Introduction
The Best of Edward Abbey was written by Edward Abbey. He was an American essayist and novelist who inspired thousands of people with his views on the natural environment and industrialization. (Loeffler, 64) Edward Abbey expressed his views in his numerous writings. The Best of Edward Abbey is a compilation of excerpts from the author’s most favorite works. The result is an enticing book that seeks to help us think out of the box in regards to environmental issues.
This paper will analyze the rhetorical devices that the author has used in this book. The paper will look at their effect and success and their relation to the intended audience. Patterns of strategies and content will be identified and analyzed. This paper will also look at the biographical information of the author Edward Abbey and its relation to The Best of Edward Abbey. (Loeffler, 72)
Discussion
The Best of Edward Abbey is a compilation of excerpts from Edward Abbey books. Edward Abbey did this himself so that he could portray what he thought was “both the best and most representative” (Colby, 452) of his writing. This book shows the environmental anarchist and crusader that the author was. This book consists of some of his best works. They include Desert Solitaire. This is a classic work. Another renowned work is The Monkey Wrench Gang. The book also contains several essays. (Colby, 452)
Edward Abbey is aware of the environmental degradation that has characterized civilization. He wishes to protect the wilderness, or whatever is left of it. (Bishop, 24) This causes him to write a series of novels and essays that are captioned in this book. The Best of Edward Abbey captures what Edward Abbey believes to be his best compositions. The author seeks to expose bits and pieces of his work that are more likely to be accepted by a reader who has not previously been exposed to his writings. This might have been in response to critics who have decried the lack of ethics in his writings and what he advocates through them. (Bishop, 27)
Edward Abbey is quite a credible character and this book can be given a considerable amount of credibility because of this fact. He was born in Pennsylvania and lived there for the majority of his life. He was exposed to the wilderness that he so fondly protects in his writings. He was born in a developed country and is thus in a perfect position to understand the effects of this human development. The author is quite informed on environmental issues. Edward Abbey holds a degree in philosophy. He has also been tutored at the University of Edinburgh. This author has been a ranger for the United States National Park Service. (Colby, 451)
He carried out this service at Arches National Park. It is located in Utah and is quite close to the town of Moab. This area was full of uranium mines and had a sense of hopelessness. This is the location for the creation of his world renowned Desert Solitaire. (Dunaway & Spurgeon, 110) Edward Abbey shows his love of the outside in this book. This can be identified by a look at his time as a ranger. This time is part of the content of Desert Solitaire. He describes the pleasure he enjoys in isolation in the wilderness. This isolation might be a cause for his radical environmentalism. (Bishop, 24) His experience and qualifications thus make him a credible character that has authority to write such a book.
In The Best of Edward Abbey the narrator has an agenda. Abbey attacks the industrialist establishment and blames it for destroying the natural environment. This can be shown in Down the River. In it, he expresses a great love for the wilderness. “The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need — if only we had the eyes to see.” (Abbey, 65)
He also shows an equally strong dislike for western culture. “Our culture runs on coffee and gasoline, the first often tasting like the second.” (Abbey, 87) His love of nature is expressed in The Journey Home. “All we have, it seems to me, is the beauty of art and nature and life, and the love which that beauty inspires.” (Abbey, 54) Edward Abbey tries to defend the natural environment from uncontrolled development. He praises the beauty of the wilderness while blaming industry for its continued destruction of the wild.
He aims to teach people about the importance and beauty of landscape that has not been interfered with by man. He persuades his audience to preserve the natural environment. In Desert Solitaire he writes, “We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge even though we may not ever need to go there.” (Abbey, 109) He does this using humor and other literary devices.
The intended audience of The Best of Edward Abbey is the general public as well as environmental lobbyists and similar guests. The author seeks to persuade them to take efforts to preserve the environment. He wishes to let them know that the human development has interfered with the wild environment. He writes, “The domination of nature leads to the domination of human nature.” (Abbey, 145) He believes that his audience holds a respect for the environment. Edward Abbey wishes to exploit that respect to make them start protecting the wilderness more actively. His secondary audience includes students in high school and other levels of learning.
This book includes excerpts from several works of fiction and non-fiction. The Monkey Wrench Gang is a work of fiction. Down the River is a work of non-fiction. The nature of the audience is revolutionary in the Monkey Wrench Gang. He influences them with his talk about a radical gang that went around the country trying to stop the development of the wilderness. This radicalism is seen throughout the other excerpts in this book. “Of course I litter the public highway. Every chance I get. After all, it’s not the beer cans that are ugly; it’s the highway that is ugly.” (Abbey, 156)
The main idea in The Best of Edward Abbey is the protection of the earth from human development. This idea is given throughout the book. Edward Abbey suggests that this protection does not have to take traditional avenues such as courts and the senate. He calls for radical environmentalism and opposes development of natural sceneries such as the Grand Canyon. Abbey reasons that the wilderness should be preserved even though we do not visit or use it often.
Instead of the ordinary environmental activism, Abbey advocates a radical type of environmentalism. (Quigley, 14) This is best portrayed in the Monkey Wrench Gang. Here a group of youths vandalize road construction and other equipment in the interest of preserving nature. Abbey appeals to reason by describing the beauty of the wilderness and the damage that man has done to it. This causes us to logically see that man is the cause of that damage.
