Mohammed Melhem Yara Zaweel Additional analysis 18– 01 -2009 An analysis of Rachel Carson How does the author of the following extract use language to convey changes and contrasts in mood and meaning? Rachel Carson’s piece is one that uses the contrasts in mood and meaning to emphasize the effects that death, loss and devastation can have on a rural community. In titling the piece, “A Fable for Tomorrow”, she has set about telling this particular hypothetical situation in a storytelling style that is reminiscent of the way we often expect legends or myths to be told. I believe she has done this in order to convey as strong a message as possible in such a way as to convince the reader of the seriousness of what she is saying. This text describes a scene of rural tranquility in an almost utopian vision where nature
This has the effect of emphasizing the barrenness of the scene and the gravity of the situation. This world is contrasted with the second section of the piece, which is a negative of the first, where death and sickness are prevalent, spreading and unexplained. In using these words (such as heart, harmony, bloom and flickering) she seems to be emphasizing the life and vibrancy of this farming community. This use of descriptive words to show a world that is prosperous, green and one we would most probably like to live in is contrasted by the second part of the piece. Furthermore she imbues the scene with color, smells and sounds that all of us can recognize and, in some way, share by saying that the trees “…set up a blaze of color that flamed and flickered…” and that “…foxes barked in the hills…”. This change in mood from one of health to one of sickness is further demonstrated by the way her sentences are constructed. To make this contrast seem all the more poignant she has used emotive and expressive words. When the author says that “On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds,...