Jessi
Duffner
Dr.
Johns
Seminar
in Composition
24
September 2014
Abbey’s Inspitarion
As stated in the prompt, Abbey references
literary works quite frequently. While each work has a different connection to
the book, they all play an important role in helping the reader understand
Abbey more clearly. The two works I have decided to focus on are The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin
and On Desert Trails , a collection
of works by Everett Ruess. In the chapter “Episodes and Visions” Abbey asks the
reader a few rhetorical questions. He states, “There are mountain men, there
are men of the sea, and there are desert rats. I am a desert rat. But why? […]
The majority of the world’s great spirits, from Homer to Melville and Conrad,
have felt the call of the sea and responded to its power and mystery[…] The
desert, however, has been relatively neglected” (298-299). After Abbey briefly
states why he loves the desert so much, he claims the desert is not entirely
ignored and lists several works in which others have explored the desert.
Among these works is a piece titled The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin.
This book is similar to Desert Solitaire in that it is a collection of short
stories and essays. Austin writes about the people and the environment of the
American Southwest. One main similarity I noticed between the two writers is
how they portray the desert. They use the contradicting statements. When Abbey
talks about plant life in the desert he refers to the cactus by saying, “The
cactus of the high desert is a small grubby, obscure and humble vegetable
associated with cattle dung and overgrazing, interesting only when you tangle
with it the wrong way. Yet from this nest of thorns, this snare of hooks and
fiery spines, is born once each year a splendid flower” (Abbey 29). The cactus
plant can be very harmful, yet the flowers growing from it are beautiful. The
same idea of beauty and harshness is displayed by Austin when she professes, “There
are hills, rounded, blunt, burned, squeezed up out of chaos, chrome and
vermilion painted, aspiring to the snow-line. Between the hills lie high
level-looking plains full of intolerable sun glare, or narrow valleys drowned
in a blue haze. Where the mountains are steep and the rains heavy, the pool is
never quite dry, but dark and bitter, rimmed about with the efflorescence of
alkaline deposits” (Austin 1). She pushes the reader away from the idea of
comfort in the desert, but still presents the thought of beauty and hope. Abbey
and Austin use contradiction to help the reader fully experience the desert. In
my opinion, I believe Abbey pulls his style of writing from Austin’s work.
Another book briefly mentioned by Abbey
is On Desert Trails. This book is a
collection of Ruess’ writings, which were compiled after his disappearance.
Ruess traveled through the American southwest by himself. His disappearance is
still a mystery to this day. However, the similarities I noticed between the
writing of Abbey and the writing of Ruess is their animosity towards the human
lifestyle. As Ruess states in the last letter he writes to his brother, dated
November 11, 1934, "I have not tired of the wilderness; rather I enjoy its
beauty and the vagrant life I lead, more keenly all the time. I prefer the
saddle to the streetcar and star-sprinkled sky to a roof, the obscure and
difficult trail, leading into the unknown to any paved highway, and the deep peace
of the wild to the discontent bred by cities." It appears as though Ruess’
lifestyle inspired Abbey. We see the same feeling of enmity towards human
lifestyle in Desert Solitaire. Abbey remarks, “My God! I am thinking,
what incredible shit we put up with most of our lives – the domestic
routine (same old wife every night) […] the foul diseased and hideous
cities and towns we live in, the constant petty tyranny of automatic
washers and automobiles and TV machines and telephone!” (Abbey 193). They both
have an uncommon, overflowing love for the desert. Neither Ruess nor Abbey
wants to conform to the traditional style of living. While slightly over
exaggerating, they both present clear arguments as to why they feel this way.
While Abbey refers to many songs, books
and poems, I believe On Desert Trails
and The Land of Little Rain have an
undeniable impact on Desert Solitaire
as a whole. Abbey’s perspective and writing style reflect the two works and
give background to Abbey’s decisions.
Works
Cited:
Abbey, Edward. Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wildrness. New York: Ballantine,
1968. Print.
Austin, Mary. The Land of Little Rain.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.
Web. 23 Sept. 2014. <http://web.archive.org/web/20110212071837/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=AusRain.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1>.
"Everett Ruess Quotes." Good
Reads. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/445669.Everett_Ruess>.
Within the context of the prompt, this is very nice. You find not one but two books, you read enough of both to get a sense of them, you briefly sketch out a possible line of influence, and you are *specific* about how they relate to Abbey. You do all of this with a clear, coherent style, without either too much or too little detail. So far, so good.
ReplyDeleteIf you revise, though, you need to turn it into more of an essay. So rather than saying - here are two books which Abbey cited, here's why they are interesting - you would want to make *one* specific argument.
What should that argument be? I have one idea, although you might have others.
"She pushes the reader away from the idea of comfort in the desert, but still presents the thought of beauty and hope. Abbey and Austin use contradiction to help the reader fully experience the desert. In my opinion, I believe Abbey pulls his style of writing from Austin’s work." This is a nice hint. So here's my question: if Abbey is influenced by Austin's style, what does that mean? What is he learning from her, and how does that help us interpret his work? If you can answer that question convincingly (using further specifics from both books, of course) you have a worthy topic.