1. What is the central point of chapter 1? Chapter 2? What are the author's reasons?
Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are dramatically different in terms of content and style. The former paints a picture of a future world in which everything and everyone is unwell, whereas Chapter 2 focusses on the irreversibility of insecticide pollution, and the reasons for needing such chemicals in the first place.
The central point of Chapter 1, “A Fable for Tomorrow,” is that the world could become a barren and unproductive place if humans do not change their ways. The fable speaks of an area in which there is no life; the birds are either sick or dead, crops do not grow, animal litters only live for a few days, and the people are unwell. Carson has written a short narrative with a bleak outlook on life. She then concludes that while she has not heard of such a dire community in real life, she has heard of many which are experiencing at least one of the negative symptoms of environmental damage. Furthermore, she points out that the fictional neighbourhood could become factual in the years to come.
Chapter 2, “The Obligation to Endure,” discusses environmental pollution and that the damage caused by insecticides is most likely irreversible. Carson also points out that the majority of insects that such chemicals are designed to kill have been imported from other countries on food and on plants. The central idea of this section, therefore, is that humans have designed chemicals to kill insects which they have caused to exist in the wrong countries; human beings are attempting to counter their own mistakes and are, in the process, making matters a great deal worse.
