Respond: Barbara Kingsolver & Steven L. Hopp, “Springing Forward” and “The Strange Case of Percy Schmeiser” from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
RESPOND •
1. Obviously, both Kingsolver and Hopp oppose genetically modified plants and organisms. What arguments do they offer for their positions? How convincing do you find them?
2. How do these two selections work together? In other words, how does each provide a context for and comment on the other?
3. Kingsolver’s use of language is especially noteworthy; in fact, it should come as no surprise that she is a successful writer of fiction and poetry. Choose several examples of interesting word choices or figurative language that she uses, and be prepared to discuss them and the ways that they contribute to her argument. (Chapter 13 on style in argument will help you here.) How does Kingsolver’s use of language differ from Hopp’s? Why might they differ in these ways?
4. Compare and contrast the arguments Kingsolver and Hopp offer against genetically modified food and organisms with the arguments offered in their favor by Robert Paarlberg in the previous selection, “Attention Whole Foods Shoppers” and by David H. Freedman in the next selection, “Are Engineered Foods Evil?” To what extent are they addressing the same sets of issues, and to what extent are they focusing on different aspects of those issues?
5. How might Kingsolver and Hopp respond to the opening selection in this chapter, Christian R. Weisser’s “Sustainability”? What is sustainability for Kingsolver and Hopp?
6. As noted, Kingsolver’s style is very much one that we associate with writers of fiction and poetry (despite her training as a scientist), and it contrasts markedly not only with the style used by Hopp but also with those used by Paarlberg and Freedman. In two to three healthy paragraphs, summarize Kingsolver’s arguments about genetically modified foods, and present her arguments in the style of a research paper on this topic. In a very basic way, you will be constructing an argument of fact, as discussed in Chapter 8, where the facts you use come from Kingsolver’s text. (Because you’ll need to use paraphrases and direct quotations, Chapter 20 on using sources, Chapter 21 on plagiarism and academic integrity, and Chapter 22 on documenting sources will prove useful.)