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Arguably
one of the largest influences on modern environmentalism,
Rachel Carson is perhaps best known for the DDT-exposing sundry
Silent Spring, published in the 1960s. Former Vice
President and environmentalist Al Gore cites Carson as an
influence, and though this is not necessarily a valid reason
to read the book, sifting though Under the Sea-Wind
is an easy way into Carson's legacy as well as the trendy
modern-day environmental movement.
Originally
published in 1941, Under the Sea-Wind is Carson's first
book and the first of several conservationist collections.
In the three sections that form the book, Carson explores
the sea life of the shore, the open sea, and the sea bottom.
In many ways, reading Under the Sea-Wind is like scuba
diving with Jacques Cousteau in a Discovery Channel documentary
for a year, stalking everything from flotsam and jetsam to
the very top of the very top of the ocean's food chain. In
many novels, this sort of perspective typically lends to the
reader certain unmentionable secrets the characters will never
know until they become the plot. In Under the Sea-Wind,
readers are as near to the characters as the mackerel, the
sanderling, or the owls Carson depicts.
In the
foreword, Carson says, "Under the Sea-Wind was written
to make the sea and its life as vivid a reality for those
who may read the book as it has become for me," and there
is no doubt as the brief narratives unwind that a vivid reality
is exactly what Carson describes.
In the
first book, Edge of the Sea, Carson recreates marine
life on a stretch of the North Carolina coast. The bulk of
this section focuses on the birds of the shore as they stalk
prey, mate and migrate as the seasons change.
"With
the dusk a strange bird came to the island from its nesting
grounds on the outer banks," the first chapter, "Flood Tide,"
begins. "Its wings were pure black, and from tip to tip their
spread was more than the length of a man's arm. It flew steadily
and without haste across the sound, its progress as measured
and as meaningful as that of the shadows which little by little
were dulling the bright water path. The bird was called Rynchops,
the black skimmer."
The second
book, The Gull's Way, takes place at the same time
as Edge of the Sea but meditates on a different location:
the open sea. Though its title suggests a certain winged influence,
the book is primarily devoted to life of the mackerel, a fish
Carson describes as "a true sea rover." From its semi-abandoned
birth amidst possibly millions of other globule-like offspring,
to its survival kindergarten as it discovers its predators,
its prey, and who to hang with for the duration, Carson describes
a bustling sea world comparable in popular culture perhaps
only to scenes in animated Disney features. Carson's almost-poetic
portrayal of the primary mackerel provides readers with a
sort of anthropomorphic, empathetic guidepost and is the key
to understanding her intention with Under the Sea-Wind.
The third
book, River and Sea, focuses on the eel, a unique fish
that can dwell, in the shallow waters of the shore, in the
expanse of the open sea, along the continental slopes, and
down on the sea bottom. In one particular moment Carson describes,
"Billions of young eels—billions of pairs of black, pinprick
eyes peering into the strange sea world that overlay the abyss.
Before the eyes of the eels, clouds of copepods vibrated in
their ceaseless dance of life, their crystal bodies catching
the light like dust motes when the blue gleam came down from
above."
Throughout
the book, Carson describes an almost mythic world that humans
have not yet fully conquered but whose existence, even on
a small scale, has the potential to be a major influence on
the delicate ecosystem. Humans often appear in the book in
the form of seasonal fisherman, constantly trying to outsmart
each other and their aquatic counterparts in varying modes
of capture. Carson's aim isn't just to recreate this world
for human eyes; she wants readers to play witness and truly
understand marine life in a way that is both educational
and adventurous, and as editor Linda Lear says in the introduction,
Carson wants "to change our attitudes about our relationship
with the natural world."
It is
very easy to get caught up in Under the Sea-Wind—to
become so fascinated by the descriptions of marine life that
the lack of human dialogue throughout is less of a deterrent
and more of an authentic touch in her sea world. Under
the Sea-Wind should leave readers asking questions, to
be perhaps as intrigued by sea life, concepts of survival,
and environmental impact as Carson was throughout her life.
(June,
2008)
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