Hunter S Thompson Essays

Hunter Thompson Biography
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, explored the life of the iconic journalist with
a focus on the mid–1960's to mid–70's, where his work was at the height of creative genius. This
stylized documentary used his own words, home videos, interviews from the people who knew him
best, and some sporadic narrations from Johnny Depp interwoven in the story line to give insight to
the creative and intellectual process in which Thompson created his work. The narrative starts with
Thompson's quaint upbringing in Louisville, Kentucky and ends with his suicide in 2005. It
explores the style of Thompson's works, Gonzo Journalism. We were also taken through the story
of his personal life. This was a life filled with an excess of booze, drugs,...show more content...
Even his symbol for Gonzo was a two–thumbed fist clutching a peyote button. This denotes a
drug–fueled, madcap libertarianism, a pursuit of freedom to the very edge of good sense and
beyond . What put Thompson on the map was his book Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible
Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, where he followed and lived with the iconic Hell's Angels
motorcycle gang for nearly two years. He eventually became disillusioned with the group and left.
This book also lead him and his writing style to the fertile grounds of Rolling Stone Magazine,
where his work was
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September 11 Remember Analysis
I chose to compare the short story by Hunter S. Thompson "Fear & Loathing in America" to
Newsweek's :"Letters: September 11 Remembered." The first is Hunter S. Thompson's short story
which is based on the real event, he talks about what the typical American is feeling about the
attack and the thoughts going through their mind while the Newsweek article is a collection of
many people's thoughts and attitudes towards the event just 1 year later. I felt these two would be a
good comparison as we can compare the short story writer's feelings about the events to the feelings
of Americans who were asked what they're thoughts of the 1 year memorial of 9–11 were. The
author described feelings of anger when he mentions that "If the guilty won't hold up their hands
and confess, he and the Generals will ferret them out by force." (Thompson, H. 2001) And also
feelings of confusion when mentioning how after 24 hours "and we are not getting much
information about the Five Ws of this thing." (Thompson, H. 2001) Reading the story really helps
you understand great mix of feelings that people experienced then and how traumatic it was. It does
all this using some story telling mechanisms, how does this stack up to what real people actually felt?
A year after September 11th, 2001 Newsweek published an article that contained a lot of
mini–interviews asking regular people what they were feeling about the current memorial and
situation and the event as a whole. In a sense I feel the author for the short story caught the spirit of
the reactions...show more content...
Thompson (December 2001). "Fear & Loathing in America." Retrieved from: http://proxy.espn.com
/espn/page2/story?id=1250751 Accessed: December 13, 2016.
Newsweek (September 23rd, 2002), p. 16. "Letters: September 11 Remembered." War andTerrorism
Collection. Retrieved from: go.galegroup.com/ps
/
PPWT&sw=w&u=lirn17237&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA91712982&it=r&asid=6d6bbef2d59a42967a9af0d5d6f
Accessed: December 14,

From this week's reading, I chose to write analysis and synthesis of the story by Hunter S.
Thompson, Fear and loathing in America. The author narrates in the story about the event
surrounding the 9/11 and made some predictions about the possible consequences of war that are
going to start to happen due to the attack on the American soil. To state one of the author's
predictions that he said for sure will happen and what really we experienced and witness today
that his predicts are for real happening. " it will be a religious war, a sort of Christian jihad, fueled
by religious hatred and led by merciless fanatics on both sides"(Thompson, 2001, p.7). As the
author stated in the story, media and political figures played a major role in decorating the attack
as if it was a religious war carried out by religious extremists, who want to start a new crusade war
of the 21st century. It was never mentioned as politically motivated attack, but of rootless extremists
who want to get rid of Christianity. As a result hatred between Muslim and Christianity increased
more than ever. Since the 9/11 attack there has been an increasing...show more content...
The implementation of new U.S. Immigration and anti terrorism laws after the September 11 left the
Muslim communities in fear and disillusionment. "In post –sep.11 America, immigrants from
predominantly Muslim countries have been victimized by U.S new legislations that allegedly
targets them as a group"(Baker, 2005). The government engaged in expelling a specific group
member in the name of preventing terrorist infiltration, which was criticized as nothing more than
legislated xenophobia and discrimination. Likewise the same inhumane beheading of Christians is
carried on by Islamic extremists to describe some of them, Boko Haram in West Africa, dash and
ISIS in North Africa and Middle

