The Monkey Wrench Gang

A native of the Bronx, 28-year-old Bonnie Abzug is Dr. Sarvis' "office clerk, nurse-aide, and chauffeur" (40), as well as his lover. A former dancer, at 21 Bonnie fell in love with the Southwest when she visited it with her college dance troupe. She decided to stay in Albuquerque and has lived in her geodesic dome since. Bonnie has "an intelligence too fine to be violated by ideas" (41). At times, Bonnie has an "arrogant air" (54), but she seems more often than not to be a voice of practicality in the group, balancing out Doc's romanticism and Hayduke's hotheadedness by keeping their thoughts in "clear logical order" (117). She often complains about being "bored" and always wants in on the action. As the gang's sole female member, Bonnie also calls out Smith, Doc, and especially Hayduke for making sexist comments. For all her feminist rhetoric, though, Bonnie still finds herself performing the traditionally-female role of caretaker, once finding herself wanting to "whisper comfort" (186) in Smith's ear when he is upset. Though she enters into a tumultuous, abusive relationship with Hayduke, Bonnie ends up marrying Doc.  

A former Green Beret and veteran of the Vietnam War, 25-year-old George Hayduke is "built like a wrestler" (18), with thick, black body hair. Described as "more destructive than bright" (104), Hayduke has a slow-burning, though intense, anger. Described by Doc as "warped but warped in the right way" (179), Hayduke likely suffers from PTSD caused by spending fourteen months as a Vietcong prisoner of war. Though he received psychiatric treatment after his return to the States, the Army thought Hayduke "wasn't adjusted right for civilian life" (359). Hayduke drinks a lot, especially when he drives, as he believes "freedom, not safety, is the highest good" (28). He's egotistical, for example, when Hayduke steals a police car and uses their radio, and wishes there were "some way he could receive and hear his own broadcasts" (24). He returns to the Southwest from his time in Vietnam hoping for the comfort of his favorite place but finds more power lines and corporate influence. He decides to dedicate himself to destruction of exploitative projects in the Southwest. Conflicted, Hayduke signs petitions to "stop the strip miners" (25) as he throws his empty beer cans out his car window. He has a "faint authoritarian streak" (75) and, given his time serving in Vietnam, feels better working by himself, in survival mode. He seems to hate women but in reality might just be afraid of them. He enters a romantic, though abusive, relationship with Bonnie, briefly.