George Washington Hayduke is a fictional character in

Edward Abbey Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989) was an American author, essayist, and environmental activist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies. His best-known works include ''Desert Solit ...

's novels ''

The Monkey Wrench Gang ''The Monkey Wrench Gang'' is a novel written by American author Edward Abbey (1927–1989), published in 1975. Abbey's most famous work of fiction, the novel concerns the use of sabotage to protest environmentally damaging activities in the ...

'' and ''

Hayduke Lives! ''Hayduke Lives!'', written in 1989 by Edward Abbey, is the sequel to the popular book ''The Monkey Wrench Gang''. It was published posthumously in 1990 in a mildly unfinished state, as Abbey did not complete revision prior to his death. Thus, ...

'' Hayduke is portrayed as a rugged individualist in the books by Abbey, and has a predilection for working independently when protecting the environment. He is at first skeptical of working with the rest of the monkey wrench gang early in the first book, but soon collaborates with them.

Description

Hayduke is an ex-

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

, one-time

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

expert and medic in the Vietnam War; and an American

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

hero. The specific cultural use of the term

Hayduke Hayduke is a term and verb used among environmental activists and people who cite cult "revenge" books. It is the name of George Washington Hayduke, a fictional character based on Edward Abbey's friend Doug Peacock in Abbey's cult classics ''The ...

is derived from this character.

Origins

The character of Hayduke was based on his friend and author,

Doug Peacock Doug Peacock—born April 5th, 1942—is an American author, filmmaker, wildlife activist, and Vietnam War veteran. He is best known for his work dedicated to grizzly bear recovery in the lower-48, his book ''Grizzly Years: In Search of the Amer ...

, a Vietnam vet that Abbey befriended and traveled with in the Southwest United States. He is most likely named after the

Haiduks A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

, rebels in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, and one of Eric Hobsbawm's archetypal bandits. Hayduke is Abbey's codification of the wants, longings, and desires of the average male environmentalist awash in the frustrations of corporate greed and corruption where the voice of the little people remain unheard – until the little people rise up and take

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

because, as Abbey's Monkey Wrench Gang puts it, "somebody has to do it."

Books

George Washington Hayduke's first set of adventures are outlined in 1975's ''The Monkey Wrench Gang''. In 1989 (the year of Abbey's death) ''

'' was released. The adventures of Hayduke and the original Monkey Wrench Gang become tied with the activities of more legitimate environmental organizations like

Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron Kezar. Today there are Earth First! groups around ...

. The

Earth Liberation Front The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitatio ...

and the

Animal Liberation Front The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is an international, Leaderless resistance, leaderless, decentralized political and social resistance movement that engages in and promotes non-violent direct action in protest against incidents of animal cruelt ...

did not exist at the time Abbey wrote ''

''. Hayduke was also referenced in other novels by Abbey. In '' Fire on the Mountain'' (1968), the owner of the local general store is named "Hayduke." In '' Good News'' (1980), the character of Jack Burns attempts to convince his son, now an adult, that he is his father. However, his son refuses to believe him, claiming that his real father was killed while blowing up a dam. Targeting the dam was always Hayduke's highest aspiration.

Aliases

George Hayduke uses a number of aliases over the course of the books, including: Leopold, Rudolf the Red, Herman Smith, Fred Goodsell, Crazy Horse.

Author

Since 1980, an anonymous author known as " George Hayduke" has brought the Hayduke character to life in a well-known series of revenge books. Hayduke states that Edward Abbey was his mentor and says ''The Monkey Wrench Gang'' inspired the founding of

References

{{Portal bar, Environment, Novels Hayduke, George