On The Ecocentric Ideas In Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang

Edward Abbey(1927-1989) who is labeled the “Thoreau of the West” is regarded as one of the most famous ecological writers in the U.S.. He is an eloquent and passionate west literature advocate who devotes his life to advocating the protection of the West Wilderness. He authors twenty-one books in his lifetime, including The Brave Cowboy(1956), Desert Solitaire(1968), The Monkey Wrench Gang(1975), and The Fool’s Progress(1988), etc..Abbey’s works convey ecological ideas, and many of his works concern the theme of reenactment of the relationship between humans and nature. Among all of Abbey’s novels, The Monkey Wrench Gang is one of the most famous. It tells an adventure story of four people who set their mind to protect the West Wilderness by eco-sabotage across the canyon country. The fiction has inspired the establishment of many environmental groups, of which Earth First! is one of the most famous. Abbey coined the term monkey-wrenching for the sake of the ecological protection. To Abbey, nature does not exist to serve humans but has its intrinsic value.As a branch of environmental ethics, ecocentrism takes the stance that the interest of the ecological system must override that of individual species and it highlights the inter-linkage of humans and nature. The origins of modern ecocentric ethics are traceable to Aldo Leopold, the inventor of the concept of the Land Ethic, which enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals; in addition, Arne N?ss points out in Deep Ecology that human and nonhuman lives in the ecosystem have rights to survive and flourish, and individuals have rights to achieve their development and self-realization in the sphere of greater Self. What’s more, Holmes Rolston advocates the intrinsic value of nature and acknowledges the objectivity of the value of nature, affirming humans’ responsibility for ecological system.This thesis analyzes The Monkey Wrench Gang from the perspective of ecocentrism by applying the concepts of land ethic, deep ecology and the intrinsic value of nature. By criticizing anthropocentrism and developmentalism, and by advocating ecodefense as well as affirming the intrinsic value of nature, Abbey is to express his ecocentric ideas in the novel.This thesis falls into three parts, the introduction, the body and the conclusion.The Introduction is an overview of Abbey’s life and his writing experiences, the background information of The Monkey Wrench Gang, the researches done about the author and this work at home and abroad as well as the theoretical basis of the thesis.The body consists of three chapters.Chapter One centers on Abbey’s critique of anthropocentrism in The Monkey Wrench Gang by showing disastrous effects of anthropocentrism on nature and putting emphasis on the critique of developmentalism. To Abbey, the spread of developmentalism is like cancer cells, and humans should take action to stop the trend.Chapter Two focuses on Abbey’s advocation of ecodefense in The Monkey Wrench Gang. By pointing out the means that the eco-saboteurs take to protect the West Wilderness, Abbey throws light on the significance of ecodefense.Chapter Three concentrates on Abbey’s defense of the intrinsic value of nature in The Monkey Wrench Gang. By depicting the monkey wrenchers’ acts of protecting the West Wilderness, Abbey aims at urging people to recognize the objectivity of the intrinsic value of nature. At the same time, Abbey is to arouse people’s attention to ecological problems and raise their awareness to protect the ecosystem. By acknowledging the intrinsic value of nature, Abbey suggests that humans should take the method of thinking like a mountain to protect nature, and advocates the equality and harmony between nature and humans.Through the critique of anthropocentrism and developmemtalism, and through the advocation of ecodefense and affirmation of the intrinsic value of nature, the Conclusion summarizes the ecocentric ideas entailed in The Monkey Wrench Gang. In addition, this thesis shows its meaningfulness of the study on the novel from the perspective of ecocentrism. On the one hand, it provides a theoretical solution to ecological problems, enriching the meaningfulness of the ecological theoretical research. On the other hand, the author of this thesis evaluates the significance and feasibility of ecodefense, and thinks that ecodefense is too radical to be carried out in the real world. Therefore, it is suggested that the readers should take a rational attitude towards The Monkey Wrench Gang.