The“MostAccurate,LeastFactual”Writer:

HunterS.Thompson,Journalist

by

MarionSuzanneStotesbury

July,2010

Chair:JeffreyJohnson

Department:English

NewJournalism,aspracticedbyTomWolfe,JimmyBreslin,andotherwriters,loosenedtheacceptedboundsofjournalisminthe1960s.Embracingtheseunrestrictedjournalismpractices,HunterS.ThompsonadaptedtheNewJournalists’techniquesandaddedsomeofhisowntocreateGonzoJournalism.Amixofsatire,darkhumor,andparody,Gonzofocusedonthepersonatellingthestoryratherthantheeventsthatthewriteronwhichwassupposedtobereporting.Objectivity,themainstayoftraditionalreportinginthe20thcentury,wasnotthegoalinGonzo.Thompson’swritingmorecloselyresembledthenewswritingthatcamebeforetheriseofobjectivity.Today,Thompson’sinfluenceonthemodernmediahasleadthewayforsatiricalnewsprogrammingsuchasTheColbertReportandpublicationslikeTheOnion.Thompson’swritingwasalsothealsoaforbearerofthemodernpolarizedmedia.Peoplewhoreadhisreportageunderstoodthattheyweregettingastoryfromhispoint‐of‐view;similarly,showslikeFoxNewsprovidethenewsfromacertainviewpoint.

The“LeastFactual,MostAccurate”Writer:

HunterS.Thompson,Journalist

AThesis

PresentedTo

theFacultyoftheDepartmentofEnglish

EastCarolinaUniversity

InPartialFulfillment

oftheRequirementsfortheDegree

MasteroftheArts

by

MarionSuzanneStotesbury

July,2010

Copyright©2010MarionSuzanneStotesbury

The “Least Factual, Most Accurate” Writer: Hunter S. Thompson, Journalist

By Marion Suzanne Stotesbury

Approved by: Director of Thesis:__________________________________________________

Thomas Douglass Committee Member:________________________________________________

Liza Wieland Committee Member: _______________________________________________

Alex Albright Chair of the Department of English:____________________________________

Jeffrey Johnson Dean of the Graduate School:________________________________________

Paul J. Gemperline

Acknowledgements

Iwouldliketothankmyparents,RodneyandJackie,andmybrothers,ThomasandJames,forsupportingmethroughoutmygraduateschoolcareer.Ialsowouldliketothankmythesiscommitteemembers,AlexAlbrightandLizaWieland,fortheirhelpincompletingthisdocument.Finally,IwouldliketothankTomDouglass,mythesisdirector,forthesupporthegavemetomakethisthesispossible.

TableofContents

Preface……………………………………………..……………………………………………….1

Chapter1:TheNewJournalism…………………………………………………………..4

Chapter2:GonzoJournalism………………………………………………………………17Chapter3:Thompson'sInfluenceonModernMediaandLiterature……..38

Preface

HunterS.Thompson(1937‐2005)wasawriterwhohasbeenacuriosityfor

readersandcriticsforhisunconventionalhabitsanddistinctivewritingstyle.He

was,accordingtoFrankMankiewicz,GeorgeMcGovern’scampaignmanagerin

1972,the“leastaccurate,mostfactual”writerbecause,whileheoftenemployed

fictionandexaggerationinhiswriting,hisobservationsremainanaccurate

depictionoftheeventshedescribed—eventoday,fortyyearsafterhiswriting

becamemainstream.However,onlyfewwritershavestudiedhisworkscritically,

andoftenthoseobservationsonlyservetocomparehisworktothatofother

journalists.NoneofthesecriticsexplainthevalueofThompson’swritingnor

demonstratehowhisworkhasinfluencedotherwritersandjournalists.

Tounderstandhisinfluence,itisimportanttolookattheerainwhich

Thompsonwrote.Theworld‐changingeventsofthe1960sbroughtaboutNew

Journalism.Thiscreativestyleofreportagewasanewwaytonotonlydescribethe

eventsthatwerehappening,butalsogivereadersadeeperunderstandingof

emotionalatmospheresurroundingthoseevents.Thompson’swritingsimilarly

workedtoprovidethestorybehindthestoryandhiscreativeallowancesmadehim

comparabletootherwritersofthetimeperiod—writerslikeTomWolfe,Jack

Kerouac,andWilliamBurroughs.Becauseofthis,criticsoftengroupedThompson

togetherwiththeNewJournalists.However,despiteusingmanysimilarmethodsto

theNewJournalists,theidiosyncrasiesofThompson’swritinggreatlydifferedfrom

thatofotherwriters.

2

ExploringtheevolutionofThompson’swritingshowshowhedevelopedhis

particularstyleofreportage,knownas“Gonzo”Journalism.“Gonzo”was

Thompson’swayofpresentinggrotesqueeventsofatimeperiodtoamyopic

America.Further,heparticipatedintheeventsherecordedinordertoshowa

perspectivethatprovidesreadersaninsider’slookatwhathappenedratherthan

providingthehistoricalrecordingoffactsprovidedbythosewhomerelyobserved

eventsaroundthem.Hisone‐of‐a‐kindmethodshowshowhestoodapartfrom

otherjournalists,eventhosewhousedunconventionaltechniquesinreporting.

