Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

“We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicoloured uppers, downers, screamers, laughers…also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls… But the only thing that worried me was the ether.” Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the true story of Hunter .S. Thompson and his attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta and their journey through America’s nocturnal city with nothing more than a red convertible and what’s listed above. It follows Thompson and Zeta Acosta (under the names Raul Duke and Dr. Gonzo) to Las Vegas, where Duke is supposed to be covering the famous “Mint 400” An annual car race across the salt flats outside of Vegas. The story evolves from what was supposed to be good fun into, though it may be fun, an all out path of destruction from hotel to hotel constantly on one or more drug of choice. Though the two main characters are constantly in their own world the conversations that are had are what make this story keep moving. Yes it is fun to hear about all the different news stories that Raul Duke has to cover but what’s more interesting is his conversations with complete strangers or just managing to function in a human orderly run world when the people involved are melting into butter and having dinosaurs and bats attack them constantly. It all makes for a very interesting read. And Duke should have been afraid of using the ether. That, or using it in a circus/casino.

Drugs and drug use play a major key in Fear and Loathing and arguably the story wouldn’t be around if the drugs hadn’t been around. Drugs as a way of escaping the world is probably the major theme in the book. Thompson uses Samuel Johnson’s quote, “he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man” which is a really good way of summing up the whole book because that’s pretty much all the story is; Escaping the pain of being a man. Since Hunter. S. Thompson is a journalist the book is very similar to reading a news paper or magazine in the way its written. It has the feel that it was written for a purpose and that it is always trying to get or getting to a point. It was in first person most of the time with the occasional transition. The issues that were raised were perhaps a bit out of date seeing as the book was written in 1971 but the idea’s and morals of the book are interesting. The books brings up the question of drug use from a fairly biased point of view; that of a user. But it is still very interesting. I would certainly recommend this book to others who have a taste for out there books. Its not a light sit down and read kind of book. It’s more of a social commentator than JUST a story. Once you get into it you really get into it. Rhetorical devices. Simile is used quite often when comparing people and their surroundings. E.G. “A thing like that could send a drug person careening around the room like a ping pong ball.” (referring to a giant tv screen in downtown Las Vegas). And symbolism. On the outskirts of Las Vegas there is a sign that says “DON’T GAMBLE WITH MARIJUANA! IN NEVADA POSSESION -20 YEARS SALE – LIFE!” this sign represents the risk that Raul Duke and Dr. Gonzo are taking in going to Las Vegas with their suitcase full of drugs.