Why Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

Prompt # 18:

The phrase Fear and Loathing has been used by many authors. However, what made it so special to make it the title of Thompson's novel? In a Rolling Stone magazine interview, Thompson claimed, "It came out of my own sense of fear, and [is] a perfect description of that situation to me, however, I have been accused of stealing it from Nietzsche or Kafka or something. It seemed like a natural thing."

Major theme

After reading the novel, I discovered a common theme throughout the novel. Once you first open the book there is a quotation that states:
"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man"-Dr. Johnson
This quote alludes to the protagonists' extreme drug use in escaping the rough realities of American life and people who believe vigorous drug use was the answer to society's problems. (Please note this novel takes place in the '70s). Thompson assumes that his drug use is intended to make him miserable and behave eccentrically portrays the restless failure his generation feels.
Also, another major theme is the "American Dream." While Thompson and the attorey search for the literary and metaphoric American Dream, and to find their place in Las Vegas, they find only a burnt psychiatric office. At the beginning of the story, Thompson claims their adventure will be "gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country", which was an idea that was short-lived when the excess fear settle within them; the symbolism of the burned psychiatric office was clear. Throughout Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the protagonists go out of their way to degrade and destroy the symbols of American consumerism and excess, while Las Vegas symbolizes the coarse ugliness of mainstream American culture.

Hmmmm?

Prompt #4 Part II Ch. 7:

I was very suprised to learn that Thompson and his attorney ended up actually going to the narcotic seminar. It was very suprising to me considering the state Thompson has been in. Having been sleep deprived after 3 days you would think he would "lay low" for a little while before stepping into the public, let alone a narcotics and dangerous drug seminar. I was also suprised that he took the deal to even cover this seminar for the Rolling Stone. It was very interesting.

Were my predictions correct?

Prompt #7 Part II Ch. 6:

My predictions were not correct as of now. I was correct in the sense that Thompson continues doing the various drugs. However, they have not encountered any police or anything of that sort.
What is ironic is that the Narrator does end up at a "Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs" convention. He was asked by the Rolling Stone magazine to cover it. He is feeling very awkward and bad about himself because of what he did a few days prior to the seminar. His attorney advised Thompson to take a hit of adrenochrome, an extremely potent stimulant. The effect was dreadful; having no more than a drop, Thompson's energy deteriorates to a state of paralysis. Hours afterward, though able to move and talk again, he remains a wreck. He has gone without sleep for approximately eighty hours, and he was focusing on blending into the narcotics seminar.

Style

Prompt #10 Part II Ch. 5:

Thompson has a great style of writing. His style of writing keeps you hooked the whole time you are reading. There are different scenes in the novel that he describes that are so surreal that you can picture it in your mind and it comes alive.
"Christ I couldn't even walk! My whole body turned to wax. I was such a mess that they had to haul me back to the ranch house in a wheelbarrow...they said I was trying to talk, but I sounded like a raccoon." pg. 133
He also likes to use a lot of dialogue so that the reader understands what is going on and so that you also feel as though you are a part of the novel. His style of writing is very effective and makes me enjoy the book more and more as I read on. The loose plot of the novel allows the reader to fill in the blanks themselves and get their immaginations involved to develop a picture of what is happening in the novel.

Here is a video about his sense of style and how he was a "Gonzo Journalist"

Predictions for Part II

Prompt #6 End of Part 1:
So far in the novel, we have experienced the different hallucinations and ordeals along with the two Main Characters. A common theme throughout this novel has been their different experiences with the various drugs. This has lead me to predict that in the Part II the same things will happen. I believe that in Part II the Narrator will have another encountering with the police and may have a more serious one. He got off lucky the first time and he is only bound to get caught driving around high and having a car full of drugs and alcohol.

Words of Wisdom

Prompt #13 ch.7-10:
The Narrator and his attorney continue their journey in Las Vegas. The two main characters are consistently "high out of their brains" no matter where they go. For instance, they went to a casino and both of them hallucinating at seeing reptiles playing on the crap tables and other creatures doing vulgar things. They felt very anxious and paranoid while being in the public. There is also an instance where the attorney was going crazy and wanted the Narrator to throw a radio into the bathtub while he was in it taking a bath.
This whole trip they have been consuming drug after drug, not leaving one instance where they are sober. So, I have a few words of advice: DON'T DO DRUGS! Maybe they should lay off the LSD and ether and actually try to get done what they were sent out there to do, which is write an article about the Mint 400! If they weren't so high the whole time, they would not feel so insecure and paranoid all the time.

Here is a clip of the movie, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which will probably give you a good idea how they acted on this trip.

Story Elements

Prompt #17 Part 1 Ch. 1-5:

As the story goes on, the elements of the story start to become clearer. The book so far does not have a clear specific plot considering it often becomes surreal, making hard to distinguish between what is real and what is only imagined by the characters. So far we determine that the two main characters, the narrator who is a jounrnalist and his attorny are heading to the Mint 400 motorcycle race to cover a story for a sports magazine the narrator works for. However, they soon abondon their work and begin experimenting with various drugs, such as LSD, cocaine, mescaline and cannabis. This leads to a series of crazy hallucinogenic trips, where they destroy hotel rooms and have visions of desert animals, mostly being reptiles.

The setting still takes place in deserts outside of Las Vegas and in the heart of Las Vegas as well. So far the characters consist of the Narrator and his attorny. They also run into a hitchhiker who rides in their rented red convertable for a while. The duo quickly terrifies the hitchhiker and he flees off into the desert.

Prompt #15 Ch. 3:

This is an illustration that is seen in the actual book. Throughout the novel you see different illustrations drawn by Ralph Steadman. This picture here is of the narrator and his attorney driving to Las Vegas. Both characters are on several drugs. I chose to show this picture because it is hard to explain the different things the characters see in their hallucinations on the road. This picture summarizes half of the things they see on this trip while being on drugs.

Puzzled and Confused in Las Vegas

Prompt #2. Ch. 1:
Just like every other book, the beginning always starts off slow and you do not really understand what is going on, and that was just the case for the beginning of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for me. In the beginning of the novel it starts off with the narrator and author, Hunter S. Thompson, driving through the desert towards Las Vegas while being on massive amounts of various drugs. They both anxiously and nervously pass through the desert while hallucinating on several narcotics. What was confusing to me was the actual purpose of the trip to Las Vegas. The narrator did say in the book, "we're on our way to Las Vegas to find the American Dream." (Thompson 6) However, that was not very clear to me what exactly they were going to do there. Also, I did not really understand the purpose of his attorny. Why would he do so many different drugs with his attorny? It did not make sense to me.