During the early 1900s, urbanization brought about many rapidly progressive changes to society and how people lived their lives. With this came many issues, and a plethora of writings were published to expose these hidden downsides. Two of the most prominent of these novels were “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, a melancholy and empathetic commentary on the meat-packing industry, and the lives of those who were forced to work in it, and “Silent Springs” by Rachel Carson, which sought to expose the harmful nature of insecticides. Both of these writings utilize elements of speech such as ethos, pathos, and logos to convince their audience of the issues presented by these new aspects of society. They have many similarities in this sense, as they
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In both, they utilize the power of mental imagery to paint a picture of the devastation being caused by their separate issues. In Sinclair’s description, he tells it like it truly is, effectively capturing the audience’s attention with issues that pertain directly to the reader, saying “...and in the barrels there would be dirt and rust and old nails and stale water--and cartload after cartload of it would be taken up and dumped into the hoppers with fresh meat, and sent out to the public’s breakfast.” This direct relation to those who read it spurred many into action, as he convinced them that this issue affected them personally. Rachel Carson’s imagery serves the same purpose; to convince the audience of the imminence and genuineness of the problem at hand. At first, she describes the beauty of nature, and then sharply contrasts it with the desolation caused by insecticides, saying “The roadsides, once so attractive, were now lined with browned and withered vegetation as though swept by fire. These, too, were silent, and deserted by all living things. Even the streams were now lifeless.” This distinct and immediate contrast that Carson convinces is due to human intervention, forces the audience to accept this as a reality and take action to fix the
In both, they utilize the power of mental imagery to paint a picture of the devastation being caused by their separate issues. In Sinclair’s description, he tells it like it truly is, effectively capturing the audience’s attention with issues that pertain directly to the reader, saying “...and in the barrels there would be dirt and rust and old nails and stale water--and cartload after cartload of it would be taken up and dumped into the hoppers with fresh meat, and sent out to the public’s breakfast.” This direct relation to those who read it spurred many into action, as he convinced them that this issue affected them personally. Rachel Carson’s imagery serves the same purpose; to convince the audience of the imminence and genuineness of the problem at hand. At first, she describes the beauty of nature, and then sharply contrasts it with the desolation caused by insecticides, saying “The roadsides, once so attractive, were now lined with browned and withered vegetation as though swept by fire. These, too, were silent, and deserted by all living things. Even the streams were now lifeless.” This distinct and immediate contrast that Carson convinces is due to human intervention, forces the audience to accept this as a reality and take action to fix the