TOW #3 - "The Marginal World"

This sixty year old essay by Rachel Carson caught my eye as I was flipping through my copy of The Best American Essays of the Century. Since the title, The Marginal World, seemed like it had a philosophical tone, I decided it would be perfect for me to read. The first half of the essay is Carson talking about her experiences and love for how infinite the joining of the earth and the sea is. She said that for as long as there has been a sea and an Earth, there has been this connection.

I believe her audience is those who share the same love for the beach as she does. She sees the sea and the land coming together as a representation of how adaptable we are as a human race for being able to live in such an ever-changing environment. The theme of how this kind of connection in nature can be found in so many other elements of life is kept throughout the essay. Because of this, it is easy to see how Carson keeps a running metaphor as the main purpose of her essay (which is interestingly spelled out at the end rather than the beginning). She says, "there is a common thread that links these scenes and memories--the spectacle of life in all its varied manifestations as it has appeared, evolved, and sometimes died out" (Carson 219). I found her purpose to be very similar to the idea behind string theory, again pertaining to the philosophical tone.

Personally, I think Carson's essay has done a beautiful job of combining philosophy, science and nature into one description of the mundane thing that is a beach. She uses her great talent as a writer to highlight the beauties of such a thing that we might otherwise miss when put in this type of environment.