Thompson’splaceintheevolutionofjournalismcanbeestablishedby

exploringhowJournalismhaschangedovertime.Thompson’sinfluenceofhis

writingonmodernreportagebecomesevidentintoday’spolarizedmedia.FoxNews,

forexample,isaright‐leaningnewsnetworkthatoftenportraysstoriesinaway

thatcoincideswithitsviewers’conservativeviewpoint.Inthesamewayreaders

readThompson’sworkbecausetheyenjoyhiswitandbrashness,today’ssociety

oftenprefersreportagethatleanstowardtheirviewsandbeliefs.Also,thesatirical

newsoutletstodayarealsoreminiscentofThompson’sstyle.Comedicnewsshows

liketheColbertReportandTheDailyShowwithJonStewartusethenewsasaform

ofentertainmentratherthanforitsinformativevalue.LikeThompson,the“news”

anchorsontheseshowsarenotrestrainedbyobjectivityoraccuracy.

TheimpactofThompson’sworklieswithinthechangingwaythepublicdecides

howtoreceiveitsnews.WiththepopularityoftheInternet,peoplecanlookat

whatevermethodtheychoosetoreceivetheirinformation.Mostoften,this

informationisfilteredthroughtheopinionsandidealsofthewriters.Thompson’s

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influenceisexhibitedinthepublic’schoicetochoosenewssourcesthatitbelieves

tobemoreaccuratebecausebiasesareevident,despitepossiblefactual

inaccuracies.

TheNewJournalism

The1960swereaturbulenttimeinAmericacomparedtopreviousdecades.

TheCivilRightsmovement,theCubanmissilecrisis,thestruggleforwomen’srights,

andthewidespreadpopularityofthedrugculturechangedthewayAmericans

thoughtoftheworld.Dr.MichaelL.Johnson,authorofTheNewJournalism(1971),

wrotethatthechangescausedbytheeventsofthe1960swere“sofastand

profound,andtheircallingformoralattitudesandunderstandingsoloudthat

conscientiousjournalismhasmetamorphoseditselfinanattempttoberelevantand

toparticipatecommunicativelyinthosechanges”(xii).Somejournalistsconsidered

traditionalreportingmethodsinadequatefordescribingtheseevents.These

journalistssoughttofindadifferentwaytoreportoneventsthatreachedadeeper

truththantraditionalreporting’sformalapproachtoprovidinginformation.Anew

reportingstylecalled“NewJournalism”becameanalternativewayofrecordingthe

worldchangingeventsofthetimeperiod.

Unliketraditionaljournalism,NewJournalismfocusedheavilyonthe

audienceappealofthestoryratherthanjustthefacts.TheseNewJournalists

providedthereaderaconnectiontothestorybyincludingemotion,first‐person

narration,andfictionalelementsintheirwriting,whereastraditionaljournalism

focusedmoreonrecordingeventswithoutinterpretation.TheNewJournalists

strovetoprovideameanstoseetheworldasitwasatthatpointinhistory.

AccordingtoRonaldWeber,editorofTheReporterasArtist:ALookattheNew

JournalismControversyandauthorofseveralbooksonAmericanwriters,“Theresult

wasthatbythelate60stheNewJournalismhadtakenoverastheNewRealism,

5

examiningthesocialworldasnovelistshadoncedonebutwiththeaddedattraction

thatitwasalltrue,nothingmadeup”(45).

Amajordifferencebetweentheoldjournalistsandthenewwastheir

relationshiptotheirwriting.AsNicolausMillswroteinhisintroductiontoan

anthologyofNewJournalism,thedifference“isperhapsthemoststrikingly

illustratedbythefactthatwhenwethinkoftheoldjournalismatitsbest,we

generallythinkofnewspapers,e.g.theNewYorkTimes,theSt.LouisPost­Dispatch,

theChristianScienceMonitor;butwhenwethinkoftheNewJournalism,itis

generallythewriterstocometomindfirst:JimmyBreslinandPeteHamillmore

thantheNewYorkPost,TomWolfeandGayTalesemorethanEsquiremagazine”

(xv).Thenewformallowedjournaliststorevealtheirpersonalitiesthroughtheir

writing.Itwasnotjustaboutthewrittenwork,butalsothereader’srelationship

withthewriter(Millsxv).ThroughNewJournalism,readerswereabletoknowthe

writerpersonally.Readersknew,forexample,howWolfedressedandhowHunter

ThompsonfeltaboutPresidentNixon.Identificationwiththewriterallowedthe

readertofindhisorherownwaytojudgethewriting,ratherthanrelyingsolelyon

thecredibilityofthepublicationinwhichthewritingappeared.

ManywritersdefinedNewJournalismmerelyasastylethatemployed

fictionaldevices.Coincidently,manyjournalistsofthetimehadenteredthefield

withintentionsofmovingontonovelwriting,followingthepathofliterarygreats

likeErnestHemingwayandStephenCranewhobegantheircareersasreporters

(Donaldson528).However,asScottDonaldson,biographerofwriterslike

HemingwayandF.ScottFitzgerald,pointedout,“itseemedthatthecultof

6

objectivityhadtakenovereverywhere,andtheglamourhadgoneoutofbeinga

newsman”(528).Asaresult,journalistsfoundanewoutlettofostertheircreative

writing.NewJournalismprovidedaconduitforthiscreativitybyrejectingcommon

journalismpracticesandallowingwritersamyriadoflibertieswhentranscribing

events.

Atfirst,theterm“NewJournalism”wasalmostexclusivelyassociatedwith

TomWolfe.In1973,WolfehelpededitacollectionofessaysinthestyletitledThe

NewJournalism,whichmadehimtheunofficialspokesmanforthedevelopinggenre.

InWolfe’sintroductiontotheessaycollection,hewrotetheoldjournalismstylehad

takenona“palebeigetone,”referencingthestylizedmethodofreportingthatmost

newspapersacrossthecountryhadadopted.Thecommoninvertedpyramid

structure1andexclusiveattributionoffactstooutsidesourcesinmostnewsstories

providedwriterswithaformulathathelpednewsorganizationsprovidefactswith

littleworryofinaccuracies.

