Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness is an autobiographical story written by naturalist Edward Abbey. Abbey composed the tale based on his personal experiences as a U.S. Park Service employee at Arches National Monument in Utah. Abbey's anecdotal account non-linearly encompasses professional experiences and interpretations of the region's folklore. These illustrations are analogous because they show related themes and trends associated with the author's experiences and beliefs. One of the predominant themes present in Desert Solitaire is the conflict between civilization and wilderness. Abbey introduces this motif early in her memoir on a personal level. On the first day of her employment with the U.S. Park Service, Abbey describes the first pair of bows she encounters. The sight of massive fifty-foot boulders impresses him and draws a conceptual comparison to the weathered human monuments on Easter Island. This comparison troubles Abbey because civilization has contaminated his ability to objectively see nature outside of “humanly ascribed qualities (Abbey, 1968, p. 6).” Abbey's struggle to eliminate these anthropocentric premonitions continues when she encounters a pair of mating gopher snakes. Abbey wishes to take a closer look but is reluctant because he has been “stung by a fear too old and full of power to be overcome (Abbey, 1968, p. 21).” This anthropocentric theme continues throughout his narrative but is personified on a social level. This topic is first introduced in the chapter “Controversy: Industrial Tourism and National Parks”. In this chapter Abbey highlights the expansionary nature of the industrial economy and how it is affecting national parks. Abbey criticizes arguments for uni...... middle of paper ......sk was lured to Utah looking to make his fortune mining uranium. Husk took his family with him and liquidated his assets. Husk was first approached by local pilot Charles “Chuck” Graham to purchase a forty percent share of the Hot Rock Mountain Development Company (Abbey, 1968, p. 80). Husk was happy to initiate the partnership and enlisted his sunshine Billy Joe to assist him with the operation. For months Husk and Billy Joe worked, while Graham wanted Husk's wife and a share of the business. The narrative ended tragically with the deaths of Graham, Husk and Billy Joe due to greed. These social changes not only negatively affected the landscape, but also affected the morality of the region's inhabitants. In Abbey's account of his time spent at Arches National Monument, he illustrates the beauty and significance of preserving the American Southwest..