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
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 and Terrorism Collection. Retrieved from: go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=PPWT&sw=w&u=lirn17237&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA91712982&it=r&asid=6d6bbef2d59a42967a9af0d5d6f61a40. 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