Tobreakawayfromcommonnewswriting,NewJournalistsemployed

techniquesoftenusedinwritingfictiontoguidetheaudiencethroughthestory—

employingsubjectivitywheretraditionaljournalismheavilyreliedonobjective

reporting.Inhis1975essay“Entrance”abouttheriseofNewJournalism,Richard

Kallanwrote,“Oneshouldinitiallyrealizethatinitsmostencompassingsense,New

Journalismispropelledbyadissatisfactionwithtraditionaltheoryandpracticeof

1ChristopherScanlan’sReportingandWriting:Basicsforthe21stCentury(OxfordUniversityPress,2002)providesinformationabouttheinvertedpyramidanditsusage.

7

reportorialobjectivity”(8).Itisnoteworthytosaythatmostwritersonthesubject

saythattrueobjectivitycannotbereachedanyway.Eachwriterperceivesand

writesabouteventsasfilteredthroughhisorherbiasandbeliefs.Whilenotthe

firsttopointouttheissuesconcerningobjectivity,theNewJournalistsweremore

zealousthantheirpredecessorsinarticulatingtheproblem.Theyquestionedboth

thedefinitionofobjectivityanditsdesirability.

Insteadofusingtraditionalreportingtechniques,NewJournalistsoftenemployed

“saturationreporting”(Kallan12).Thiscouldincludefollowingasubjectforseveral

weeksormonthstogetinsidethestory,givingthemtheopportunitytorecord

eventsfromdifferentperspectives.Forexample,JimmyBreslin,acolumnistwhose

workhasbeenfeaturedinvariousnewspapersinNewYorkCity,iswellknownfor

immersinghimselfinthelivesofhissubjects—evenlivingwiththem—tobeableto

recordactualscenesanddialogueastheyoccurredinthesubject’slife(Kallan12).

Saturationreportingandextensiveinterviewingallowedamoreaccurateand

intimateportrayalofthesetting,characters,andevents.Traditionaljournalists

observedfromafarandremaineddetachedintheirwriting.Theyusuallydidnot

provideadditionaldetailsbeyondwhatwasnecessarytotellthestoryandrarely

usedmorethanoneinterviewassourcematerial.Thesejournalistsoftenreliedon

secondaryaccountstotelltheirstorieswithoutwitnessingtheactionthemselves.

NewJournalists,ontheotherhand,workedtocreateapersonalconnectiontothe

subjectsoftheirwriting.Somewriters,namelyHunterThompson,tookthisone

stepfurtherbynotonlyrecordingeventsfromaninsideperspective,butalso

participatinginthestorysothathebecameacharacterinhisownwriting.

8

NewJournalistsfoundmanyproblemswithtraditionaljournalism.Objective

reportingpresumedthateverystoryhastwosides,andtwoequallybalancedviews

mustbepresentedwheneverpossible.However,thisassumes(perhaps

erroneously)thateveryfacthasonlytwosidesandthatthetruthalwayslies

betweenopposingviewpoints(Kallan9).NewJournalistsarguedthatprovidinga

balancedviewdidn’tnecessarilysupplythetruth.Theyincorporatedthesubjective

emotionsandinnerthoughtsoftheircharacterswithfactualmaterialtocreatea

genrethatallowedthereadertorelatecloselytotheevents,characters,andsettings

withinthestory.NewJournalisminterpretedeventsforthereaderratherthan

balancingthewriter’sclaimswiththoseofanoppositeviewpoint.

Moreover,NewJournalistsdisagreedwiththenotionthatallreporting

shouldbeimpersonaland,thus,detachedfromthewriter.Thisdetachment

supposedlykeptthejournalists’biasesoutofstoriesandallowedthereaderto

makehisorherownassumptionsaboutthevalidityofwhatwasread(Kallan9).

Thoughtheinvertedpyramidallowedjournaliststopresentthe“facts”inanorderly

andconcisefashion,itdidnotleaveroomforemotionanddetails.TheNew

Journalists,however,feltthatthiswasthewrongwaytoapproachastory.

AccordingtoKallan,“[They]maintainthatsuchapolicy—becauseitrefrainsfrom

shadinginthemood,tone,andfeelingofastory—leadstosterile,meaningless,and

oftenmisleadingjournalism”(9).

Unliketraditionaljournalists,NewJournalistswereskepticalaboutthe

government’sabilitytoprovidetrustworthyinformation(Kallan9).Duringthe

1960sand1970s,theUnitedStatesgovernmenthadlostalotofcredibility.More

9

andmore,theAmericanpeoplewerediscoveringthattherewasagapbetween

whatthegovernmentwastellingthemandactuality.Informationconcerningthe

mishandlingoftheVietnamWarandtheWatergatepoliticalscandalsshowedthe

Americanpeoplethatthegovernmentdidnotalwaystellthewholetruth.

NewJournalists,incontrast,wroteforanaudiencethatwasmainly

establishedoutofthecounterculture.“Questionauthority”wasthemajorcommand

ofthe1960scounterculture,andassuch,itmakessensethatNewJournalistsrarely

reliedonjustonesourceofinformation.Nomatterhowmanysourcesof

information,thesewriterswereoftenskepticalofeventhemostreliablesources

(Kallan9).However,thesewerenottheonlyelementsoftraditionaljournalismthat

NewJournalistsrejected.

