Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson is a famous journalist who has come out of retirement to cover the Honolulu marathon. Unlike most journalists, Hunter has no illusions of objectivity. His first instinct is to cover the marathon through participation, to become part of the very thing he seeks to investigate. While he takes this assignment seriously, it is apparent that Hunter hopes to find something of worth in Hawaii, something uniquely Hawaiian.

Hunter is identified largely by ego, locating everything, even his friends, in terms of himself. Ralph, in a sense, is an extension of Hunter's ego, reflecting the journalist with pen and paint, codifying the aesthetic of Hunter's mythology. Hunter's egotism reaches its apex when he declares himself the returned god Lono. In this way, by becoming Lono, Hunter lays claim to entire Hawaiian discourse. Hunter locates Hawaii by assimilating it into his own persona.

As both...