[Richard] Brautigan is good for you. No writer you can think of is quite like him today, nor was any writer anytime - unless you can imagine the kind of things Mark Twain might have written had he wandered into a field of ripe cannabis with a pack of Zig Zag papers in his pocket. That's about as close as I can come to Brautigan, a kind of cracker-barrel surrealist whose humor is essentially Nineteenth-Century Western American.

Bruce Cook

The National Observer

quote from the back cover of The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western

Most of the writings found on Brautigan have started with the "good for you" quote. In following the ever knowledgeable literature scholars, it is only appropriate that I start with this endearing quote. Unfortunately for Richard Brautigan, I do not share the same opinions of Bruce Cook. Although I have only read one piece of Richard Brautigan’s writings, Trout Fishing In America, I find that the one piece was one too many. I find Brautigan’s writing style crude, ambiguous, and vulgar. However, for the sake of justice, I do find his writing most creative. There aren’t many authors these days or of days past that could come up with the format of Trout Fishing In America. Unfortunately for me and others of my opinion, Mr. Brautigan’s purpose in this novel seems to have viciously eluded us. However, again for the sake of justice, there exists one chapter in TFIA that seemed to have easily clicked: The Kool-Aid Wino. I have, therefore, chosen this chapter as a guinea pig for my intricate interpretation. Through this essay, I will evaluate the wino as both a positive and negative personality, as well as study the strong correlation between drug addiction and the Kool-Aid making process.

Before we begin, Trout Fishing In America, born in 1967, appears to have been written as a retaliation or a reflection of the turbulent years of the 60s. We of the 1990’s know the 60’s to be a decade of extravagant "Free Love" and excessive drug use. This is quite apparent in TFIA. Richard Brautigan effectively utilizes images to show excessive drug use. Chapters in TFIA like "Trout Death By Port Wine," "The Autopsy of Trout Fishing In America," and "Trout Fishing In America Terrorists" ingeniously portray and symbolize drug use in the 60’s. Also, his story "Sea, Sea Rider" symbolizes the frequent 60’s practice of "Free Love."

Going back to our story, "The Kool-Aid Wino" can be viewed one of two ways. The "Wino" can be viewed as a negative or positive personality depending on the interpreter’s view point. First, the "Wino" shows negative aspects throughout the story. He is the middle child of a poor German family. Unlike his elder siblings, the wino supposedly can’t work because of an unfortunate rupture. His siblings are obligated to carry pounds of beans around. Supposedly, if the wino carried that heavy weight, it would worsen his rupture. Interestingly, however, the gallon of Kool-Aid he ends up making at the end of the story equals 5-8 pounds. Therefore, if he really wanted to, the wino could have helped his family. Instead he chose to indulge himself in making Kool-Aid. Another aspect that might portray the wino as negative is his total disregard for his familial responsibilities. Although his is not capable of working, he should at least attempt to help out in the house. He could wash the dishes, instead of ignoring his mother’s request by saying, "The dishes can wait" (9). He could have cleaned his siblings soiled diapers. He could have even given the nickel his friend gave to him to his family to help out with their financial situation. Instead, the wino chooses to indulge himself by making Kool-Aid.

On the other hand, some view the wino in a more optimistic view point. They look at him as a child (we were never given his exact age) who doesn’t know any better. Also, some might view him as a hero. Through making Kool-Aid, the wino had the ability to shape his own happiness out of his unfortunate situation. He creates a reality in which he enjoys his life through making Kool-Aid. One can interpret from Brautigan’s description of the Kool-Aid making ceremony that the wino rather than enjoying drinking the Kool-Aid, he enjoys the actual process of making the Kool-Aid more. Whatever means the wino found to bring light into his world should be admired and perhaps even commendable.

The Kool-Aid fascination that the wino holds is similar to a drug addiction. Brautigan draws for his readers images of soiled diapers, dirty dishes, and unwashed bodies. The wino’s addiction to Kool-Aid prevents him from seeing and noticing all these despicable images. Instead, only seeing his goal of making Kool-Aid, he simply dismisses these images. Also, as a crazed drug addict only sees people as opportunities to provide drug money, the wino sees his friend as a means to get more Kool-Aid. When his friend comes into the wino’s bedroom, the wino immediately asks "Did you bring the nick you promised" instead of greeting his friend with the usual "Hello, How are you?" routine. Again this shows that the Kool-Aid, like drugs, is the only goal the wino is aware of.

Furthermore, the intricate ceremony in which the wino prepares the Kool-Aid is very similar to a drug addict who hasn’t had his shot in 2 days. The wino savors each moment spent to make the Kool-Aid as a drug addict would attempt to extend his high as long as possible. The ceremony was "performed in an exact manner and with dignity"(9). He motions were "delicate", "careful," and "exact," symbolizing a professional at work.

Moreover, the image Brautigan draws at the end of the Kool-Aid experience ensures the strong images of drugs. He says "He created his own Kool-Aid reality and was able to illuminate himself by it." This symbolizes the same condition a drug addict would be in after taking his first needle for the day. The wino creates his own world where there are no dirty diapers, no dishes to be washed, no sickness, and no work to be done. Looking at the broader picture and keeping in mind the environment of the author, specifically the 60’s, one can draw a strong correlation between the wino’s illuminated reality and the 60’s attempt at changing world views. The 60’s were known to be years of reform and change where people attempted to eliminate hardship and sickness by employing "Free love" and drugs. The Kool-Aid wino’s reality strongly portrays this image.

In conclusion, although we are not sure whether the wino is a "good guy" or a "bad guy" we are definitely sure that Brautigan tries to highlight the 60’s fascination with making their own reality through drug use in the story "The Kool-Aid Wino"