Rocks

     In the chapter "Rocks," Edward Abbey gives the reader a descriptive narrative of the terrain of the Canyonlands of the western United States. The author describes the eloquent names of many of the rocks and minerals that can be found in the region, such as carbonite and jasper. He also describes some other interesting observations. For example, Abbey describes the process of wood being petrified to give the reader a sense of the intricate beauty of the resulting rock. He calls the rock "desert jewelry." for its rainbow color.

    Abbey uses these detailed observations of the desert rocks to make the reader understand prospectors obsession in finding them. Abbey then tells the story of one poor guy's quest to take advantage of the new uranium mines. He uproots his family from their farm and moves them to southeast Utah. He meets this man named Graham and they form a business contract. Then, Graham shoots the man after he finds out he was sleeping with his wife. Then, Graham falls off a cliff and the boy that tagged along eventually died as well. Finally, the wife gets 100,000 dollars from her husbands share of the contract he and Graham made.

    By the end of the story it becomes apparent that the theme is greed. For example, the man has a nice farm back home, but he decides he wants more money and moves his family to a much worse environment in a miners town. Graham is driven by greed and lust of the man's wife. The wife was lustful and greedy when she cheated on her husband, and then tried to bargain with the government to give her more money for the settlement. It tells me that she didn't truly care about either man and was using them to get what she wanted.