On The Connotation Of Environmental Apocalypticism In Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring

The prominent American writer Rachel Carson is praised to be a milestone of Eco-literature in 20 th century American Eco-literature. She had made great contribution to the protection of Nature and the restriction of the usage of chemical insecticide. Her masterpiece Silent Spring which tells the horrible aftermath insecticide has brought about to the environment revealed to the whole world the underlying environmental crisis and became a timeless topic for Eco-literature study. As the ecological problem becomes even imminent, it is so significant to analyze Carson’s work to excavate edification.Here this thesis will analyze Silent Spring profoundly and precisely from the angle of Eco-criticism to excavate its environmental apocalyptic connotation and realistic meanings.This thesis consists of five parts. It begins with the introduction section which gives a brief introduction to the author Rachel Carson along with her works and researches on her at abroad and in China.The first chapter gives a broad introduction of the Environmental Apocalypticism along with related concepts. Excavating and displaying its characteristics and content.The second chapter gives a text analysis of the book by expounding one of its most distinct characteristics----imagery disaster construction: the change from life web to death web and the war between human and nature, which as a whole have revealed the horrible truth of underlying environmental crisis and how the once harmonious environment went worse. It is the most powerful weapon for Carson to compose the apocalypse and wake up people’s sense of crisis.The third chapter further illustrates Carson’s intention of creating the apocalyptic images: to awake the public conscious of environmental protection by warning people of the ecological crisis they are facing; and the methods : the magnified scale and juxtaposition of time—space. Finally, environmental apocalypse is not to intimidate people of the desperate tomorrow, but to enlighten and lead them to change such destiny. Carson also gives people profound implications on which people could base to find out solutions to solve problems and to keep cautious of the underlying environmental crisis. The final section just comes up with the new developing method of our new agriculture and technology appliance basing on Carson’s implications.Being such a monumental work of Eco-literature, Silent Spring not only criticizes the anthropocentric abuse of organic insecticide and awakes people of the intimidating crisis they face in concept, but offers precious reference and experience for people to avoid such destiny in realistic meaning. Such experience is still so useful for dealing with today’s even worsening ecological situation.