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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where do the journalists go after the race begins?

2. Why does Thompson decide to leave Las Vegas in Part 1, Chapter 9?

3. How many vehicles leave when the race first begins in Part 1, Chapter 5?

4. Why is Thompson uncomfortable in a car full of narcotics in Part 1, Chapter 6?

5. Why is the lawyer upset at the photographer sent for Thompson?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Thompson say he and his attorney must do to prepare for the trip to Las Vegas?

2. What is waiting for Thompson at Hotel Flamingo in Part I, Chapter 10, and what does Thompson decide to do about the telegram he receives?

3. How is Thompson trying to leave Las Vegas at the beginning of Part I, Chapter 11?

4. What happens to the attorney on the way to the racetrack in Part 1, and what does Thompson do about it?

5. What does Thompson describe about his run in with a Highway Patrol Officer?

6. What does Thompson realize after the attorney pulls a gun on him in Part I, Chapter 3?

7. What worries Thompson about his and his attorney’s behavior in front of the hitchhiker, and what does Thompson decide to do about it?

8. What does Thompson tell the lawyer they must do when they get to their room in the first hotel they stay at in Las Vegas?

9. Why is Thompson feeling so overwhelmed at the thought of leaving Las Vegas in Part I, Chapter 11?

10. Why and how does the hitchhiker leave the car that the attorney is driving?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The two automobiles that Thompson and the attorney use are a red Chevy convertible and a white Cadillac convertible. The two men even name the cars.

Compare symbolism of the great red shark and the white whale. What do they represent? How do they tie in with Thompson’s view of the American culture? If the two were in a life and death struggle, who would win, the red shark or the white whale? Why? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

One of the recurring images throughout Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is violence. This violence is drug related, or part of the Vietnam War, or the conflict between the protestors and police. Much of the violence cited in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is in the form of Thompson reading newspapers.

Discuss what the author is attempting to say about America and violence. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Identify a person in the story whom you would consider to be a protagonist if this book was fiction. Explain why you believe the person would be a protagonist in a work of fiction. Identify the persons in the book which, if it was a work of fiction, would be considered the antagonists of the story. Explain why you would chose those individuals as antagonists if the work was fiction. Which three secondary persons have the greatest impact on the plot?

(see the answer keys)

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