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Part 1, Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
American Culture and Counterculture
The American Dream
Drugs and American Society
News and Journalism
Violence
Summary
Analysis
In preparation for the trip, Duke had called the magazine in New York and asked for a Vincent Black Shadow, a state-of-the-art dirt bike. They referred him to the office in Beverly Hills. When he got there, the “money-woman” would only give him $300. “I have no idea who you are,” she said. Duke took the money and left.
Duke’s desire to have a Vincent Black Shadow again represents the excess and greed of American capitalism. Duke doesn’t want any old dirt bike—he wants the best dirt bike that money can buy. The fact that the woman doesn’t know who Duke is suggests that he isn’t a well-known journalist after all, and his reference to her as a “Pig Woman” in the chapter title reflects the sexism present in American society, a particular concern of the counterculture.
Themes
“This won’t make the nut,” Dr. Gonzo said in response to their meager funds. “You Samoans are all the same,” Duke replied. “You have no faith in the essential decency of the white man’s culture.” After all, they were just sitting bored in a bar when the call to go to Vegas had come, and then a complete stranger had given them money for nothing. “I tell you, my man,” Duke said, “this is the American Dream in action! We’d be fools not to ride this strange torpedo all the way out to the end.”
Duke’s reference to the American Dream as “the white man’s culture” suggests that it is accessible to white Americans only, and since Gonzo is Samoan, it is unavailable to him. Duke’s comment that “you Samoans are all the same” also reflects racism in American society, as Duke paints an entire group of people with one broad stroke.
Themes
Duke and Gonzo agreed and decided that they needed a car and cocaine, a tape recorder, and a few “Acapulco shirts.” Then, they would head to Vegas and “cover the story. Never lose sight of the primary responsibility,” Duke said. Only he had no idea what the story was. No one at the magazine had actually told him. Duke wasn’t worried—he would “drum it up on [his] own. Free Enterprise. The American Dream. Horatio Alger gone mad on drugs in Las Vegas. Do it now: pure Gonzo journalism,” Duke said. Plus, there is the “socio-psychic factor,” he explained. “Every now and the then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only real cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas.”
Duke and Gonzo’s desire to obtain extra drugs and clothing again underscores the excess and greed implied within the American Dream. Horatio Alger, an American novelist from the 1800s whose stories are often used as examples of the American Dream, represents Duke’s own understanding of the Dream—that hard work and a little luck equals success in America. Furthermore, Duke’s explanation of the “socio-psychic factor” implies that his drug use offers him a means to escape or cope with the unfairness of society. This is also Duke’s first mention of Gonzo journalism, Thompson’s own creation that rejects the objectivity of traditional journalism.
Themes
It had been easy getting the bag of drugs, but the car and the tape recorder were another story. It was late and most electronics stores were closed, but one did offer to stay open if Duke and Gonzo hurried. They were waylaid after a Stingray “killed a pedestrian on Sunset Boulevard,” and by the time they got to the store, it was locked.
The ease with which Duke and Gonzo can secure their drugs underscores how commonplace drugs are in mainstream society, and their indifferent response to the dead pedestrian implies that horrific sights of death and carnage are likewise common, most frequently in news coverage and reporting, and easily ignored.
Themes
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They could see people inside the store, so they banged on the windows until a salesman finally agreed to sell them the recorder through a small crack in the door. “Now take that stuff and get the hell away from here,” he said. “We’ll be back,” yelled Dr. Gonzo. “One of these days I’ll toss a fucking bomb into this place! I have your name on this sales slip! I’ll find out where you live and burn your house down!”
Duke and Gonzo’s behavior again reflects America’s capitalist society (they want something and will go to great lengths to get it, at the expense of other people), but it is also evidence of their violence. Gonzo’s threats are horrific and exceedingly personal, in another example of over-the-top brutality.
Themes
The man at the car rental agency was equally suspicious. Duke had backed the Great Red Shark over a two-foot concrete abutment going forty-five in reverse and nearly hit a gas pump. “Say there…uh…you fellas are going be careful with this car, aren’t you?” the agency man asked. Duke explained he was merely testing the transmission as Gonzo mixed drinks in the backseat. “Are you fellas drinking?” the man questioned in disbelief. “Not me,” Duke said as he drove away. “We’re responsible people.”
This passage is obviously ironic. Of course, Duke and Gonzo aren’t going to be careful—they are going to take drugs, drink beer, and wreck the car. It is clear the rental agency suspects this as well, but the man lets them go in the interest of business and making more money.
Themes
