The Monkey Wrench Gang, written by Edward Abbey, is a fictional piece of literature advocating environmental issues and radical anarchism. “We can have wilderness without freedom,” Abbey said. “We can have wilderness without human life at all; but we cannot have freedom without wilderness”(xvi). The Monkey Wrench Gang was set in 1975, after the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. There was a new sense of environmental awareness in the seventies enforced by the Federal government, including The National Environmental Policy, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and the Water Pollution Control Act (wiki). Abbey spent a majority of his life defending and living for environmental justice of the American Southwest. The Monkey Wrench Gang …show more content…
The reader is drawn into the intensity of the situations and the personalities of each individual as the adventure highlights socially and politically controversial issues. Abbey incorporated several themes within the book, such as Environment and the industry, the effect of industry on the environment, radical environmentalism, and social conflict between the characters, culture, and motivation to save the land from its enemy. The Monkey Wrench Gang said, “It’s our duty” and “We’re going to be heroes”(189), advocating for environmental justice. Edward Abbey’s, Monkey Wrench Gang consists of the old liberal doctor, the Bronx’s own feminist Bonnie Azzbug, the Mormon river guide, and the outspoken Vietnam Vet Hayduke. Dr. Sarvis is depicted as the wise old doc with the financial means to fund the trip and just incase, a great lawyer. Often, Dr. Sarvis’ head is held high on his shoulders insisting no weapons, no violence and “anarchy isn’t the answer”(74). Previous to the trip, Doc and Bonnie would protest polluting the scenery of the Southwest by burning billboards along highway 66 during the night. When the group needed to purchase their supplies they didn’t want to appear as a …show more content…
In the beginning of the book Abbey mentions industrial expansion of dams, power lines, power plants, bridges, railroads, pipelines, copper smelters, roads, campgrounds and tourism, mines, cars, and machines. Doc compares industrialism to cancer as he rants, “A planetary industrialism-growing like a cancer. Growth for the sake of growth”(64). Abbeys descriptions of the construction machines was always portrayed as a large monster allowing the reader to see the entirety of the potential size and destruction, The reference to industrialism was always portrayed as a negative operation. When the group raided the Comb Wash mine, they referred to the machines as “Iron
Character Development in Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang. Search and Rescue, Utah State Police, and Bishops of the Church of Latter-Day Saints chase a group of bridge destroying, billboard burning, bulldozer mutilating eco-terrorists through the desert of the Southwest. The group known as the Monkey Wrench Gang consists of four very different characters: Seldom Seen Smith, also known as Joseph Smith, George Washington Hayduke, Doctor A. K. Sarvis, and Bonnie Abbzug. Each character has his own opinion of why nature needs to be saved. The group decides to make their mark on nature by "taking care" of the different machines, roads and bridges that are destroying it.
The Industrial Revolution began in England during the late 1700s, and by the end of its era, had created an enormous amount of both positive and negative effects on the world in social, economic, and even political ways. The revolution began to spread across the world, raising the standard of life for the populations in both Europe and North America throughout the 1800s. However, even with all of its obvious benefits, its downsides are nonnegotiable, forcing workers into horrendous living and working conditions, all inside of unkempt cities. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because of the railroad system, it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization’s
In the Monkey Wrench Gang there are four main characters: Bonnie Abbzug, Doc Sarvis, Seldom Seen Smith and George Hayduke. As individuals they never become much of a threat but as a team the fire really begins to spread. Out of all these characters Hayduke is the most prominent idealist. Hayduke is a beer-guzzling, veteran of the Vietnam War who has a grudge against the American government. The rebellious slob, sick of the human civilization and their unappreciation for the desert, decides to join forces with the others to save the American Southwest from a wrongful death. "My job is to save the f@#*ing wilderness. I don't know anything else worth saving."-Hayduke (211).
This confusion can be seen in two reports from separate journals that differ greatly--so much so that the ability to attribute them to the same issue seems unlikely and unrealistic. William Alexander Abram, a journalist and historian in the 1860’s, wrote an article about the vast improvements made during the industrialization process (Doc 6). Abram specifically mentions the Hours of Labor in Factories Act of 1844 that prohibited excessively long work days. Additionally, Abram mentioned the increased wages and the subsequent increase quality of life. Abram attempts to justify any issues with the industrialization by addressing the new, more spacious cotton mill and the lower sickness and mortality rates. Abram describes the positive forces that arose during the industrialization to outweigh the mass concerns people had about the laboring class’s working conditions. This positive opinion is counteracted by an image included in a magazine from the 1870’s that shows the visual of a bridge and its surrounding factories at the time (Doc 7). The Graphic, a weekly magazine that dealt with social issues, included the view from Blackfriars bridge over the River Irwell that contained the numerous factories concentrated in the one location. The Graphic was famously influential within the art world for its use of imagery and attempt to conquer grand social issues with art. The factories are all emitting gas and the general conditions of the streets and buildings is less than ideal. This negative portrayal of the industrialization sheds a different light on the effects of industrialization. Between these two conflicting articles, it is difficult to see the true extent of the industrializations process’s benefits and harms. This uncertainty also supports the proposed
The Industrial Revolution was a booming age for the United States that, though it brought many improvements in technology, caused many controversial events to take place.. Through the story Life in the Iron-mills, Rebecca Harding Davis proves the negativity of the factories from the Industrial Revolution. She proves this from personification, symbolism/metaphors, and also visual imagery. Rebecca Harding Davis proves through her writing, that the effect of industrialism in not pretty.
