Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was an enjoyable read. I actually really liked the book and thought it was interesting and hilarious. I know most people in class didn't particularly like it or understand the point of the book, but you have to think outside of yourself and in a way imagine yourself being there with them.
Most of the book was random events and flashbacks, but I think that is what Hunter S. Thompson wanted, so we as readers will have to think about things and events that he experienced. All of the drug use in this book did make it confusing at times to understand if things were real or not. Thompson's mission to find the American Dream was the theme of the book and also throughout the book, it showed that the American Dream is never where you are. Las Vegas was supposed to be the heart of the American Dream, and come to find out, Vegas really is just a place that uses people and then spits them back out.
In all reality, the book is kind of sad, considering the message is that the American Dream is almost unobtainable.
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I agree, I think the book is less about the drug usage and about the search. The drugs create a desperate feeling to the story. As the reading it feels like pulling teeth at time when Thompson and his attorney are so ripped they can no longer function. But your right, the meaning of the story is to look at the depravity of the American dream. Its near impossibility to achieve. A person should look to achieving their own goals and not a fleeting American dream.
ReplyDeleteHello,I will definately agree that he is chasing the American dream. Although Thompson seems to portray it as a waste of time where it is possible to just party your way through life and get what you want as opposed to working hard, sacrificing, and making wise and responsible decisions. I believe that the dream is all around us. People from all places in this world are in our great country and they seem to respect the United States more thatn our own original citezens do. I don't and will not ever believe that freedom means you can do whatever you want! Because if everyone did what they wanted whenever they wanted there would be no control. And some people need to be controlled to keep our society free from lawlessness and hate.
ReplyDelete@Joel: Excellent expression of the role the drugs play in the story. I wish you guys would contribute some of this great material to class discussion. I couldn't have said that better. The drug use adds a sense of desperation to the search for the American Dream. Also, I think they serve as the escape from the grim reality (according to Thompson) that the American Dream is bullshit.
ReplyDelete@Fayne: I admire your idealism. I tend to share it, but, like Thompson I think, my idealism is constantly crashing into reality with such violence that it is difficult to maintain. Are people capable of hard work and compassion toward others? Yes. But in my experience it is a rare anomaly.
ReplyDeleteI see where you are coming from, but is the American Dream itself nearly unobtainable, or is it just our newly warped version of the American Dream that cannot be obtained? I believe that if we go back to the old version of the dream - working hard to make something out of little to nothing - can be challenging, but definitely not impossible to reach. I think Thompson is trying to show us that if we choose to continue to make our American Dream into something it's not supposed to be, we will never be satisfied.
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