The Desert Solitaire: A Book Review
The Desert Solitaire is a book that was published by Edward Abbey in 1968. The story revolves around a park ranger who opts to venture out into the wilderness in a bid to keep away from the technology and human culture. He believes that doing this will put him closer to nature. The park ranger decided that his expedition would last about six months and therefore gathers enough supplies in order to ensure that he sustains himself. Abbey depicts the man as a person who is in love with nature since he spends a considerable amount of time admiring the beauty surrounding it. In chapter five of the book, the author endeavored to give his views concerning industrial tourism and he proceeded to outline the gains that have been realized in national parks. However, in as much as the author in the said chapter highlights some very plausible arguments in relation to doing away with vehicles inside national parks, he fails to appreciate the essence of the park service. It is therefore evident that the author's polemic fails to objectively portray his argument and consequently may seem like a rather biased criticism of the society from his personal conception of what he feels is right or wrong.
The Influence of Upbringing
It is important to point out that the author's polemic was informed from the experiences he had while working as a seasonal park ranger at Arches National Monument which exposed him to a raft of changes in the national park system. Cahalan (2003) argues that Abbey's ideologies stemmed out of the fact that he was brought up in a household that was known to scribe to both Marxist and socialist schools of thought which enhanced his uncompromising as well as radical nature. Abbey opted to narrate his polemic because it gave him the autonomy to find a suitable balance between employing humor as well as firmness in his arguments. This consequently enables the author to freely showcase his ideologies.
The Radical Nature of the Narrator
Abbey exaggerates the manner he describes some of the features in the landscape which ultimately makes his argument less plausible. Furthermore, the narrator in the story advances his polemic by portraying how the raft of changes has affected his life. Before the road network was expanded and the vehicles increased in numbers, Abbey was used to a quiet life and was not even used to the handful of people who were residing in Moab. The readers get the impression that the narrator is an introvert who does not fancy interacting with others. Abbey's radical ideologies, that might have been informed from his upbringing, are manifested when he states that he deems "drinking, prostitution, and living off unemployment insurance for the sake of burning billboards and defacing public institutions" (Abbey 51). Such revelations tend to cast aspersions on the credibility of the author in the eyes of the readers.
The Opposition Against Development Initiatives
It is also evident that the narrator is an individual who does not appreciate development initiatives such as the improvement of the road network at the park to increase efficiency. This is very ironical since ordinarily, people are expected to embrace and appreciate modernization and industrialization because of the gains that result from their incorporation in society. Furthermore, the author is cognizant that his fight against modernization of the park is pointless since he made it known to the readers that the changes in the road network had already been effected three years before he wrote his diatribe and therefore one wonders what was the essence of his written attacks yet the initiatives had already been actualized. Abbey was also aware that modernization was a new phenomenon then, that had already gained traction in the world and the people who were supposed to make use of the park had already embraced it. This, in essence, meant that the majority of the people had no problem with the infrastructure development initiatives that were ongoing at the Arches National Monument since it improved their experience at the park. Abbey's radical nature is further depicted when he ignores the engineer's explanation on the benefits of improving the road network and instead is convinced that he was "dealing with a madman" (Abbey 54). Any reasonable person would easily brand him the madman in this case since he was the one having a hard time conceptualizing the importance of embracing the logic behind modernity and industrialization. The justification that he gives for his polemic is that nature needs to be experienced in its original form without human intervention and it seems to him that the motor vehicles and the roads are efforts that have been put to tame the wilderness.
