The lone survivor

(Could not provide the passage, you'll have to go purchase Rachel Carson's book, The Rocky Coast)

The structure's name is rightfully given, a skyscraper. Walking through the city that never sleeps, and looking up at the buildings that never end, the view casts a roaring shadow on all that rests below. It fuels your mind to question, how it is that the half-an-inch long ant exists in contrast with the 1,000 foot tall giants.

In the passage from The Rocky Coast by Rachel Carson, Carson immerses into a natural formation unmasking the world that fits within its closure. A place unknown to the world is penetrated by harsh waves, the tides shift in and out, and the rock walls expand until the pain of dislocation is felt. It is not just the timeless rock that constructs this sea cave, there is life inside that also endures the inevitable crashing of the tides.

Carson channels an abundance of description, creating a distinct imagery of a dynamic existence. She takes the description and fuses language instruments into her writing which gives voice to her message. The message is that in an unkind reality, the appearing dominance is not always the survivor. The simplest of organisms continue to leave the largest footprint on the chronology of this planet.

The foundation of this writing is laid by the accumulation of description and detail. Carson in every facet of the passage constructs her use of other devices from the description and detail she provides. Through the use of this detail and its connection to other language devices, Carson is able to project her message to the reader. “The waters of the pool are never still. Their level changes not only gradually with the rise and fall of the tide, but also abruptly with the pulse of the surf.” (Line 24, Paragraph 4). Carson's description of the waters in which engulf the cave supports the impact of her message. She shows the strength that the water holds, and later exemplifies the small simplistic sponge, who has survived in this destructive environment for centuries. In addition, as in the example of the description of the water, Carson uses very specific word choice, and develops an important use of imagery. Carson's choosing of the word, “abruptly” provides emphasis on the unpredictability of a powerfully independent tide, and in turn solidifies her description. The way in which Carson's description overlaps into other language devices leaves much discussion in her one use of this language device.

Another language device that Carson uses to convey her message is her tone. More importantly, it is the fact that she uses a shift in tone in the piece which outlines her message. “Waves entering a confined space always concentrate all their tremendous force for a driving upward leap: in this manner the roof of the caves are gradually battered away.” (Line 55, Paragraph 9). At this point in the passage, Carson is still using a tone that enrages the waves, and gives portrayal of its dominance. She creates this cave of constant movement, and the life inside forever struggling for survival. She provides an example of the mussels that are attached to the cave's ceiling; they fasten themselves to the top with the inclination to never let go. “As I lie and look into the pool there are moments of relative quiet, in the intervals when one wave has receded and the next has not yet entered. Then I can hear the small sounds:...” (Line 69, Paragraph 10). This line shows a distinct shift in tone. Carson is now leading to something; she is driving at her point. She takes this place of endless commotion, and turns it into an almost silent existence. It is within this shift of tone that Carson is setting the stage for the introduction of the main character to her overriding message. It is this creature, even more hidden than the cave itself, that has survived in silence for an overwhelming number of years. This new tone leaves Carson a path in which to present her message without deception.

Continuing from the shift in tone, Carson then provides a repetition of one specific word choice. “But seemingly most fragile of all are the little calcareous sponges that here and there exist among the seaweeds.” (Line 91, Paragraph 16). The repeated concept of fragility develops a structure for which Carson can render the message of the simplistic sponge living like a vase on the brink of falling to the floor. Carson describes many of these creatures in the cave as fragile, and most of those she considers fragile are the creatures of smaller size. The baby mussels are presented as fragile, which is interesting , because earlier in the text the adult mussels are shown to be almost senseless creatures. Carson then fixes her lens directly on the sponge's fragility. By focusing on the sponge, she is able to later present its long existence on Earth. This repetition hits a specific idea over and again, until Carson drives the reasoning of the repetition into the ground. Another example of repetition used by Carson in a more discrete way is the creation of some sort of mystery. “Perhaps behind a thick curtain of concealing weeds.” (Line 4, Paragraph 1). The repetition of an underlying question, a presence gone missing, is placed within the text for the reader to find. What this does to the text is makes the reader question there own strength. Something that humans (“to the view of the casual passer-by”) have ignored is forced into reflection by Carson's repetition of such an unknown world. Carson follows up on this questioning by providing the reality of humans time on this planet to be insufficient, and despite the dominance we present, not even we can survive in all environments. “The concealing weeds” represents our denial to the truth of our existence. Carson crafts this questioning, and presentation of denial from the beginning and carries it throughout, and finally shows it as she lifts the curtain on the fragile, but long existing sponge.

A final key to the passage is the metaphor Carson uses to depict the sponge as a clock which seeks no set ending point. “But it is the sponges that give to the cave and its pool their special quality—the sense of a continuing flow of time.” (Line 104, Paragraph 18). It is this direct reference to the sponges timeless structure that conveys Carson's message of the fragile, simple, concealed creature outlasting the most domineering life forms. Carson continues off of this line by describing how the sponge is unchanged, and she makes a highly probable prediction by saying they will remain this way for thousands of more years. “...all that remains when the living tissue is gone—are found in the first fossil bearing rocks...” ( Line 113, Paragraph 19). This line alludes back to the sponge's endless existence, and it adds emphasis to even when the sponge is gone, it will remain apart of the cave. This entire creation of the sponge's durability leaves the reader with Carson's final line, which unlike the rest of the passage uses a specific syntax. “The tide was rising.” (Line 124, Paragraph 22). This line is very short, unlike the rest of the sentence structure, but it is forward, discrete, and leaves the impact of the message. The line embodies the message that the all so powerful human, who believes to be immortal, can't endure, and cast its shadow over all aspects of life. When the tide rises, unlike the sponge that has called the destructive cave home, the human must exit. The line also provides reference back to the short existence of humans on the time line of Earth, and the ever immortal existence of such a simple lone survivor.

As the waves crash, as the tide swirls with anger, it isn't the man who built the ever so large building that survives. As the buildings come toppling down, the simple fixtures of life, the sponge will forever be the guest to this planet.