Forexample,traditionaljournalismmethodsinvolvedusingtheinverted

pyramidtoprovidefactualaccuracyandimmediacywithinthestory.However,

NewJournalistssoughttobreakawayfromthistraditionalformulatocreateanew

wayofreportingfactsthatfocusedmoreontheaudienceofthework.Inverted

pyramidconstructionreliedheavilyonfactualmatter—thewho,what,where,why,

andhowofthestory—withoututilizingliterarydevicestoactivelyengagethe

reader.Millsexplained:

…awho,what,where,when,whystyleofreportingcouldnotbeginto

capturetheangerofablackpowermovementortheeuphoriaofa

Woodstock.Atbestitcouldgivetheexternalshapeofsuchevents,

andeveninthiseffortitdidnotpossesstheimmediacyoftelevision.

Foranaudienceeitherdeeplyconcernedordirectlyinvolvedinthe

10

changesgoingoninAmerica,itwasnecessarytoreporteventsfrom

theinsideout,andthisiswhatthenewjournalismattemptedtodo.

(xvii)

NewJournalistsincludedhumanemotionandeverydaydetailsintheirwritingto

helptheaudiencefindavisceralconnectionwiththestory.Usingelementsoften

foundinfictionwriting,theNewJournalistscreatedapoint‐of‐viewthatwasnot

providedintraditionalnewswriting.

Tofacilitatethisnewpoint‐of‐view,NewJournalistslikeNormanMailer2and

HunterThompson3oftenusedpersonastohelpnarratestoriesastheywere

unfolding.Apersonaprovidedjournalistsamasktopresentafirst‐personpoint‐of‐

viewthatwasnotthatofthewriter.However,somewriterslikeThompsonand

Wolfealsoprovidedtheirperspectivesintheirwriting,whichallowedthemtoshow

thestorythroughtheireyesasathirdparty.NewJournalistslikeMaileroften

switchedviewpointinstoriessothatthereadercouldfollowtheeventsastheyare

unfoldingthroughmultiplepersonasratherthanprovidingtheeventsthroughjust

onecharacter’spoint‐of‐view.NewJournalistsusedcharacters’perspectivesto

providesubjectiveelementstothestorywithwhichthereaderwouldlikelyidentify.

Alongwithsubjectivepoint‐of‐view,Wolfeidentifiedthethreeothermain

literarydevicesofNewJournalism:1)tellingthestoryusingscenesratherthan

historicalnarrative,2)usingfulldialogueratherthanmerequotations,and3)

2NormanMailerinTheArmiesoftheNight(1968).

3RaoulDukeinFearandLoathinginLasVegas(1972)andDr.HunterS.ThompsoninFearandLoathingontheCampaignTrail’72(1973).

11

recordingeverydaydetails(31).Inscene‐by‐sceneconstruction,thewriteravoided

usingmerehistoricalnarration(Wolfe31).Rather,usingtransitionalmaterial,he

tookthereaderfromscenetoscene;thereader“traveled”withthemaincharacter

throughthestory(Kallan12).Whereastraditionalreportingusedquotationsto

helpattributefactstoasource,NewJournalistsuseddialogueandconversationsin

fulltohelpprovidealargercontextforwhatwasbeingsaid.Theeverydaydetails

allowedthewritertoestablishthesceneandtoportraytheeccentricitiesofthe

subjectmatterthatoftenwerenotrevealedinobjectivewriting.

Objectivityhadbeenacornerstoneoftraditionalreportingforalongtime;

butNewJournalistsplacedtheirownviewsintothewritingtohelpreachagreater

understandingofthesubjectmatter.However,despiteusingdevicesmostoften

appliedtofictionalwriting,WolfeclaimedthattheNewJournalistscontinuedto

adheretofactualaccuracybyusingthewriterastheprimarysourceofinformation.

“Theideawastogivethefullobjectivedescription,plussomethingthatreadershad

alwayshadtogotonovelsandshortstoriesfor:namely,thesubjectiveoremotional

lifeofthecharacters”(21).WolfeaddedthattheNewJournalistsusedsaturation

reporting,extensiveinterviewing,andothermethodstoprovidecoveragewell

beyondthatoftraditionaljournalism.

Ina1966interviewwiththeNewYorkTimes,TrumanCapotesaid,"It

seemedtomethatjournalism,reportage,couldbeforcedtoyieldaseriousnewart

form:the'nonfictionnovel,'asIthoughtofit...Journalismisthemost

underestimated,theleastexploredofliterarymediums”(Plimpton).Inthe1960s,

novel‐lengthaccountsoffactualeventsthatincorporatedfictionalelementsevolved

12

intoanewliterarygenre—thenonfictionnovel.Wolfearguedin1973that“the

mostimportantliteraturebeingwritteninAmericatoday”wasnonfictionrather

thanthenovel(Wolfexi).CollectinginformationutilizingthemethodsofbothNew

Journalistsandnovelists,writersofthenonfictionnovelprovidedanewformto

readersthatincorporatedrealisticemotions,settings,andcharactersthatconnected

thereadertothestory.Wolfebelievedthatrealismwasnotanotherwritingdevice,

butratheritaffectedtheemotionsofreadersinanunprecedentedway.Inhis

opinion,realismwasanimperativeelementofwriting.“Myargumentisthatthe

geniusofanywriter—again,infictionorinnonfiction—willbeseverely

handicappedifhecannotmaster,orifheabandons,thetechniquesofrealism”

(Wolfe34).Thenonfictionnovelmaintainedasenseofrealityforreadersdespite

creatingafictiontoillustratethetruth.

WithTrumanCapote’sInColdBlood(1965)thenonfictionnovelwasborn.