The American Dream is the phrase and trademark of American society today that many hope to
achieve in some point in their lives. In Hunter S. Thompson's novel, Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas, readers follow Thompson depicted as Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo in hoping to
find the American Dream. It uses Gonzo Journalism, a style that is an adaption of Picaresque
narrative to document his drug–induced experiences traveling through 1970's Las Vegas. The
Picaresque novels are composed of first–person narrative that relates to the adventures of a picaro
character or rogue hero with an episodic structure and romantic techniques to present the story as a
realist. The novel presents various examples of picaresque genre and American journey narratives.
Thompson uses picaresque narrative of a rogue hero's desert journey for the American Dream in bars,
casinos, hotels only to find that it is essentially unattainable. At the same time, Thompsons examines
the generation's failure to achieve the American Dream by commenting on their cultural behavior in
the 1960s and 1970s.
The principles of Picaresque genre are revealed throughout the novel: first person narrative and
episodic structure of a rogue hero. Thompson portrays an episodic plot in the novel where the rogue
hero travels back and forth in search of the American Dream. Duke and his attorney drive their red
convertible across the deserts of Las Vegas. As their drug consumption increases, they trash their
hotel room and

The Thompson's Short Story
It was a rather calm and at times breezy mid–summer morning in the Thompson household. The
Thompson's were a family of 6 that had settled into a small suburb in West Haven, Connecticut.
Jason and Jana were the parents of 4 children, separated by just 5 years in total. The kid's names all
started with the letter J after the parent's televisions show 19 kids and counting. The family had
always planned on having 19 kids but it didn't work out for them as Jana passed away giving birth
to the last baby. The oldest of the group was Jaxson who was also the wildest of all the Thompson.
Jaxson would never sit still and was always causing trouble throughout the house. He was constantly
fighting with his younger brother Justin who was only separated by

Hunter Thompson Research Paper
In today's world, many people witness all these mass shootings, through their local news or through
their own reliable source, and all these things that could easily make someone become very
depressed. Unfortunately when some people become depressed or when things in life start to go
severely downhill, alas, they turn to suicide instead of trying to get help from a dependable person.
This happened to Hunter S. Thompson who committed suicide on February 20th, 2005. He was
killed by what was diagnosed as a self–inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Hunter S. Thompson
was a penman and a politician, born in Louisville, Kentucky, who would go on to adventure all
throughout the world, run for Sheriff in a Pitkin county, in the state of Colorado....show more
content...
He traveled all over the world from different parts of the U.S. all the way to countries within the
borders of South America. Throughout his travels, he had some of the craziest experiences,
which lead to him being known as a very non compos mentis individual. While in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, he drank nothing but rum. He, was familiar for his ability to create adventures that
were fun, deranged, and absolutely out of this world. Whether it goes from what Thompson
would drink the whole time, or what he decided to spend his time on. After being fired from a
New York Newspaper company in the Spring of 1959, Thompson went on a journey to Puerto
Rico, Thompson drank nothing but rum. "It is bad enough drink Scotch all day in any climate,
but to come to the tropics and start belting it down for three hours each morning before breakfast
can bring on a general failure of health." (unknown). His choice, Rum on the rocks, when a bottle
of rum costed just one dollar, and a bag of ice costed 2 dollars. "The drinking would begin at
noon," he wrote. "It made the day go a little faster" (Eells). He would do this as a way to help get
his focus off of being recently fired from his job in New York. As many other people throughout
the world do. As soon as certain situations go bad, some people turn to Alcohol as a way to relief
some of the pain. Which happened to Thompson in 1959 when he got fired from his job. As
earlier stated he drank absolutely nothing but cheap rum, which inspired his book, The Rum
Diary, published in 1998 which was made into a movie in 2011 starring Johnny Depp, released on
DVD in February of 2012. The fact that his crazy adventures led to him being inspired nearly 30
years later after the fact, he was able to create a book talking about his experience, and to be able to
have that turned into a movie is astonishing. Sometimes he would go places having no idea

Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a travelogue of sorts, due to the blurred
lines between fiction and non–fiction, which deeply explores the status of the American Dream
during the early 70's, specifically 1971. Thompson states this purpose within the first three chapters
of the book in the line, "Because I want you to know that we're on our way to Las Vegas to find the
American Dream." (F&L pg 6) Although Thompson states in the beginning of the book that,
"Our trip was different. It was a classic affirmation of everything right and true and decent in the
national character. It was a gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country..."
by the end of the book he comes to the conclusion...show more content...
Las Vegas represents the exaggerated and most extreme trends in American society, such as instant
gratification, hypocrisy, greed, excess, and the belief that you need to be lucky to go from nothing to
something, while New York represents the ideals of moving up in society, charm, and opportunity.
#2:
"Allow me to introduce myself...I'm a man of wealth and taste. Sympathy? Not for me. No mercy
for a criminal freak in Las Vegas. This place is like the army: the shark ethic prevails–eat the
wounded. In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world
of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity." (F&L pg 72)
In Horatio Alger's American Dream, there is a clear hero character, who succeeds through bravery
and honest ethics. On the other hand, in Thompson's work, the people have this "shark ethic" of
feeding on the wounded or the poor, in which everyone is guilty. Instead of working hard in order
to move up in society, people resort to stealing, and taking advantage of the people below them.
Even our protagonist, Duke, has flawed ethics himself and is more of an anti–hero than a hero.
#3:
"Especially here in our own country–in this doomstruck era of Nixon. We are all wired into a
survival trip now. No more of the speed that fueled the 60's. That was the fatal flaw in Tim Leary's
trip. He crashed around America selling

Hunter S. Thompson's Cruelty
It is ironic that after reading, Hunter S. Thompson's piece on 9/11, I found his arbitrary published at
First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life. I had no idea he committed suicide in
front of his son, daughter–in–law and six–year–old grandson. Also, he shot himself in the mouth
while talking to his wife on the phone (Neuhaus, 2005).
In the arbitrary, it says that his family respected his decision. Many other writers who had worked
closely with him said that the way he took himself out was "in character". These indicate that Hunter
S. Thompson had a stunt–like character and was a free–thinker. However, from juxtaposition of
Hunter's piece on 9/11 and his suicide, it can be assumed that Hunter did not like the human cruelty

Hunter S. Tompson and Gonzo Journalism Essay
Hunter S. Tompson and Gonzo Journalism In the late sixties a young journalist and free–lance
novelist named Hunter S. Thompson (HST) emerged with a new, crazed and exaggerated brand
of reporting. It was sooner or later referred to as "Gonzo". HST's own definition of gonzo has
varied over the years, but he still maintains that a good gonzo journalist "needs the talent of a
master journalist, the eye of an artist/photographer and the heavy balls of an actor" and that gonzo
is a "style of reporting based on William Faulkner's idea that the best fiction is far more true than
any kind of journalism"(Carroll, page 192). Gonzo journalism has also been referred to as outlaw
journalism, new journalism, alternative journalism, literary...show more content...
Steadman's work will be found on the title page to this essay). As the deadline for the article
approached, and with the article still incomplete, HST resorted to ripping out pages of his notebook
and sending them to the editors. What resulted was the beginning of gonzo journalism. Many see
gonzo journalism to be a variation of a theme, which began with new journalism in the 60's, led
primarily by author Tom Wolfe. (The Electric Kool–Aid Acid Test, etc.) New Journalism was said to
have broken all the rules of traditional journalism. The old style journalists were supposed to take
an objective point of view in their articles. The new journalists were far more subjective, getting
personally involved in the stories they were reporting. New journalism really isn't new at all.
Objectivity has been the great myth of journalism. As hard as media sources try to be objective, they
can never truly achieve it. Everything from space limitations (a journalist must decide what is and
what is not important enough to fit into a column) to illustrations (this gives readers a non–objective
picture in their head about the issue) infringe on objectivity. New journalism and gonzo journalism
alike pay no regard to the objectivity laws of journalism and instead focus their works very little on
the facts but on the "facts", as they

Hunter Thompson Essay
Of the two articles we were given to read this week from the day after September 11th, 2001, I
preferred the article from the New York Times. Though the article for ESPN by Hunter
Thompson (2001) was more engaging, I could not get past statements like, "We are going to
punish somebody for this attack, but just who or what will be blown to smithereens for it is hard
to say" (para. 9). Even though I am certainly in support of punishing those who are responsible for
attacks like the ones upon the world trade centers, but the vitriol with which Thompson describes
blowing them to smithereens made my stomach turn. As a result, I cannot say that I liked
Thompson's article. I can say that Thompson's article did a better job of keeping my attention. A
large portion of the New York Times reporting from Litsky and Williams (2001) was a listing of
cancelled events which, while informative, is just not very...show more content...
Human beings have passed on knowledge throughout the ages in stories. There is a reason that
more people have probably read the Illiad than straight histories of the Trojan war; we like to have
a story to think about as opposed to a fact sheet to memorize. If you can incorporate thought or fun
along with facts, it can make the learning process easier. This is something we see and tend to
acknowledge more in children though it is truthful for adults as well. Daniel Willingham (2004), a
cognitive scientist, points out that research has shown "[p]eople find material presented in a story
format more engaging than if it is presented in expository text no matter what the topic" (para. 5).
Reporting in a narrative keeps the reader interested and this results in better retention of information
we were exposed to. More than likely, each of us could state more of the facts that Thompson
pointed out in his story than list cancelled events reported by Litsky and

