In Silent Spring, Carson begins with a fable about a rural town ravished by irresponsible pesticide use. What does Carson hope to accomplish in this opening chapter? How effective is it? Is her story believable?

Which three elements of gothic literature clearly mirror the situation of women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? strange characters and settings an overall atmosphere of mystery and suspense unexplained or supernatural events characters’ inability to control their fates high emotions experienced by characters suffering from a sense of doom women threatened by powerful males