Capotespentsixyearstryingtocapturethetrueaccountofthemurdersoffour

membersoftheClutterfamilyinHolcomb,Kansasin1959.Hepersonally

interviewedresidentsofHolcombandcreatedcloserelationshipswithsomeof

them(Hollowell32).Healsoestablishedarelationshipwiththemurderers,Richard

“Dick”HickockandPerrySmith.Usinghisownviewpointasthesourceofmostof

theinformationthroughoutthebook,Capotewrotehisnonfictionnovelinastyle

thatallowedthereadertofollowthestoryfromthemurderstotheexecution.

Incorporatinginterviews,officialdocuments,andhisownobservations,Capote’s

storywasunlikeanythingthathadeverbeenseenbefore.AlthoughCapoteclaimed

thathisworkwas“true”fact;inreality,hefictionalizedquotes,createdcomposite

13

characters,andevenincludedanendingscenethatneverhappened(Jensen).

However,thishasnotstoppedtheworkfrombeingheraldedbymanyasthefirst

nonfictionnovelandauniqueworkthatwasnamedasbeingoneofthefirstpieces

ofNewJournalism4.

Anotherwriterwhowasconsideredoneoftheforerunnersofthenonfiction

novelwasNormanMailer.HesaidinAdvertisementsforMyself(1959),thebookthat

announcedtheneweraofhisliterarycareer,“thereisnowayonecantryto

apprehendcomplexrealitywithouta‘fiction’”(199).Thisisclearlyshowninhis

PulitzerPrize‐winningaccountoftheMarchonthePentagonin1967.Thenovel

wastagged“HistoryasaNovel,TheNovelasHistory”becauseitwaswrittenintwo

parts—oneasafictitiousaccountandtheotherasanobjectiveapproach.Mailer

splithiswell‐knownnovelTheArmiesoftheNight(1968)intotwoparts,an

objectivenarrativeandapersonalizedaccount.InBookI,“HistoryasaNovel:The

stepsofthePentagon,”Mailermodeledthepersona,“NormanMailer,”afterhimself

toserveasacharacterforthereadertorelatetoandfollowthroughthestory.

NormanMailer’scharacterandMailerasthenarrator,bothstoptheactiontoenter

sectionsofmetafiction,providinganasidetothereaderaboutthewriterandthe

formofthewriting,muchinthestyleofwriterslikeJohnBarth(Hellmann39).In

BookII,“TheNovelasHistory:TheBattleofthePentagon,”Mailerasthenarrator

tellsthereaderthatheishandingoverthestorytothe“historian,”whichisa

referencetothatpartofthenovelbeingmoreobjective.Thesecondsectionis

4JohnHollowell’sFact&Fiction(1977)givesamorein‐depthviewofthenonfictionnovelanditswriters.

14

writtenusingatraditionalthirdpersonperspective,andofficialdocumentsareused

toprovidethesourcematerial.Mailer’suniqueforminwritingTheArmiesofthe

Night,usingbothfactualdetailsandfictionalelements,ledhimtobenamedalsoas

oneofforerunnersofthenonfictionnovelandNewJournalism.

Atthesametime,writersacrossthecountrywereembracingthetechniques

oftheNewJournalists,producingcountlessmagazinearticlesandnonfictionnovels

thatbegantopermeatetraditionalreportingandnovelwriting.Forinstance,during

theinceptionofNewJournalismandthroughoutitsheightofpopularity,GayTalese

andJimmyBreslinwrotemagazinearticlesrelyingheavilyonsaturationreporting

andscenes.NineyearsbeforeCapoteintroducedwriterstothenonfictionnovel,

JackKerouac’sOnTheRoad(1957)wasalargelyautobiographicalworkbasedon

roadtripsthatKerouactookyearsbeforethebookwaspublished.Aroundthetime

InColdBloodwaspublished,Thompsonspent18monthsridingwiththeHell’s

AngelsmotorcycleganginCaliforniatowritehis1966nonfictionnovel,Hell’s

Angels:TheStrangeandTerribleSagaoftheOutlawMotorcycleGang(Wolfe27).

ThetrendcontinuedwithotherwriterslikeJoanDidion,whoinsertedherselfasa

personainher1968collectionofessaystitledSlouchingTowardsBethlehem,which

chronicledthecounterculturemovementinCaliforniainthe1960s.

However,itwasTomWolfe’sentryintotherealmofNewJournalistsin1962

thatbroughtthegenretotheforefrontofmajorAmericanmagazines.Thatyear,

afterreadingGayTalese’sessayonJoeLouis5andbecomingveryinterestedinNew

5GayTalesewrote“JoeLouis:TheKingasaMiddle‐agedMan”forEsquirein1962.

15

Journalism,WolfewasaskedtowriteanarticleaboutcustomcarsinCaliforniafor

Esquiremagazine(Kallan10).Withthedeadlinelooming,Wolfefoundthathecould

notwritethearticle,sohejustwroteafree‐formstream‐of‐consciousness

memorandumofwhathehadobservedtotheeditor(Kallan10‐11).Theeditor

removedthesalutationandranthememorandumaswritten.Thisbecame“The

Kandy‐KoloredTangerine‐FlakeStreamlineBaby,”whichwaslaterpublishedasa

nonfictionnovelin1965.“Inwritingthe‘Kandy’memorandum,Wolfealso

discoveredanewvoice,avoicethatwouldsoonpunctuateallofhisjournalism”

(Kallan11).Hecontinuedtowriteinhisnewinformalstyle,publishingmany

nonfictionnovelssuchasTheElectricKool­AidAcidTest(1968),andsoonhebecame

consideredthemajorspokesmanforNewJournalism(Kallan11).

