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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 does Thompson get his credentials in Part 1?

2. For what does Thompson tell the hitchhiker he and the lawyer are searching?

3. To what song playing on the jukebox does Thompson have a bad reaction?

4. What magazine in Part 1, Chapter 10 says they want a 50,000 word article from Thompson?

5. In Part 1, Chapter 9, what does Thompson read is a main conflict in the United States?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the thought that finally spurs Thompson to leave Las Vegas in Part I, Chapter 11?

2. Where does Thompson and his lawyer go for a show after leaving the Mint 400, and what happens there? What do they do after that?

3. What story does Thompson tell readers about the effects of long term drug use?

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

5. 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?

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

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

8. What seems to change Thompson’s plans to leave Las Vegas in Part I?

9. How does the man in the Harley-Davidson shirt get to the Mint 400 race?

10. What does Thompson do after the attorney threatens people in the elevator in Part I, Chapter 7, and why does the attorney feel so badly?

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

There are numerous references that Thompson makes to the American Dream. Two are: Thompson begins a fairly lucid explanation for their trip through the desert. He and his attorney, Thompson says, are in search of the American Dream. Thompson and his attorney sit in the bar of the Circus-Circus, the attorney begins to complain of a drug-induced paranoia that is slowly taking hold of him. Thompson attempts to combat this by telling his companion that they are sitting in the "vortex of the American dream."

Define the American Dream according to Thompson. What does it encompass? Why is he looking for it? Is it real? Do you think he finds it by the end of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? Use at least three examples of places in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas when Thompson mentions the American Dream.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following:

Trace and analyze the theme of morality in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Consider the following questions as you write: Examine which individuals are most concerned with morals and about what their concern is centered. What are some symbols of morality? Discuss the individuals who see themselves as moral or immoral. Would you judge the two main individuals as moral or immoral and why? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Trace and analyze the theme of satisfaction with one’s life in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Which individuals struggle with this issue? Why? Which individuals seem to be satisfied with their life and which are not? Why? How might dissatisfaction with one’s life motivate men such as Thompson and the attorney to use drugs and abuse people? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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