Abbey Paper

The Writing and Style of Edward Abbey

In the beginning of this book, Abbey lets the reader know that this story came from his experiences at Arches National Monument. He worked as a park ranger there and this book covers his observations and experiences while he worked there for three separate summers. However, he combines the three different summaries into one so it is easier for the reader to follow. He starts off by saying that each of us has a favorite place, which we believe to be the “most beautiful on earth”. Abbey’s favorite place is Moab, Utah. However, he doesn’t enjoy mainly the city itself; he loves the place for its canyons and the overall setting. Even though I have never been to a place like the Grand Canyon before, I would never think of describing it as being the most beautiful place in the world. However, Abbey, through his descriptions and opinions, believes it to be one of the most sacred settings in the world. I was getting the impression while reading this that Abbey, in a way, wrote this book for people like me who haven’t been introduced to such an environment. Just reading his descriptions allowed me to truly captivate the peacefulness and harmony of the setting. I liked this book from the start. I really enjoyed and related to Abbey when he often described the sky as being lonely. Reading this reminded me of the day of my grandfather’s funeral. I remember how depressing and saddening that say was. It was raining that day but there weren’t many clouds in the sky. I remember thinking as the sky and both “empty” and “lonely” that day. Abbey makes it very clear that he doesn’t like tourism and tourists very much although he pretty much originated as a tourist. He believes that people who don’t belong there that come with huge recreational trucks take away from what the wilderness is actually supposed to be like. He goes on to tell us that he thoroughly enjoyed his first and second summers there, but his third was somewhat hampered by...