ManypeoplearguethatNewJournalismwasn’treally“new,”butmerely

becamemorepopularandwidespreadduringthelatterhalfofthe1960s.There

werewritersthatusedsimilartechniquestothatofNewJournalistslongbeforethe

stylewaspopularized.Forexample,HermanMelville’sMoby­Dick(1851)was

looselybasedonthetruestoryofthewhaleshipEssex,whichwasattackedbya

spermwhaleandsank.JohnHerseywroteHiroshima(1946)afterinterviewing

severalsurvivorsrightaftertheHiroshimabombing.Usingtheinformationhe

gathered,Herseyreconstructedtheeventasithappened—aforbearertothestyleof

TrumanCapote’sInColdBloodnearlytwodecadeslater(Johnson47).Otherworks

thatusedamixoftraditionalreportingmethods,saturationreporting,andfictional

elementspublishedpriortoriseofNewJournalismincludeUptonSinclair’sThe

Jungle(1936)andJohnSteinbeck’sTheGrapesofWrath(1939).Additionalwell‐

16

knownwriterswhochosetowriteasbothjournalistsandnovelists(butnotusually

atthesametime,thoughonestyleoftenaffectedtheother)includedErnest

Hemingway,GeorgeOrwell,andMarkTwain.

Writerswrite;itisonlytheformandstylethatchangeinpopularity,

accordingtoGeorgeHoughIII,authorofNewsWriting(1975)andotherjournalism

books.Ina1975essayHoughwrote,“WhileIcontendthatthis[change]isnot

revolutionary,butonlyevolutionary,ithasresultedinafreedomofexpressionand

styleunknowntoearlierstagesofjournalism.TomWolfeandHunterThompson

couldn’thavesurfacedinthe1880s,the1920s,orevenaslateasthe1950s”(23).

However,withthechangingsocialattitudesofthetimeperiod,journalistslikeWolfe

andThompsonwereabletowriteintheirindividualizedstyleswithout

overwhelmingreprisalfromcritics.WhilewhatNewJournalistsweredoingwasn’t

entirelyunique,thelooseningofwhatwasacceptedjournalismandtheheightened

popularityofthenewstyleallowedthemtomimicandcontinuetoalterthestylesof

earlierjournalistsandnovelists.

Thompson’swritingstyle,GonzoJournalism,wasespeciallyunique.

Thompsonincorporatedtheidealsofthecountercultureandstylistictechniquesof

hisfellowNewJournalistsinhiswriting,butheaddedhisowntwist—hehadtobea

partofthestory.Thedrug‐fueledfantasieshecreatedchangedreader’sperception,

andhiswritingwasanewapproachtounderstandingtheworldafterthe

counterculture’sidealshadfadedoutofmainstreamsociety.

GonzoJournalism

Thompsonisoftenreferredtoasthe“outlawjournalist”becausehewas

consideredbymanytobeunconventionalinhislifestyleandhiswriting.Hebecame

anoutlawearlyinlife,andhisbrusheswiththelawgavehimabadreputationinhis

hometownofLouisville,Kentucky.By1955,Thompsonwaswellknownbythelocal

police,havingbeensuspectedinseveralincidentsofvandalismandhavingbeen

arrestedonceforagasstationrobberyandasecondtimeforattemptingto

purchasealcoholunderage(WennerandSeymour19‐20).However,itwashisthird

arrestinJune1955—just11daysbeforehisgraduation—thatchangedthecourseof

hislife(Perry19).Thompsonandtwofriendswerearrestedafteroneoftheother

twoboysmuggedamanwithoutThompson’sknowledge.Thetwofriendsarrested

withThompsonhadwell‐to‐dofatherswhogotthemreleasedfromjail,but

Thompsondidnothavethoseconnections.Moreover,hehadabadreputation

amongthoseinthecourtsystem.Infact,ajudgehadthreatenedThompsonafterhis

previousarrestthatifhewasarrestedonemoretime,hewouldhavetogotojail.He

wasfinallygivenanultimatum:jailorthemilitary.Hemissedgraduationfrom

LouisvilleMaleHighSchoolbecausehewasinjail,andleftimmediatelytojointhe

UnitedStatesAirForcewhenhewasreleased.

Thompsonbeganwritingatanearlyage,buthisprofessionalwritingcareer

beganin1957atEglinAirForceBaseinFlorida(Gilmore).Inbootcamp,an

aptitudetestshowedhehadtalentforelectronicsandhewasassignedtotrainat

electronicsschool(Perry26).However,hehadnointerestinthesubjectandbegan

tocausetroubleinretaliation(Perry24‐25).Thompsondidnotliketobetoldwhat

18

todo.Onenight,hegotdrunkandthrewahalfofabottleofginintoaguardhouse.

Hewasheadingtowardadishonorabledischargewhenanopeningbecame

availableforasportseditoratthebasenewspaper,theCommandCourier.

Thompsonvisitedalibraryandafterquicklylearningsomejournalisticjargon,he

managedtolandhisfirstjournalismjobasasportswriterforthenewspaper(Perry

25‐26).However,hedidnotstayoutoftrouble.Actingonatip,hesneakedinto

headquartersanddiscoveredthatasoldier,BartStarr,hadbeengivenamedical

dischargesohecouldplayprofessionalfootballwiththeGreenBayPackers(Perry

27).JustbeforetheCourierwenttopress,Thompsonswitchedthefrontpage

picturewiththemedicaldischargepaper.Thebasecommanderwassoupsetabout

thestorythathewantedtocourtmartialhim.However,themastersergeantwho

editedtheCourieraidedThompsoninreceivinganhonorabledischargefromthe

service(Perry28).Ashisfinalactinthemilitary,Thompsonwroteastoryabouta

drunkenriotatthebase,detailingexplosionsandrapes,noneofwhichactually

happened,andfileditforthenextday’sreleasejustashewasleavingthebase

(Gilmore44).

