“The Monkey Wrench Gang” is a novel that was written by Edward Abbey an American famous and fictitious author who lived between years 1927 to the year 1989.The novel was published in the year 1975. The novel is important as far as environmental issues are concerned as it talks about the use of sabotage to protest against environmental damaging. The environmental damaging activities had been witnessed in the Southwest United States. Abbey was influenced by the term “monkeywrench", and this was interpreted to mean any sabotage machine that was used to fight for environmental conservation in the Southwestern United States (Abbey, 23). The sabotage mechanisms adopted during the "monkeywrench” campaign included the law-making, activism and law-breaking. These mechanisms were meant to preserve the ecosystem, wild spaces and also wildlife. Many people have referred the novel as a comic book that seeks to protect the environment through comic actions. The author believes that to protect the American wilderness not only requires immense efforts from all the stakeholders but also requires a little of the old suspension and willingness of disbelief from all the American citizens.
The story is centered on the Veteran George Washington Hayduke III who happens to return to the desert to look for his beloved rivers and canyons that have been threatened by the industrial development. While in the desert, he finds other environmental activists who are willing to protect the environment and they joined hands together. The activists that he met in the desert included feminist Saboteur Bonnie Abbzug, road builders and miners. Furthermore, wilderness guide Seldom Seen Smith also joins them in fighting for the protection of the Wilderness Rivers and the surrounding bushes and forests (Abbey, 79). Together they wander off and stage a war whose aim was to protects the desert environment from the hands of the industrial developers whose activities had threatened the Desert Rivers, which were the sources of water for the desert residents and wild animals.
Abbey voiced the concerned about wilderness preservation as he roams around the canyonlands of the Southern Utah. Abbey calls his team the “monkeywrench” gang to signify the importance of joining efforts to protect the environment and wilderness animals that included monkeys. The “gang” moved from one place to the other addressing the issues concerning the environmental protection. Their movement from one place to another in the desert made their enemies to fear them. As the “monkeywrench gang" moved from one area to another in the wilderness, they laughed at their enemies who were the main environmental destructors (Abbey, 47). This made the novel be referred to as the comic book rather than any normal novel. Most of the actions taking place in novel are more of a comedy than the normal actions. The author employed the comic actions because he wanted his readers to understand the challenges found in the desert and, in turn, get to love the desert itself. The book is well known as a fictional book, and its aim is to liberate the Arizona and Utah desert from the activities of environmental destructors such as the miners, rednecks and road-builders. The book is important as it fueled new, ambitious and young environmentalist. The group called itself the "Earth First" and to protect the environmental, they engaged in sabotage and "monkey-wrenching" activities whose main aim was to protect the wilderness. The team worked together to destroy any system in the desert that was seen as the great pollutants of the desert environment especially in the American west. According to the "gang", the enemies are those who were tasked with building the Southwest of the United States. The environmental activists argue that in the process of developing the desert, they end up befouling the air, despoiling the land and destroying the sacred beauty of nature. The team’s main concern was on the Glen Canyon Dam as the dam was considered as the main tourism attraction center in the Utah desert.
The Monkey Wrench Gang novel has inspired a lot of environmental activists such as David Foreman. David was in the forefront to form the Earth First organization that advocated for less vandalism of environment. The book has many scenes with billboards campaigning for the preservation of the environment and its inhabitants. For example, there is a symbol of the Earth Liberation Front which shows a monkey with a wrench and a hammer destroying the buildings found in the desert areas.
The main theme of the novel is the environmental conservation. Being in the forefront, Abbey shows how the human being can contribute to environmental protection by applying various mechanisms such as sabotage. Sabotage enabled the environmental activists to go against activities that were being undertaken by the residents of the desert. According to the author, the gang sabotages the desert builders, miners and road builders. The gang saw these activities as forms of environmental destruction and in turn, they go against them. Instead of supporting the road building, mining and desert building, they sabotage these activities. The actors went through several areas teaching people the importance of conserving the environment. Most of those who were involved in the mining and road building were influenced by the gang, and they joined it in advocating for the environmental protection. At times, the team could break the laws as they sabotage for the environmental protection. As they move through the desert, the team encountered some challenges. Some residents of the desert could not give them support. The government of the desert, later on, came up with laws that promoted the development of the desert roads and this, in turn, affected the environmental advocators. As a result of this, the team changed its tactics and approached the desert residents in civilization. The team engaged the civilization with the culture.
Even though the sabotage adopted by the group was against the laws and culture of the desert government, they had an option but to teach the residents the importance of conserving the environment for future generations. Abbey reports that the "Wrench Gang” were determined to protect the environment, and they even vow to die so as to achieve their mission of conserving the environment. Civilization was seen by the group as the most significant approach for advocating environmental conservation in a holistic manner. According to the team, this could mean that all the environmental actors are involved in the process. The government of the desert was also approached to get involved in the environmental conservation process. Through this approach, the team believed that it would achieve its vision and that there would be a long-lasting solution to the environmental problem unlike when the group campaigns alone. Desert conservation was what drove the group until they advocated for the conservation of the environment. The group viewed that it was important to conserve all the rivers in Southwestern part of America. The wilderness was facing a lot of threats from the desert builders, miners and road builders which necessitated the group to go against the legislation set.
Even though the approaches employed by the team to address the issue of wilderness protection were effective, they were faced with a myriad of shortcomings. Many people saw the issue of wilderness protection as an outdated issue that did not require any attention at all. Abbey reports that many people in the desert were dissatisfied with the sabotage employed by the team to address the issue. Additionally, people saw the team’ activities as self-centered and not meant to benefit the community. People saw sabotage as a tool of going against the government for selfish gains by the "gang." Residents of the desert have been benefiting from mining and road building and thus for them to sabotage the activities was going to curtail their daily bread from the activities.
The issue of desert protection is a critical issue that is relevant even in the current society. Desert protection is one of the forms of environment protection. However, the approaches that were employed to protect the desert by the team are outdated and needs to be refined (Ghimire, 67). The current approaches includes coming with strategies that would protect the desert and that respect the rule of law. The approaches should be holistic in nature and also cater for the needs of the desert residents.
Works Cited
Abbey, Edward. The Monkey Wrench Gang. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 2005. Print.
Abbey, Edward, and Michael Kramer. The Monkey Wrench Gang. Old Saybrook: Tantor, 2012. Print.
Abbey, Edward, and David Petersen. Postcards from Ed: Dispatches and Salvos from an American Iconoclast. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 2006. Print.
Abbey, Edward, and Paul Shay. Hayduke Lives! Newport Beach: Books on Tape, 2000. Print.
California Desert Protection Act of 1987: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Public Lands, National Parks, and Forests of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundredth Congress, First Session, on S. 7 July 21 and 23, 1987. Washington: U.S. G.P.O, 2007. Print.
Ghimire, Krishna, and Michel P. Pimbert. Social Change and Conservation: Environmental Politics and Impacts of National Parks and Protected Areas. London: Earthscan Publications, 1997. Print.