He writes about the importance of nature and compels his readers to defend it. This evokes an emotional and logical response in his audience. The emotional part is due to the connection that his readers establish with nature. The logical connection comes about when he explains the importance of the wilderness to humanity. (Abbey, 211)
The Best of Edward Abbey consists of various chapters that give a message of environmental protectionism. The book is rich in humor and contrast. It also has instances of sarcasm. “Knowing now what we have learned, unless the need were urgent, I could no more sink the blade of an ax into the tissues of a living tree than I could drive it into the flesh of a fellow human.” (Abbey, 19) Symbolism is a feature in The Best of Edward Abbey. “To die alone, on rock under sun at the brink of the unknown, like a wolf, like a great bird, seems to me very good fortune indeed.” “The earth is not a mechanism but an organism, a being with its own life and its own reasons….” (Abbey, 178)
The form of this book complements its content. The narration is first hand in many instances and this has the effect of making the logical and emotional appeal to have a greater impact on the audience. It makes the audience have a more active connection with the author and the ideals that he argues for in this book. The Best of Edward Abbey is meant for the general population that is concerned with the state of the environment.
This also includes college students and other interested groups such as environmental activists and conservatives. Edward Abbey gives a message that is current since the book was released at a time when there was an increased interest in the preservation of the natural environment. (Colby, 451) This had the effect of generating a keener interest in this book. This book is however not perfectly fitting for the audience. This is because the book is quite vulgar and suggests a male chauvinist philosophy that is unsettling to a majority of readers. “When I write ‘paradise’ I mean not only apple trees and golden women but also scorpions and tarantulas and flies, rattlesnakes and Gila monsters….” (Abbey, 70)
Women are treated as objects rather than persons in this book. One instance of vulgarity is this. “My job is to save the fucking wilderness. I don’t know anything else worth saving.” (Abbey, 80)This book was a subject of controversy. The responses to his books included formations of radical environmental gangs that were mostly inspired by Abbey’s works. Some people undermined this book.
They stated that one had better buy the books where the excerpts come from rather than buying the Best of Edward Abbey which is a compilation of those excerpts. Many people have lauded this book for its vivid descriptions and idealism. His approach to the preservation of American and other worldwide nature sceneries has been accepted by many environmentalists. He depicts the nature in Australia and other regions such as Arizona in a unique and favorable manner that causes his audience to envision the beauty of nature. (Abbey, 129)
The Best of Edward Abbey is a work that has obviously been produced by a person who is interested in the preservation of the natural environment. Due to its radical idealism, the author is obviously not an ordinary environmentalist. He advocates for the use of violence in the protection of the natural environment. He disregards the ordinary norms of environmentalists. (Ronald, 61) For example he tosses beer cans onto the highway because he believes that the highway itself is a form of pollution. (Abbey, 90)
Contemporary environmentalists usually call for contemporary development but Edward Abbey seems to call for no development at all. The location is this writing is spread out over more than one continent. It describes the Arizona and Pennsylvania wilderness. It describes desert landscapes in America as well as Australian landscapes. The time described in this book is a time where there was a heightened awareness of environmental degradation.
The Best of Edward Abbey has a dominant theme that is expressed throughout the book. This is the battle between nature and industrialism. Abbey shows how industrialism has attacked nature and natural landscapes. He decries how tarmac roads are built in national parks and how this destroys the natural environment. He claims that the nature of man has destroyed nature. Another them is male chauvinism and a rebellion to government. He refers to women as lesser beings. He also seems to praise rebellion due to his behavior and the depiction of characters in this book. This book takes several narration styles. Some excerpts use first person narration style.
Others such as The Lone Ranger use a second person narration style. (Pozza, 68) Symbolism is also an occurrence in this book. He makes several comparisons. He uses vivid descriptions to describe landscapes and this evokes in the reader a better insight and interest in natural environments. The unifying character of the book is the great respect and adoration for the natural environment. (Abbey, 155)
Conclusion
The Best of Edward Abbey is a book that reflects the radical ideas of Edward Abbey. In it he takes excerpts from a number of his favorite works. He reveals his love for the environment that reflects his birth place of Pennsylvania. The book has detailed descriptions of various natural environments. Readers are enticed to start defending the environment. He diverts from the ordinary avenues of environmentalism by advocating for a more hands on approach. This includes sabotage. The book has been widely acclaimed. (Quigley, 14)
Works Cited
Abbey, Edward. The Best of Edward Abbey. San Francisco: Sierra Club, 1988.
Bishop, James. Epitaph for a desert anarchist: the life and legacy of Edward Abbey. Atheneum, 1994.
Colby, Vineta. World authors, 1980-1985. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1991.
Dunaway, David King, & Spurgeon, Sara L. Writing the Southwest. California: University of New Mexico Press, 2003.
Loeffler, Jack. Adventures with Ed: A Portrait of Abbey. New York: UNM Press, 2003.
Pozza, David M. Bedrock and paradox: the literary landscape of Edward Abbey. California: Peter Lang, 2006.
Quigley, Peter. Coyote in the maze: tracking Edward Abbey in a world of words. Utah: University of Utah Press, 1998.
Ronald, Ann. The New West of Edward Abbey. Nevada: University of Nevada Press, 2000.