AfterbeingdischargedfromtheAirForceinthefallof1957,Thompson

movedaroundthecountryworkingforanumberofsmallerpublications.Hishabit

ofgettingintotroublefollowedhim.Hefledhisfirstjob,attheJerseyShoreTimesin

Pennsylvania,afteronlyafewweeks,becausehewreckedanotherwriter’scarand

fearedlegalrepercussions(Perry29).Fromthere,heheadedtoNewYorkCity

wherehegotajobasacopyboyatTimemagazine.JohnClancy,aformerroommate

ofThompson’swhilehewaslivinginNewYork,said,“Hunterusedtotellusthathe

19

wasgoingtobeagreatwriter—he’dmentionHemingwayandFitzgeraldinthe

samesentence—butthathefiguredhe’dhavetodosomesortofjournalismtomake

alivinginthemeantime.Hewasn’ttoohappyaboutthis,buthefiguredthatif

Hemingwaydidit,hecouldtoo”(qtd.inWennerandSeymour28).However,

ThompsongotfiredfromTimeforgettingintoargumentswitheditors(Perry36).

HethenfoundajobwiththeMiddletownDailyRecordinMiddletown,NewYork,

wherehewasfiredtwomonthslaterforallegedlyinsultinganadvertiserandfor

kickinginacandymachineatthenewspaperoffice(ThompsonSongs63‐64).

AfterleavingtheRecord,Thompsonmovedintoamountaincabinwherehe

wroteshortstories.In1959,hecompletedthefirstdraftofPrinceJellyfish,anovel

basedonhislifegrowingupinKentucky.PrinceJellyfishhasneverbeenpublished,

butanexcerptappearsinThompson’sSongsoftheDoomed.Soonafter,hewrotefor

ashorttimeforElSportivo,anill‐fatedPuertoRicansportsmagazine,andlaterhe

workedasaCaribbeanstringerforpublicationssuchastheNewYorkHerald

Tribune(ThompsonSongs65).Thompsonalsowrotehisnovel,TheRumDiary,in

the1960s;however,thenovelwasnotpublisheduntil1998.Hebecameaforeign

correspondentinSouthAmericaandlaterarovingreporterintheUnitedStatesfor

TheNationalObserverbetween1962‐1964.DuringhistimeinSouthAmerica,

Thompsonbeganusingillegaldrugsregularly.Hisfriendssaidhetook

amphetaminesanda“varietyofstimulants”whileabroad(Perry74).Thompson

admittedtodoingeverythingfrom“smoking‘thebestgrassintheworld,’to

chewingcocoaleaves,toeatingpeyote”whileinSouthAmerica(Perry79).

20

Whenhewasn’tworking,ThompsonreadKerouac,WilliamBurroughs,Allen

Ginsberg—thewritersofthe“Beat”erawhoseworksinfluencedwritersofthe

1960s(Gilmore44).MikalGilmore,alongtimecontributingeditortoRollingStone

magazine,wrotethatThompson“reveredKerouacaboveall—hisworkwasall

aboutfreedomoftheselfinaconvention‐boundsociety”(44).Thisproved

influentialonThompson’slaterworksandinhiseverydaylife.Heonceopeneda

bagofcementandshookitscontentsalloverthepatronsatabarinNewYork—just

toseewhatwouldhappen.Hewasanon‐conformist,embracingthecounterculture

ratherthantryingtocomplywithsocialnorms. Untilthistime,Thompsonhad

beenalittle‐knownwriter.ItwashisresearchontheHell’sAngelsthatgavehima

placeamongtheNewJournalistslikeWolfeandMailer.CareyMcWilliams,editorof

TheNation,wassoimpressedwithThompson’scoverageinSouthAmericathathe

wrotetohiminDecember1964toaskhimtowriteastoryontheoutlaw

motorcyclegang(Weingarten131).TheHell’sAngelshadgainednationalattention

afterCalifornia’sattorneygeneral,ThomasC.Lynch,polledvariouslawenforcement

agenciesandcompiledthedataintoa15‐pagereporttitled“TheHell’sAngels

MotorcycleClubs”(Weingarten131).Thompsontoldafriendin1966,“Writingfor

CareyMcWilliamswasanhonor.Sowhatifhedoesn’tpaymuch…whenmyarticle

appearedinTheNationitwaslikedrivingmystakeinhistory”(Hell’sAngelsx).It

washisuniquestyleofwritinginfirstpersonthatimmediatelyrocketedThompson

intoNewJournalismstardom.

Thompson’sarticle“MotorcycleGangs:LosersandOutsiders,”publishedin

TheNationonMay17,1965,wassosuccessfulthatBallantinebooksoffered

21

ThompsonacontracttowriteabookontheHell’sAngels(Hell’sAngelsx).Usinghis

advanceonthebooktobuyaBSA650Lightningmotorcycle,Thompsonspentayear

andahalfridingwiththemotorcyclegangandbefriendingmembersincluding

SonnyBarger,presidentoftheOaklandchapteroftheHell’sAngels,Terrythe

Tramp,Freewheelin’Frank,Tiny,andothers(Hell’sAngelsx‐xi).Inhisbook,he

wroteaboutthesavageryofthegangandthepublic’sperceptionofoutlaw

motorcyclists.HerodewiththeAngels,visitingtheirhangoutsandattendingtheir

large‐scalegatherings.Itwasnotuncommonformembersofthegangtostopby

Thompson’sresidence.Thompsonimmersedhimselfsodeeplyintheoutlawgang

thathe“wasnolongersurewhether(he)wasdoingresearchontheHell’sAngelsor

beingslowlyabsorbedbythem”(Hell’sAngelsxi).Hefeltlikehewasbecoming

friendswiththeAngels,drinkingbeerandridingmotorcycleswiththegang

regularly.However,severalAngelsassaultedThompsononLaborDay1966during

adisagreement,essentiallyendinghisrelationshipwiththebikergang(Hell’sAngels

264).

