Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

“Load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard” to Las Vegas (12)

Las Vegas has always been known as sin city, and the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas portrays this belief. Hunter S. Thompson portrays a rather thoughtful glance into the mind of addiction and of drug usage. The illegal drugs play a major role in provoking the narrator’s outrage that he has toward the contemporary life of society.

The book takes place in the early 1970’s, and the main character, Raoul Duke, is sent to Las Vegas to write an article on the 4th Annual “Mint 400” dirt bike and dune buggy race. (Raoul Duke is actually the false name under which Hunter Thompson portrays himself as the main character and narrator.) Under the advice of his estranged lawyer (whose alias is Dr. Gonzo,) both drive out to Las Vegas on a non-stop LSD and mescaline trip. ”We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold,” is the line in which the book begins (3.) Not only are these two drugs abused, but other drugs such as ether, cocaine, marijuana, and Thorazine are also abused. According to the story Thompson tells:

“We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets