Vacca Vale as a Symbol of Environmental and Urban Decay

 Although Vacca Vale is based on a real town in Indiana, many aspects of the setting feel dystopian and run-down. Left desecrated by an abandoned manufacturing company, Vacca Vale serves as commentary about environmental decay in a larger context. The most obvious example of this is the literal decay that came from the downfall of Zorn, when they declared bankruptcy and became “nothing at all” (166). Afterward, it was discovered that a Zorn plant had “leaked thousands of gallons of benzene” into schools, homes, and other buildings in Vacca Vale (167). This environmental injustice is tragic, but not uncommon. In this instance, Vacca Vale is a reflection of the Love Canal. This small town in Niagara Falls was the site of an abandoned canal that then became a dumping ground for chemical waste from a plastics manufacturer that then shut down. Following the event, the chemicals leaked into residents’ basements and into schools, harming anyone exposed.

While this is one specific example, Vacca Vale also reflects development efforts across the country that negatively impact the environment. Generally, developments such as these can cause losses in biodiversity by destroying habitats and disrupting soil and water quality in the area. When the dinner gets interrupted by the voodoo dolls and fake blood, Detective Grubb guesses that an ecoterrorist was behind it, saying “You’ve got to chop down a heck of a lot of trees to build that housing in the Valley, don’t you” (37)? This protest against the development also nods to the ongoing battle between environmentalists and developers in the conversation about conservation.

Aside from events occurring in Vacca Vale that have led to its decay or potential destruction, the town in its current state reflects the slow rot that comes from a disregard for the environment. Blandine observes that “Vacca Vale is a city designed for cars, not for people,” and that “the architecture is cheap…and built to be temporary” (294). Although Blandine has not been anywhere else she “assumes that most of America is constructed this way” (294). Her remarks are meant to evoke sadness over the thought that anyone could believe the status of the entire country could be summed up as such a depressing place. Within her apartment complex, the Rabbit Hutch, the name suggests confinement similar to that of pet rabbits. In Vacca Vale, humans are being caged within their own city, with little green space or the luxury of a clean environment to roam.

Vacca Vale reflects cities in America where environmental degradation has run rampant and there are more parking lots than parks. The sorry state of the town personifies post-industrial decay that occurs when business is prioritized over a healthy environment for residents and fauna to enjoy.