and war that plagued the…

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is an environmental science handbook whose concern is the environment and life on earth. The author uses her book to turn in to the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment. Rachel mainly handles DDT and pesticides administered to American environment through aerial spraying in attempts to control insect populations over large areas. This paper seeks to summarize Carson’s Silent Spring and capture its informative nature in a global perspective. The essay will also indicate the book's relevance to the chemical industry.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Post [Hurricane] Sandy (which hurt the economy to the tune of $100 billion) and the drought ($150 billion), 74 percent of Americans have decided they’re very concerned about climate change and want something to happen” (McKibben 669). “A Moral Atmosphere” by Bill McKibben, argues that Americans are blaming climate change on big industries, while they could be part of the movement on climate change. McKibben goes on to show how Americans will use excuse after excuse to explain why the weakening ecosystem is not their fault, but in reality it can be solved by normal people. He concludes with that in the end everyone is going to need to step up and help fight to protect the damaged biosphere. “A Moral Atmosphere” uses strategies of statistics…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The descriptive style of writing used in Joy Horowitz’s Parkinson’s Alley helps connect the reader to the individuals, their struggles and the problem that is threatening livelihoods in Visalia, California. Without the description embedded in this article, it could be very easy for the readers to get lost or lose interest. A tie is created after you learn a thing or two about “A big, friendly bear of a man” (Horowitz) who has been ultimately screwed over by his government when they decide to do nothing about the issue at hand. When you think about a stereotypical research article, especially one about pesticides, you imagine a bland, sophisticated and lengthy article to be placed in front of you. Instead, with Horowitz’s piece, you are met with an approachable piece that allows you to first, connect with the individuals and…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1962, noted biologist Rachel Carson published her book Silent Spring that told of the different effects poisons, such as parathion, have on the ecosystem. Soon after being published, her book gained the attention of the American public and helped to transform their attitudes towards the environment. In the excerpt Carson advocates for the ban of parathion by describing the farmers’ use for the poison as warlike, by faulting the ignorant public, and the negligent government for the poison’s harmful environmental impact on afflicted areas. Carson describes the farmer’s use of parathion as warlike and inhuman, in an attempt to persuade her readers to condemn the farmers’ action. Carson explains that a group of farmers from southern Indian…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With the fire quickly approaching, they had no time to lose. The fire was 50 meters away. Jackson and Julia attempted to away as fast as they could, but it did not seem to be quick enough. It crept ever closer and closer, edging upon the gap between them. The fire was 25 meters away.…

    • 1224 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    If animal agriculture had this much of an impact over one hundred and seventy years ago, imagine the magnitude of impact it is having today. To provide land for the livestock, feed crops, slaughterhouses, and grazing fields, animal agriculture uses nearly seventeen million square miles of land. That’s about thirty percent of the earth’s land mass. Twenty-six percent of all ice-free land, seventy percent of all farming land, and thirty percent of all plant land surface is dedicated to animal agriculture. Vegetarian diets only require a portion of the thirty-three percent of farming land that animal agriculture uses, since one acre of plants can feed more humans than it can animals.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 8 Works Cited
    Superior Essays