Through the course of the book, White confidently proves that in the end the Columbia River was always in charge and nature will always overcome mankind’s efforts. The book showed that the previous thought of mankind being the boss of the environment and that mankind dictates the terms is shown as untrue. The Organic Machine known as the Columbia River will restore its balance, different societies have tried to govern the river but the river ends up governing them, and human modifications might affect the river but nature and the environment will always see victory.
The Industrial Revolution stimulated new ways of advancing technology as it spread throughout Great Britain. The issues raised by the growth of Manchester demonstrate the struggles of the working class and the devastating impact of industrialization on the environment and the will of the
The technological aspect of the industrial revolution is the development of machines which are used in industries for instance the Slatter’s mill founded for the milling of cotton (Library of Congress).
When they are first stranded on the island, the boys use the conch to symbolize order and democracy. The boys use the conch to call assemblies and meetings and only the boy with the conch is allowed to speak. The conch comes to represent the boys’ civilization. As the book goes on, the boys begin to disobey the “conch rules”, and this leads to most of the boys becoming savages. They disobeyed the conch rules by speaking
In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of British schoolboys are stranded on an island, and soon find that fending for themselves and staying civilized is not as easy as they thought it would be. Although they start off with an organized society, through interactions with each other and objects around them, they become completely savage over time. Golding employs the symbolism of Jack, the conch shell, and the beast to serve the purpose of the allegory of the inherent evil of the human race.
The Industrial Revolution was a time of immense changes that occurred in the manufacturing process, transportation means, and economy of the agriculture, textile, and metal industries in England, turning it into “the workshop of the world”
Industrial Revolution, which took place over much of the nineteenth century, had many advantages. It provided people with tools for a better life; people were no longer dependent on the land for all of their goods. The Industrial Revolution made it possible for people to control nature more than they ever had before. However, now people were dependent on the new machines of the Industrial Age (1). The Revolution brought with it radical changes in the textile and engine worlds; it was a time of reason and innovations. Although it was a time of progress, there were drawbacks to the headway made in the Industrial Revolution. Granted, it provided solutions to the problems of a world without industry. However, it also created problems with its mechanized inventions that provided new ways of killing. Ironically, there was much public faith in these innovations; however, these were the same inventions that killed so many and contributed to a massive loss of faith. These new inventions made their debut in the first world war (2) ).
The Industrial Revolution was a period from 1750 to 1850 where agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and technology went through a period of significant change. These changes had a profound impact on the social and cultural conditions of the time, beginning in the Untied Kingdom and spreading throughout Western Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. The Industrial Revolution, considered a major turning point in history, effected almost every aspect of daily life; through new discoveries in technology came new jobs; through new jobs came new working conditions; through new working conditions came new laws and new politics, the repercussions of which extend to today. As Crump emphasizes: ‘The world as we have come to know it in the twenty-first century is impossible to understand without looking at the foundations laid – mainly in the English-speaking world of the eighteenth century – in the course of what is now known, but not then, as the ‘Industrial Revolution’ .
Great Britain’s natural resources were a major factor in its early industrialization. One of the main resources was the abundance of both coal and iron. These two elements could be easily used in many different aspects of industrialization, and the amount of each led innovators to use them in all aspects of manufacturing in order to lower costs. Due
“Industrial Revolution is the period of major industrialization that took place during the late 1700s and early 1800s.” Britain was the ‘mother’ of the Industrial Revolution. During that period Britain was making great strides in the innovation of new materials such as the development of superior steel, cast iron and glass. For a time, this gave Britain the advantage over most ‘advanced’ countries in development, mostly as it relates to construction. There were also great developments in the field of agriculture, manufacturing and power generation. This sensation of development quickly spread worldwide and had a changing effect on culture, economics and social idealism. Most importantly, the Industrial Revolution completely metamorphosized the architecture world. It opened new doors for designing which led to the Modern Architecture movement today.