Under the Sea Wind
Penguin Nature Classics (1996) | |
Publication date | 1941 |
---|---|
Media type | |
Followed by | The Sea Around Us |
Under the Sea Wind: A Naturalist's Picture of Ocean Life (1941) is the first book written by the American
Under the sea-wind was reportedly Rachel Carson's personal favourite book, although first edition copies by Simon & Schuster remain scarce.
Background
Under the Sea Wind was based on the article Undersea by Carson, published in
Description
Under the Sea Wind describes the behavior of organisms that live both on and in the sea on the Atlantic coast. Under the Sea Wind consists of three parts, each following a different organism that interacts with the sea, and viewing it from a personified organism's perspective.[8][11] The first section, Edge of the Sea, follows a female sanderling Carson names Silverbar.[8] The second section, The Gull's Way, follows a mackerel named Scomber, and the third section, River and Sea follows Anguilla, an eel.[8] The narrative follows these creature's migration habits over the span of a year.[11]
Viewing ocean life from a broader ecological perspective was crucial to Carson, rather than just isolating parts of the sea. The term "sea wind" was Carson's way of referring to the entirety of the shore, sea, and sky.[5] Carson had a poetic way of writing about nature, while still maintaining the scientific accuracy of her observations.[1][12] Her work draws connections between nature and home, the borders of interrelated communities, and the growing separation between man and nature.[1][11] Carson took inspiration from natural history authors such as Henry Williamson and Henry Beston, and uses her scientific expertise to ground Under the Sea Wind in scientifically accurate detail on each animal's appearance, diet and behavior.[13][14]
Carson's stated goal of using poetic prose and personifying sea life was "to make the sea and its life as vivid a reality for those who may read the book as it has become for me during the past decade."[15] This writing style brought scientific observations to a larger audience, and as stated by fellow marine environmentalist author Joel Hedgpeth in a review of the book, allowed for "turning the subject of the sea to a respectable reading matter for the clientele of the New Yorker and Reader's Digest sets, and inspiring a fashion in literature about the sea, its ways, and creatures."[16] The style of Carson's writing makes the book suitable for children as well as adults, and the appeal is enhanced with illustrations, originally by Howard Frech. These were eventually replaced in 1991 with illustrations by Robert W. Hines. Though Under the Sea Wind is a story of struggle and chance survival, the style that Carson presents is in stark contrast to her later work, Silent Spring, which is much more dire and analytical.[12]
References
- ^ a b c Sullivan, Marnie (2012). Vakoc, Douglas (ed.). Revealing the Radical in Rachel Carson's Three Sea Books. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. pp. 75–88.
- ISBN 0813921074.
- ^ a b c Ferrara, Enzo. (2016). Undersea - Rachel Carson. 10.13135/2384-8677/1433.
- ^ Wheeler, J. C. (2013). Rachel Carson: Extraordinary Environmentalist. Minneapolis, Minn: Abdo Publishing.
- ^ a b Carson, Rachel (2007). Under the Sea Wind. London, England: Penguin Classics. pp. ix–xxi.
- S2CID 162187726.
- ^ Lear, Linda J. Rachel Carson, Witness for Nature. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997.
- ^ a b c d Carson, Rachel (2007). Under the Sea Wind. London, England: Penguin Classics.
- ^ Chambers, John Whiteclay II, ed. The Oxford Companion to American Military History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, 819-830.
- ^ Lear, Linda. Under the Sea-Wind. RachelCarson.org. http://www.rachelcarson.org/UnderTheSeaWind.aspx
- ^ S2CID 143507223.
- ^ a b Arvidson, Adam Regn (26 September 2011). "Nature Writing in America: The Power of Rachel Carson".
- ISBN 1-55963-279-8.
- ^ Quaratiello, p. 29.
- ISBN 0-313-32388-7.
- doi:10.1086/401182– via JSTOR.
External links
- Under the Sea-wind at Faded Page (Canada)