Abbey's Biased View on Government Revenue Collection
Abbey's conception of what is right or wrong makes him shun the idea of the government utilizing national parks as a revenue-generating initiative. He feels that since the landscape and everything contained in it were naturally occurring, the government should not charge the visitors when they come to explore. Moreover, the narrator disapproves of the idea that the government utilized a lot of funds to create roads whereas the money was "at least enough to pay the salaries of ten park rangers for ten years" (Abbey 54). Even though he does not qualify his assertion, Abbey is convinced that many people desire to experience nature in its original state. Such remarks tend to highlight the fact that Abbey was out on a fishing expedition and did not take time to find substantive evidence to corroborate his assertions. Ordinarily, the government levies revenue in some of the public places such as national parks since taking care of such resources costs some considerable amount of funds. The government, by building roads at the park, was a way of adding value to the otherwise natural resource and consequently, it was justified to utilize it as a source of income.
A Rigid and Biased Individual
Through his polemic, Abbey depicts himself as a rigid and biased individual who has refused to embrace change. This seems like an intentional thing in order to ensure that the audiences independently construe the underlying message in the story. The polemic is also seen as Abbey's attempt to avoid being romantic in a bid to persuasively appeal to readers. However, as Shelton states, this was an epic fail since by virtue of his nature, Abbey was "an arch-romantic trying desperately not to be a romantic" (Shelton 102). This contradiction can easily be seen when the author tries to paint an image of the tensions that affect the desert. Shelton argues that "No character in any of his novels has the depth, the believability, the absolute feel of a real person that Ed Abbey in Desert Solitaire has" (Shelton 104). However, on the positive side, the tensions in the story advance the author's polemic persuasively.
Opposition to Change for Efficient Service Delivery
The changes in the national park have been initiated in order to improve efficient and effective service delivery to all people who visit the park. It is also evident that the government, through the changes, intended to ensure that more people are able to access the park. Therefore it would be correct to state that the initiatives were noble and had the interests of society at heart. Any ordinary person would have a hard time conceptualizing how building roads is an undesirable thing that needs to be opposed. Abbey justifies his position by stating that people need to have a natural experience when visiting the parks. He argues that "A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles" (Abbey 67). It seems that the narrator is not alive to the fact that there are a number of people who might not be in a position to have their park experience in the way he puts it. People who are paralyzed, sick, young or elderly might not be able to walk on foot, ride on a horseback or on a bicycle. Therefore, in a bid to accommodate them, the government saw it fit to pave the roads. However, Abbey disregards this point of view and states that "Frankly, we need waste little sympathy on these two pressure groups" (Abbey 67). This statement paints a picture of a rather inconsiderate person who is not mindful of other members of society as long as he has had his way.
Radical Ideas Rooted in Over-Dependence on Technology
The ideologies being fronted by Abbey, though sounding too radical and somehow ridiculous, might have been due to the over-dependence of technology. During the period when the book was being published, the world had made immense strides in technological advancements which had improved the quality of life in various aspects. Resources such as national parks and forests needed to be utilized in order to develop infrastructure. Sectors such as tourism recorded immense changes after modernization and technology were incorporated. Consequently, this made technology an integral part of experiencing nature. Some of the members of the society who held conservative ideals felt that this overdependence limited the ability to enjoy the wildlife in its original state. This belief is what drives the radical ideas that are contained in the Desert Solitaire. However, as Abbey stated in the book, "Critics of my program will argue that it is too late for such a radical reformation of a people's approach to the out-of-doors, that the pattern is too deeply set…" (Abbey 70). The author had all the time in the world to spearhead his ideas but only did so after industrialization had already taken root in the national parks and most of the people had gotten used to it. Departing from this practice would have been an impossible fete and the contemporary world has fully embraced technology. Finally, it is clear from the text that the author was not interested in developing an objective argument that considered the competing interests. Abbey's polemic was largely premised on his rigid ideas and biases that influenced his perception of what was right or wrong.
Works Cited
Abbey, Edward. Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.
Print.
Cahalan, James M. Edward Abbey: A Life. University of Arizona Press, 2003. Print.
Shelton, Richard. "Creeping up on Desert Solitaire." Resist Much, Obey Little: Some Notes on
Edward Abbey. Ed. James Hepworth and Gregory McNamee. Tucson: Harbinger House (1985): 71-87.
