Outside Reading: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, is the journey of a journalist and his attorney to Las Vegas in search of the American Dream. The journey is takes place in the 1970's and serves to show the harsh break between the freedom associated for many Americans during the 1960's, and the Vietnam War years of the 1970's. The characters use mind altering drugs throughout the entire film, which in their opinion serves to help them see through the fog and make the American Dream visible. After searching with little success, Raoul Duke, the journalist, realizes that the wave of the American Dream had come in, and the tide was quickly going out. Maybe this explains their use of drugs, as a way of escaping the new tide that was surly to follow.