The Savage Journey Continues: Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as a Modern American Picaresque

Abstract

This thesis presents a reading of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as a continuation of two separate literary traditions: the picaresque genre, and that of American journey narratives. It is focused on the literary aspects of Fear and Loathing - a novel that has been treated for the most part as a work of journalism. Based on Thompson's own definition of Gonzo Journalism as being a hybrid form of journalism mixed with fiction, I have tried to shed light on the literariness of the novel.