by Stacy Stepanovich
Violence, the deterioration of the American wilderness, poverty, and the futility of hope intersect the blithe and natural freedom of 1967 America in Richard Brautigan's novel, Trout Fishing in America.
In his satirical style, Brautigan in "The Cleveland Wrecking Yard?" mocks the vices of materialism that permeate American culture, often at the expense of the environment. The narrator goes to the wrecking yard to look at a used trout stream that was for sale. Streams and waterfalls are for sale by the yard, but the trout come with the stream. When the narrator inquires about the trout stream, the salesman replies, "We're selling it by the foot length. You can buy as little as you want or you can buy all we've got left... We're selling the waterfalls separately of course, and the trees and birds, flowers, grass and ferns we're also selling extra. The insects we're giving away free with a minimum purchase of ten feet of stream" (102). To me it seems that Brautigan is commenting on the rapid growth in the country and the selling of the American Dream, foot by foot. This expansion eventually leading to the unavoidable consequences of development: pollution, loss of habitat for native plants and animals, and destruction of the environment one piece at a time.
Similarly, in "Worsewick," the narrator is visiting the hot springs with his girlfriend and their child. It is an understatement when the narrator comments that the springs were "nothing fancy" (43). His description of the park is anything but inviting with "green slime growing around the edges of the tub" and "dead fish floating in our bath," (43) it is a wonder why they are even there. Despite their gruesome surroundings, the couple makes love in the springs, amongst the floating dead fish. "The green slime and dead fish were all about our bodies" (44). It seemed that in Worsewick, two clashing aspects of the American culture of the time intersected. There were the two free spirits, who laid their child down in their nearby car for a nap while they made love outdoors. Then there were the obvious results of industrial contamination. One was seeking to exploit the environment with concern for the bottom line, the other looking to enjoy the natural setting in the carefree atmosphere of the times.
Even Brautigan's portrayal of others who attempt to enjoy nature are cast in an unusual and negative light. These characters have a tendency to appreciate the capitalist nature of American society with more vigor than the central narrator of Brautigan's short fictions. In "A Note on the Camping Craze That is Currently Sweeping America?," Brautigan harshly depicts a middle-aged man who is sitting in a bar half-jokingly attempting to recall the names of his children from previous marriages when a fellow drunk suggests try camping and trout fishing as a cure for his amnesia.
That the man charges to his credit card a variety of equipment ranging from charged air alarm clock to the Coleman lantern that Brautigan describes as the symbol of the camping craze that is currently sweeping America, "with its unholy white light burning in the forests of America" (73). The last items the man purchases are his fishing rods and tackle, the items necessary for him to regain the memories he has lost.
His trip is similarly telling. The first sixteen campgrounds were full. It appears that a mass exodus of the cities and suburbs of California has occurred. Everyone is out to recall the memories of their not-so-distant past. When he arrives at the seventeenth site, a heart-attack victim is being loaded onto an ambulance, his tent folded neatly and stowed with him in the back. When the ambulance drove off, it left a "cloud of brilliant white dust... looking like the white light from the Coleman lantern" (74).
I don't think that Brautigan was arguing that more people shouldn't take interest in the American wilderness, but that it should be properly appreciated, without the harsh white light of suburban realities.
In a time where our national Congress planning to invade the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's nearly 20 million acres of untainted land to drill for oil, Brautigan's Trout Fishing in America serves as a warning about the abuses of nature at the hands of man. It shows the result of twentieth century excess.
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