Hunter Thompson Journalism
Hunter S. Thompson was the man responsible for what is known today as gonzo journalism. This
type of journalism is written in the first–person narrative and places the reporter in the middle of the
action, allowing for personal experiences, emotions, and biases in a way that defies traditional
journalism. Thompson's subversive style of journalism was so radical that according to Jennifer
Marinelli's (2010) post on the Michigan Online News Association, "Thompson didn't just create a
new form of journalism. He created a new way of thinking that is still important in today's society"
(para. 2). In other words, he didn't just transform journalism; he transformed people's minds. Perhaps
this should not come as a surprise that such a man could

Unit 5 Written Assignment
The article I read was called 'Fear and Loathing' by Hunter S. Thompson. It was his response on
about the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 here in America. He explains how this
incident changed us. As Hunter S. Thompson said, "We are At War now–– with somebody –– and
we will stay at war with that mysterious enemy for the rest of our lives." (Thompson, 2001, para.
6). His main focus was that the Americans will always be at war because of this.
Americans still don't know who the actual enemy was, all they knew at the time was that someone
from the other side of the world started this. The source I chose which relates to the article I read
was called ' Silence to descend on America as 911 victims remembered.'

In Fear and Loathing by Hunter S. Thompson money and credit cards played a major role during
Dr. Gonzo and Duke's stay at Las Vegas. Money not only helped them to fulfill their needs but also
reflects their status. Money in cash and credit form made their journey luxuries and respectful as
they got ceased from many problems caused by their inappropriate behaviour.
In the beginning, itself they got red convertible and bought lot of drugs to make their journey
adventurous. The Magazine that sent them to cover the motorcyclist race at Las Vegas offered
Duke a $300 for the trip expenses whereas Duke ended up buying drugs. This shows their
adventure was all about the presence of money to buy illegal drugs and get involved in illegal
practices.
During the trip, they went to Casinos and became a part of gambling. The visits to the bars and
pubs was common part of their journey. The possession of cards and cash saved them from many
problems....show more content...
The parking attendants begin to yell at Duke for parking illegally, but Duke's lawyer silences them
with a five–dollar. He then claims that they are friends with Debbie Reynolds. After a long
argument, the men eventually convince the guard to let them into the show without tickets.
Raoul Duke and his attorney panic when the hotel sends them a large bill and they realized that they
have run out of money. Duke lends his attorney some money for plane fare and he left for Los
Angels. Duke is nervous upon finding himself alone; he has no money. Hence, the money was his
alone strength and finding himself with no money introduces him to various

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson Summary
Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is remembered as a journalist who used his own unique style of writing
to add narrative to reinvent investigative journalism as he saw it. His style inspired many
journalists, and I was sadden to read of his death, at his own hand. The short story that he wrote
following the World Trade Center bombings in 2001, Fear and Loathing in America, for ESPN
featured a narrative that captured the reader. This article, and indeed his unique style of writing
were examined in an obituary written by Richard Keil in 2005.
To begin with, I will examine the article written by Thompson shortly after September 11, 2001.
The author's angle was one of foreboding, a warning for all Americans of what was to come
concerning their personal...show more content...
Keil (2005) highlighted the style used by Thompson. The author wrote about Thompson's life, giving
him much credit and clearly expressing his adoration for the man. Indeed, when Keil first
interviewed Thompson, it cost him his position with the Associated Press, taking him years to gain
his credibility back (Keil, 2005). Synthesis is found between these two pieces of writing when Keil
highlights the distain that Thompson had for two Presidents of the United States. "George W. Bush,
who, with Richard Nixon, was among Hunter's least favorite presidents" highlights the fact that the
reader was correct in their conclusion that in 2001, Thompson was not pleased with the President
nor with his decisions (Keil, 2005, para. 3). Furthermore, Thompson's references in the short story
were very well placed, supported when Keil (2005) writes, "what's less remembered about Hunter is
the sweep of his knowledge––he could quote the Bible, Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Norman Mailer, the Koran, at will––and the clarity of his writing" (para. 10). This
synthesis, or evidence, is well supported in the article, giving further credibility to the
aforementioned short story for ESPN. I am in agreement with Keil, fully supporting his views on the
author and rather touched at the point of view he provided in his well–written

