For your post I'd like you to write about whatever interested you in
your reading of "Cape Solitude." I hope something interested you, but
if nothing comes to mind, please respond to one of the questions below.
Kindly refer to some specifics to demonstrate that you took the time to
read the essay.
Q: Is Abbey doing something different than Steinbeck or William LHM? Are the motivations similar?
Q: Can you compare Ed Abbey with Doc?
Q: Why do
you think he chooses this place for his catharsis / redemption /
resurrection? Does the fact that it overlooks an "abyss" have anything
to do with it?
Q: Why does he seem to have problems with the direction of the US? (he wrote this in 1980).
Q: How would you characterize Abbey's unique and highly personalized tone?
Feel free to write what you like -- but I'd like to see at least
one reference to another person's post and some references to "Cape
Solitude." mrh
I think Ed Abbey doesn't appreciate the current direction of the US (the 1980s United States) because that era contains so many stagnant plans. This frustration is clearly seen when Ed Abbey discusses the meaning of revolution. "What do you mean another [revolution]? We have yet to see the first." The 1980s was only the beginning of the United States picking up the pieces of the earlier conflicts and issues that occurred in the 1970s. Only slowly in the 1980s did average family income rise. The sexual revolution was barely in its hey day, and the female population in the work force had just met the number of men. And many racial barriers were broken politically and socially. These changes were not that drastic. The tone with which Abbey ascribes to the revolution in the United States is more of a lukewarm, sputtering start. Although Abbey believes that the American population is laying dormant in terms of their abilities, he maintains a staunch faith in later progress. Abbey wants drastic change now, not five years from now.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sally, but I believe Abbey just flat out doesn't care enough to do anything about it. The story begins with the statement: "There comes a time when man must hide." He goes on to say: "I wonder why I should return. Someday I won't" and "... let others save the world for the time being." I believe that Abbey would enjoy change, as Sally said, but I believe he won't do anything about it. The feeling I get from his writing is that he is too lazy to help society. The solution for him is to go away from it all and hopefully one day make that escape permanent. At the end of the writing he says: "Shall I pray for justice? Mercy? Eternal life? I think not." It's interesting how outraged he is and how he will not do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteFirst I want to address Mr. H's questions of why Cape Solitude as his place of, as I see it, rejuvenation. I think Cape Solitude as an abyss mirrors what Abbey feels. He is standing on the edge of precipitate and with one short step he can fall over the edge. Abbeys sits at the edge of the abyss to symbolize his internal conflict. Sitting there he contemplates his and society's shortcomings in the preservation of the American wilderness/ hope/ adventure. He is tired of trying to save the world when his fight seems hopeless. But I think after he "saves himself" at Cape Solitude, he will be ready to take up the battle and help create the perfect America where Why Not, Arizona is another stop on a Blue Highway. So I disagree with Chris, I do not think that Abbey is too lazy to help society. I think he is giving himself some time to restore and rediscover himself and his motivations. And I think the last lines of this essay that begin with "Shall I pray for justice? Mercy? Eternal life? I think not… Let us pray" and then goes on to pray does not demonstrate that he has given up. I believe that it means that although there is nothing left to pray, we pray anyway to a God who may or may not exist but we have hope that he does.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ciaran in that a major reason for Abbey's visit to Cape solitude was to restore and rediscover himself. I believe that in order to help others (society) one must first be completely responsible for oneself. This is what Abbey is searching for in Cape Solitude, a more complete understanding of himself. Abbey's purpose and motivation are quite different than that of Steinbeck or Least Heat Moon. Abbey is not simply acting upon will or emotion, but analyzing himself and preparing a process to re-invent himself in a better image. Although his process may involve pure instinctual action and be based on emotion and initial thought, it is still a plan and a process with a goal in view. I actually do not think what abbey is doing is too radical at all. Maybe forty days is a little excessive, but I believe that a little alone time with nature can do wonders for the soul and for the mind. It is a refreshing and powerful experience and i think Abbey wise for his action. I especially enjoy his appreciation of nature, and think that it adds flavor as well as content to his writing.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed was the use of multiple names on the first page. I immediately though of LHM saying "Rick or Dick or Chick," but although there are similarities in the style, the motivations are very different. Through the use of multiple names, Abbey is commenting on how all the places he visits are the same. I also noticed a similarity between TWC and Cape Solitude in that both authors speak of their determination, and although they go about expressing it in different ways, neither will be swayed. I agree with the previous people that Abbey is commenting about society and the state of the world, but I don't believe that he is looking for progress, but rather the opposite. He says himself that he is 100-years behind the times, and he talks about getting away from other people and society. I noticed that he talks about being far away from wagon trails and Navajo hogans, which were clearly not prevalent in the world at the time, so I believe that Abbey was very regressive in his views on many aspects of the world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Hank is saying about Abbey using Cape Solitude as a method for escape and a way to reevaluate himself and refresh his ideas. What interests me the most about his writing is his attitude. His frankness and vulgarity are refreshing after Steinbeck and Moon’s various takes on escape. Abbey’s escape in Cape Solitude feels more pure than the others because of the idea of him looking over the rim at the vast view in front of him. Also by sitting around his campfire naked, Abbey is completely letting go of where he came from and truly accepting where he is now and ready to receive life from Mother Earth and find out the meaning of everything. Cape Solitude is a clear view unobstructed by the junk mankind so commonly filled in our horizons that keep us from this freshening alone time with nature. I like how Abbey writes as though he is tracking his thoughts and connects everything together like a slightly off puzzle missing one piece. It is fun to read his witty remarks and honest brutality. He is a confident writer willing to say whatever he thinks, which makes for a very interesting read.
