Vocab
Plot or Not!
Themes Please
WHO'S THAT!?
Drugs
100
to make easier or less difficult
facilitate
100
What do Duke and Gonzo hallucinate about in the desert?
Bats are chasing them.
100
Which theme is best represented by Duke and Gonzo traveling to Vegas?
The search for the American Dream
100
Who is R.S.?
An artist who made the sketches for the book
100
Duke says never turn your back on a ____.
DRUG
200
What is the definition of gibberish?
meaningless or unintelligible talk or writing
200
What is Duke's reason for returning to Las Vegas?
The telegram tells him to go back to cover the police convention. Duke thinks that the only way to combat something as sick and twisted as a police drug conference is to represent drug culture and be under their noses the whole time. Thus pointing out their failure at their jobs and the failure of the convention.
200
Which theme is best represented through the constant use of drugs and their effect on the protagonists?
Reality vs. Perception
200
Who is Wild Bill? Where does his name appear in the story?
He is a folk hero of the American west who was a burglar turned lawman.
200
What is reefer? When do the characters use it in the story
Pot, marijuana. They smoke it to come down and calm down when on the other drugs.
300
Synonym: detestable, offensive, repulsive, horrible
Heinous
300
What does Duke desperately want to buy during his longest drug binge in part one?
A monkey, an ape
300
Which of the 4 propositions of existentialism is best represented by the protagonist's search for meaning and the American Dream in Vegas, and how?
Freedom of Choice -- examples will vary
300
Who is Margaret Sanger? Why did the policemen make fun of her?
She is a female health activist who fought for birth control and family planning. They are conservatives and it reflects their communal lack of respect for women.
300
What does Duke describe as "nothing more helpless, irresponsible, and depraved?"
A man on ether
400
What is the definition of Introspection?
observation or examination of one's own mental and emotional state, mental processes
400
Why is a part of the book dialogue heavy?
Duke doesn't remember what happened so he uses a recording of a tape to fill in the gap verbatim.
400
Explain the significance of absurdity as it relates to the theme of perception vs. reality?
Many components and plot events in the book are absurd and exaggerated. The reality of the situation of Hunter S. Thompson and the REAL Dr. Gonzo is complicated by their perception of events. Reality and perception are two main ideas that shape and influence nonfiction, and Thompson is a reporter who must use his perception to describe reality and write about it. The absurd element is incorporated to make the reader question the existence of any reality at all and understand inherent bias.
400
Who said "Kill the Head and the Body Will Die?" What did he do?
Smokin' Joe Frazier who fought Muhammed Ali and he is a boxer.
400
What type of drug allows Duke and Dr. Gonzo to have fantastical and sometimes nightmarish visions? What is the cultural significance of this drug? (Is the significance high or low)
Hallucinogens, specifically LSD, and very high. 1960s counterculture revolved around LSD, free love, free drugs, peace, and "mind expansionist" music
500
Synonym: salty, unpleasant to taste Antonym: calm, boredom, relaxed Definition: to squat on one's heels
1: Brackish 2: Manic 3: Hunker
500
What question does Duke continually ask? (Hint: it drives the plot)
Why am I really here?
500
Explain how Lucy instigates an existential crisis. What is her role? What does her presence evoke in Duke? What are we are readers supposed to take away from the situation?
Lucy is a naive uncorrupted figure representing America and nostalgia. Because she is a goods and resources (capital) Duke (capitalist) wants to exploit her in the most twisted way by selling her body to policemen. The reader is supposed to understand how humans, even educated ones like Duke, are capable of anything. We control only ourselves but can manipulate others in the process. Duke is taking the American Dream of the happy whole family and perfect father role and subverting it by supposing that they take the young girl in only to pimp her out in violent ways.
500
Who is Barbara Streisand? Why is she in the story?
She is a famous Jewish American stage actress and singer. Lucy paints portraits of her. BONUS: Pop culture, naive obsessions of American mainstream, contrasts sweet femininity to Duke and Gonzo's disgusting maleness.
500
What are both Nixon and Ronald Reagan famous for, and why is it significant?
The WAR ON DRUGS (Nancy Reagan championed the cause after Nixon). It is significant because Nixon who was a capitalizing crook and Reagan who was a conservative movie star, are two Presidents (who were linked to American stereotypes) who declared war on a culture that existed outside the mainstream. They were alarmed by the upcoming presence of drug culture and fought hard against everything Thompson represented.
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