hunter thompson fear and loathing in las vegas

And it may be just this variety of content which makes the American Dream so successful – its paradoxical essence. (.) Whatever unity it possesses is delicate, its diversity undeniable” (Fossum & Roth 1981: 6). Fossum and Roth note that “the Dream is and has always been comprised of many dreams no single vision has ever totally dominated the American imagination. Jennifer Hochschild points out that the “idea of the American Dream has been attached to everything from religious freedom to a home in the suburbs, and it has inspired emotions ranging from deep satisfaction to disillusioned fury.” It generally depicts, she continues, “a good world where anything can happen and good things might” (Hochschild 1995: 15). Even if one just concentrates on the most obvious basic ideals represented by the American Dream, one cannot ignore the variety of aspects and the various possibilities of interpretation that lie even within them: freedom, equality, prosperousness, chance, new-beginning, opportunity, advancement, spontaneity, purity, individual fulfillment, unity and diversity, to name only a few. It seems almost impossible to pin down the essence of the American Dream in one clear statement or definition. Although most people claim to be able to define the American Dream it always turns out that there are considerable variations if not complete contradictions in their statements. Mainly, because the concept of the American Dream does not exist. The concept of the American Dream is hard to grasp.

Finally, Thompson’s novel will be the focal point. Then, a comparison between the 1950s and the 1960s shows the change of values in American society during these two decades and tries to explain the increasing degree of disillusion, violence and paranoia which had a determining influence on the American Dream of the late Sixties and early Seventies when Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was published. In order to do so there will be first given a quick introduction to the constituent parts of the concept of the American Dream and the influence of the first Puritan settlers on them. A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream and the American Dream. Thompson’s novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 3.1 Road to Salvation: The Combination of Success and Virtueģ.2 The Moral Example: A City upon a HillĤ.1 Suburban Bliss: The American Dream in the 1950sĤ.3 The Rise of the Civil Rights Movement and the Beat GenerationĦ.1 The writing of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegasĩ.5 Standing on the Main Nerve of the American Dream

Hunter thompson fear and loathing in las vegas