The Motorcycle Gangs: Hunter S. Thompson
"The Motorcycle Gangs was written by the icon as known as Hunter S. Thompson in 1965. It
involves a notorious outlaw group known as the Hell Angels. They were falsely accused of sexually
assaulting two teenage girls in California. Lying is the basic fundamentals of any Media production
in the United States, it is only human nature for them to conceal the truth and hide mistakes. Despite
them being in an official gang, they had morals and were loyal to each other. Though this topic is
interesting it sends a message of how complicated life can get when you are wrongly accused of
doing something that you know you did not do, which is another piece of craft that Thompson sends
through a reflection of his life.
On a Labor Day weekend there was a tragic incident that occur in California. The incident was
involving two teenage girls one that was 14 and the other was 15. They were on a causal date
when all of a sudden a group of motor cyclist which appeared to be a gang called the Hell Angles.
They had taken them and had supposally sexually assault them repeatly. When the Attorney General
of California got involved he had recently issued an official report on the Hell's Angels. The official
report stated that they were accused of homosexuality, when they technically...show more content...
Lynch goal was to get as much information about the Hell Angles as he possibly can. He started to
do further investigation by sending questionnaires to police chiefs, sheriffs and district attorneys.
All this was to create a story so he could send them away for good. It took approximately 6 months
to put all the information together to create a heinous story. When this report got release the Hell
Angles had stolen a copy of it. The report had a numerous of crimes, they had rounded it off from
the total crimes that is committed in the state of California, and rounded off a portion of it to frame
the Hell Angels. They were devoted to getting rid of the Outlaw

Answers after reading the article and the short story provided on this week's unit
Which did you like better?
I liked the short story better "Fear & Loathing in America". To me it had more content and the way
that it was written it made me feel like I was actually listening to a person not just reading something.
Which kept your attention? Why?
Well, it was the way that the writer describes these unbelievable acts. He details this devastating
disaster in a very intense way, reflecting what he is feelings as he is writing about it and somehow he
makes me identify with that intensity and feelings as I keep on reading the story; furthermore the
writer compares this disaster to some of the most overwhelming events that have left scars in
America

Loathing In America
In the article "Fear & Loathing in America" at ESPN.com is a prediction by Dr. Hunter S
Thompson of the response the United States would make in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on
New York, Pennsylvania, and The Pentagon. In Fear & Loathing, Thompson describes the attacks
and with the destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers that this eliminated the possibility
of "Peace in Our Time". Thompson also predicted this would be a religious war without end, and
there was no way the attacks could have been prevented. The frank observations by the author and
the choice of language were signatures of Thompson. Writing in The Independent, Robert Chalmers
describes his first meeting with Thompson in 1992 and on subsequent occasions Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson Or Hunter Stockton Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson or also known as Hunter Stockton Thompson was born on July 18, 1937, in
Louisville, Kentucky. Hunter was born to Jack and Virginia Thompson, his father passed away
while Hunter was in high school. Virginia had a few problems and couldn't really take care of her
kids by herself. Virginia didn't know what to do with her children because they were often involved
with trouble, especially Hunter.
Hunter showed a great interest in writing. When serving in the U.S. Air Force, not only was he
fighting for our country, but he was starting his new writing career. Thompson was known as the
"gonzo journalism", his style of reporting was highly impressive. Hunter was discharged from his
Air Force base sooner than he expected, but that

Hunter Thompson Gonzo Journalism
The excess use of guns, booze, and too many drugs to count easily summarizes the life and writing
of Hunter S. Thompson. The American culture of the 1960s began to alter with the hippie
generation, and the same old drab writing was not fulfilling the desires of the American reader.
During the 1970s, American literature and journalism transformed in a way that no one would have
ever been able to predict. Thompson found a way to turn the tables, and effected generations to come
in a new dynamic writing style that many authors and journalist nowadays adopt. The life and
writing of Hunter S. Thompson had great influence on the creation of gonzo journalism, politics, and
American culture. Even after forty years, Hunter S. Thompson's creation of gonzo journalism
became a fashionable style of writing that remains impersonated. Gonzo journalism has numerous
different characteristics; one of the most predominant is writing as a triple–agent. To write in this
style one becomes the biographical author and a narrator at the same time. In a journal from Olga
Fayzullina she describes gonzo journalism as, "The author's position is always dual, on the one
hand, he is an observer and witness of real events, on the other hand, and he is an active participant
who shows the high degree of reflection and self–reflection." (276). Furthermore, another key to
gonzo journalism is the use of fact and fiction integrated together to portray a desired message to the
reader. The use of gonzo journalism

Hunter S Thompson Essays

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Hunter S Thompson Essays