ReplyDeleteI like and agree with what Ciaran said about the abyss of Cape solitude mirroring Abby's emotions and how that place acts as a place that acts to revive him. All of the short essays we have read by these men reflect an internal conflict created by discontentment with their present day society. All were lost in the chaos. Abby begins by showing us his lost hope for america and is tired of trying to save the world. When he saves himself though, he is able to step back mentally and step away from his distresses. I believe that his gives him hope and, thought he is still tired and demoralized by his attempts to help save america before, he has not given up completely. His quote ""Shall I pray for justice? Mercy? Eternal life? I think not… Let us pray" reflects how, even thought he has tried to change America through all his efforts and praying, all to no avail, he still has hope. "Let us pray" shows that despite all his failed tries and unheard prayers, he will continue on.
ReplyDeleteI think that you can definitely compare Ed Abbey to Doc, especially when he is talking about his "respect for [his] obligations to other." Abbey feels as though he can't die because he's scared of death itself, but he is scared if letting people down, like Doc, Abbey feels obligated towards "his" people. Also, similarly to Doc, Abbey has a regular places, so it seems, that he goes to, to seek sanctuary. Doc seeks solace at the tide pools to do research then goes home, Abbey goes to his Cape Solitude and then goes back to work. Agreeing with Ciaran, I do think that he does go to Cape Solitude to find himself, but I don't think his sole purpose of the trip is to go find himself.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I think that Abbey is different from Steinbeck and William. I didn't really see Steinbeck and William writing what they did to connect with other people. I saw it more as a self-finding of themselves, for the sole purpose of finding themselves, similar to Mr. L's first journey. I saw Abbey's journey more closely related to Mr. L's second journey (the school one), going out to explore and learn but for the purpose of something greater and helping others. (helping the Francis Parker School System). When Mr. L's finds himself in the company of children and he feels the need to teach them that it is all about the present happenings and not the past.
I agree with Chris that Abbey appears not to care about anything. He does, however, seem like he used to care, and has simply given up on trying to change society, and simply wants to hide from it. He says that the day has come where he must "slip away from the human world and its clutching, insane, insatiable demands." He wants to get away from society, and does not want to do anything to change it. He seems to be a little scared that if he tries to change society, he will conform to society, and fall into its evil grasp. He says that he left "to forget some things", signifying his want to get out of society. He is using Cape Solitude as his escape, his get away, and his place of hiding.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Christine and Hank that Edward Abbey uses Cape Solitude as an escape and a method to find himself. However, what I like the most is Ed Abbey's take on a trip. Most writers like Steinbeck and Moon use a trip as an opportunity to go out and have new experiences, meet new people, and immerse into a community and a society. However, Edward Abbey goes off by himself. In solitude, some go crazy; some reach an epiphany. However, I think Ed Abbey is trying to reach an epiphany. In solitude, one is isolated with their own thoughts. And I think he decides a place like a desert because it's isolated from society and from urban life where nothing can influence him or change the course of his thoughts and what he wants to reach. I admire Ed Abbey's take on a trip, and going into a desert alone takes a lot of guts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sally that Ed Abbey did not appreciate what was going on in the 80's. It's clearly seen on pages 196 and 197 when he is complaining about the "sex-crazed" America and over-bearing and restricting government. And he wants a change and you feel his angst and anger within the simple lines of his text
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of Cape Solitude was the reference to Hunter S. Thompson and the bashing of corporate America using his term of "greedheads". I am similar to Abbey in that I am quite tired of the save the world crowd and my resentment of school is in parallel to Abbey’s resentment of his work. My cape solitude is sunset cliffs. It is an excellent place to go and escape from the world I live in. Unlike Sally, I do not see this piece as a commentary on the 1980's, but rather it is a statement of frustration with certain aspects of society in general. I think that had it been written at any point in modern history, Abbey would have found something to be unhappy about. Humans have a general tendency to resent their situation, and this is in no way unfounded. In Cape solitude, Abbey was expressing this resentment and sharing his outlet for his frustration with his readers. In reality, the heart of Abbey’s personal conflict lies in finding the balance between embracing his current reality and longing for a reality that can never be.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tom that Ed Abbey has more or less given up on the idea that society will change. Like he says in Cape Solitude, "there comes a day when a man must hid. Must slip away from the human world and its clutching, insane, insatiable demands." Abbey uses Cape Solitude as his one and only out since he is "afraid of dying but not of death." It seems that Abbey had been trying to grasp onto the notion that someday things will change, but has come to realize that this dream of his could never be. So, rather than attempting to go out and change society himself, he would rather drive to the abyssal loneliness of the desert with a bottle of wine to lose himself in his own thoughts. In a way, Abbey's tone seems to be very depressed and, in a way, despairing. It seems that, because he has come to terms that society can never change its hectic nature, he has lost faith in it altogether.
ReplyDelete