“Is life literally a dream? And, if so, when will we truly wake?” –L. Ferlinghetti
Richard Brautigan’s Trout Fishing in America examines the eviscerating effects of Americanization, capitalism and modernity as experienced by those on the margins, or periphery, of society. In the text, the narrator takes the audience on a journey in search of the ideal trout stream, but, instead, encounters environmental destruction, a violent commodification of natural resources, and the tarnished American Frontier Dream. Whether the narrator is forced to leave a campsite due to the large crowds of people, or observes the mass depletion of fish even after the failed attempts of the Fish & Game workers to replenish the stream, it seems certain that the ideal creek, river, stream, or dream is not within his reach (...unless he is willing to pay money for it).
In one vignette, the narrator quips that America is “often only a place in the mind” (72). On one hand, this seems to suggest that America is an ungraspable ideal. On the other hand, this gestures to the idea that one can transmute the physical reality of America in ones’ mind into something less unendurable. In short, one can create their own “Kool-Aid Reality,” not unlike the young boy from the narrator’s childhood, even if the physical, tangible conditions are less than ideal. In a way, the narrator does this, too. Perhaps, like Ferlinghetti’s poems, this is an attempt to urge writers to create a vision for a better tomorrow by recognizing the bleakness of today.
On a slightly different note, in “Great American Waterfront Poem” Ferlinghetti writes that San Francisco is the “End of land and land of beginning” (55). I wonder, can we essentially “begin” again? If so, what would that look like? In James Brook’s essay in Reclaiming San Francisco a change for the better seems to be a real possibility. He writes that the “impermanence of the land, city, and people gives cause for hope” (135) to transform, or reform, current conditions. In his understanding, the historical ‘newness’ of San Francisco opens up a possibility for change that may not be found in other places. At the end of his essay he writes, “The self-destruction of the city may turn out to be the molting of the phoenix” (135). I couldn't hope for anything more; it is time to wake up from the nightmare...
Links (on the Bay Area & environmental concerns):
"Garbage Island" - a shift from Brautigan's 1960's streams to today's Pacific Ocean. Viable solutions? Or, are we (and other generations) shackled to this existence?
Excellent insights Ryann, that's a great close-reading of Brautigan. I appreciate your concern about the Pacific Gyres, and so would Rob as a Pacific Rim specialist.
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