"All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace"

              Richard Brautigan's poem, "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace," contains ambiguous perceptions about Brautigan's opinion of technology. First, with his repetitive use of the phrase "I like to think" at the beginning of every stanza, Brautigan implies that there is a negative relationship between technology and nature (or the world in general). Thus, feelings of sarcasm can be detected as Brautigan continuously emphasizes his wish for "harmony" and "peace" between the two, even though it seems unlikely for that to happen (line 6 & 13 respectively). Not only that, but by incorporating phrases like "and the sooner the better" and "right now, please" in parentheses, Brautigan conveys a sense of urgency within his poem that demonstrates his frustration over technology's incompatibility with nature - possibly because of technology's inevitable harmful effects on the environment.

                On the other hand, Brautigan appears to include a hopeful mood within his poem, which suggests that he does not entirely despise technology. From Brautigan's use of terms like "programming harmony" and "cybernetic forest/ecology," he appears to desire a balance between technology and nature (lines 6, 11, & 19). The poem's feelings of hope could represent the author's wish that scientific achievements would stop contributing to the destruction of Earth. Therefore, although it appears unlikely that a mutually benefitting relationship can exist between nature and technology, Brautigan's poem portrays the possibility of a world in which the they can co-exist.

                Although there is evidence that supports both arguments, I believe that the poem has a more negative attitude towards technology because of the poem's overall tone of mockery. In general, Brautigan chooses to use exaggerations like "cybernetic forest/filled with pines and electronics," which evoke feelings of disbelief and demonstrate that the idea of nature and technology co-existing is unbelievable (lines 12 & 13). Furthermore, with phrases like "pure water" and "clear sky," Brautigan appears to be highlighting a few of the problems that technology has caused in our world (lines 7 & 8). Thus, this whole poem appears to be rather ironic because the author is wishing for the co-existence of technology and nature under nonexistent conditions.