Chapter 21 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 21 seeks to place the Hell's Angels within a wider social setting by detailing their interaction with other groups. As their media attention increased, the Hell's Angels found themselves the unlikely heroes of the counter-culture. They were invited to parties, asked their opinions, and the featured guests of many important intellectuals. The Hell's Angels found the free alcohol and drugs appealing, but failed to come to terms with the larger social significance. They remained, essentially, outlaws and criminals.

Thompson relates a series of meetings between the Hell's Angels and Ken Kesey, an important and well-known counter-culture author. Kesey routinely invited the Hell's Angels to his personal home and property. The surrounding rural area was antagonistic to Kesey and the Hell's Angels, but no serious disturbances arose. Things got no worse than cops routinely harassing everyone leaving Kesey's property. The Kesey crowd...