Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
by Hunter S. Thompson

Most people here have either read or seen Fear and loathing in Las Vegas. I've seen it a dossen times, and read the book maybe 5 times. But i still find it to be one of the most difficult stories to comprehend. There are a million meanings in it. As Thompson intended it, it's about the death of the sixties. Whatever it meant.

To me it's mostly about right and wrong, and the non-existense of either one. And it's very much about the american (mainstream global) culture and way of life (largely the rules and laws of it). Duke and Dr Gonzo are a couple of criminals. Neither of them have any respect of authority, both of them are completely twisted on drugs throughout the story. And yet, these are the only two characters in it that seem normal. It's everyone else around them that appears crazy, once you've seen things from their perspective. Why inforce your own normality on two people who want no part of it?

A great metaphore for the american culture is the scene in the casino right before Dr Gonzo is in the bathtub. Raul Duke bets on a wheel of fortune thing, hoping to get rich. But he loses, and says "It's alright, learn to enjoy losing". Wich is what the american dream is about. Winning, and being better than others. And if you're not a winner, you're a loser. But you can't ever learn to enjoy losing, because then there would be no point in winning. Gonzo and Duke are outside this "system".

They're insane, sometimes violent, disobedient, drugged, and careless. But at the same time, they are neither of these things (from their perspective). If you are born disobedient, then how would you know it unless somebody tries to empose rules on you? If you are insane, how would you know it unless somebody tells you what's sane? So the message to me is mostly that nothing is good or bad. It's a story of a culture clash. The american (mainstream global) culture versus the drug/anarchist culture. And what gives the american culture the ability to call the drug culture criminal and outlaw, when the drug culture willingly chooses to not care about the rules. It's like playing a football game, and trying to punish the people watching it on TV because they're not on the field playing.

I'm looking for a concrete way to describe Fear and loathing, if such a thing is possible. Say what you think the book is about. What's it's point? Either way, i think it's impossible to overanalyze a great story like this.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	good
	great book review - good job!