Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

“But what was the story? Nobody had bothered to say. So we would have to drum it up on our own.”

Raoul reflects on the assignment he has been given by a magazine to “cover the story” of the Mint 400 Race in Las Vegas. However, it is unclear to him what this means. As such, he is going to take the opportunity to cover the story in a “Gonzo journalism” fashion and help create the story himself by becoming a protagonist in the action.

“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.”

Raoul comments on the trip to Las Vegas Gonzo and himself are about to embark on. On one level, this can be read ironically, since their drug fuelled adventure seems to be the very antithesis of traditional notions of the American dream. On another level, they are following in the best, frontier pushing traditions of American life and literature, following in the tradition of the pioneers and writers like Burroughs, Ginsberg and Kerouac.

“It was like trying to keep track of a swimming meet in an Olympic-sized pool filled with talcum powder instead of water.”

This is Raoul’s description of the problem with covering the Mint 400 race in the desert. As all the vehicles have created a huge cloud of dust, any attempt to conventionally observe the race, or who is winning, is impossible. On another level the cloud of dust serves as a