WhenHell’sAngels:AStrangeandTerribleSagawaspublishedin1967,itwas

aninstanthit.WhileitwasconsideredaworkofNewJournalism,ithadunique

characteristicsthatsetitapartfromotherNewJournalists.Forexample,Wolfe’s

TheElectricKool­AidAcidTestwaspublishedthenextyear,andinit,Wolfeuseda

third‐personapproach.WriterslikeWolfeandCapoteworkedtoseparate

themselvesfromthestorybybecominganoutsideobserver.Incontrast,Thompson

wroteHell’sAngelsfromafirstpersonperspectivebybecomingacharacterinhis

story.Heusedhimselfastheprimarysourceofinformationforthebookwhile

22

including“scribblednotes,transcribedinterviews,articleexcerpts,stream‐of‐

consciousness,telegrams,andverbatimtelephoneconversations,that(set)him

apartfromtheotherNewJournalists”(Hell’sAngelsxii).Thearrangementand

usageoftheseelementsshowedthat,whilehemighthavesharedsimilartechniques

withtheNewJournalists,hewasabletotakethesewritingmethodsandmakethem

hisown.

WhileHell’sAngelsgaveThompsonpopularityasaNewJournalist,itwashis

coverageoftheKentuckyDerbyin1970forScanlan’sMonthlythatsethimapart

fromhiscontemporaries.Thompsondidn’tseethehorserace,butspentseveral

daysdrinkingandusingdrugswithillustratorRalphSteadman1whileobservingthe

crowdsofpeoplewhowereintowntoseetheDerby.Itdidnotmatterthattheyhad

missedtherace.ToThompsonandSteadman,thecrowd,nottheDerby,wasthe

realstory.JuanBruce‐Novoa,aprofessorofLatinAmericanandChicanoStudiesat

theUniversityofCalifornia,Irvine,observedinhisarticle“FearandLoathingonthe

BuffaloTrail”thatthelife‐changingeventsoccurringaroundthesametimeasthe

Derby(theKentStatekillings,expansionoftheVietnamWarintoCambodia,and

threatsofBlackPantherattacks)influencedthewayThompsonwroteaboutthe

event.Bruce‐Novoaexplained,“Toreportitinthestandardjournalisticmanner

wouldhavebeentomakehiswritingasmyopicastheAmericaofhisdespair”(40).

1RalphSteadmanisaBritishillustratorwhohasillustratedmanyclassicbookssuchasAliceinWonderlandbyLewisCarroll(1967)andAnimalFarmbyGeorgeOrwell(1996).SteadmanmetThompsonwhilecoveringtheKentuckyDerbyin1970.ThetworemainedclosefriendsuntilThompson’ssuicideonFeb.20,2005.

23

Therefore,hehadtofindadifferentwaytoconveywhattheDerbymeantwithinthe

contextoftheworldaroundhim.

Itwasaroundthattimeperiodhishabitualdruguseanddrinkinghad

changedhiswriting.Previously,Thompsonhadbeenknowntoreviseandrewrite

anarticleuntilhethoughtitwasperfect.Hisfirstwife,SandyThompson,recalled,

“Hecouldgetoutapage,maybe,oraparagraph,areallyneat,wildparagraph—and

thensomegibberish.Hecouldn’tcomeoutwithafullpiece”(qtd.inWennerand

Seymour123).Thompsonwasunderpressurebecausethedeadlineforthestory

wasnear,andhehadnotevenseentherace.Toappeasetheeditorswaitingforhis

story,herippedpagesoutofhisnotebookandsentthem.Heassumedthiswould

endhischancesoflandinganotherfreelancejob.Tohissurprise,Scanlan’scalled

andtoldhimthatitwasagreatstory.“TheKentuckyDerbyisDecadentand

Depraved”appearedintheJune1970issueofScanlan’sMonthlyandwasahitwith

readers.ItsfreewheelingstylecoupledwithThompson’sacuteobservationsand

darkhumormadeitdistinctiveamongThompson’sworks.WiththeDerbyarticle,

ThompsonhadstumbledontoanartunexploredbyhisfellowNewJournalists.

SoonaftertheKentuckyDerbyarticlewasprinted,Thompson’sfriend,

journalistBillCoroso,coinedtheterm“Gonzo”asareferencetoThompson’s

writing.HewroteabouttheKentuckyDerbyarticle,“Forgetallthisshityou’vebeen

writing.Thisisit;thisispureGonzo.Ifthisisastart,keeprolling”(Gilmore).

Thompsonwasnotconvincedatfirst,butsoonhebegantoembracehisnewlyfound

niche.Hisfirstwifesaid,“Hecouldseethatherewasanavenue;peopleseemedto

reallylikethis,andtheyweregoingtopayhimforit.Hethoughtitwasgibberish”

24

(qtd.inWennerandSeymour125).TheAmericanpeople,however,didnotthinkit

wasgibberish.GonzowastheanswertothefearandloathingThompsonandmany

otherpeoplefeltconcerningtheradicallydizzyingchangesofthetime.

Therearemanydefinitionsofandtheoriesabouttheoriginoftheword

“Gonzo,”butitwasnotwidelyuseduntilitdefinedThompson’swriting,sothere

wasnoconcretedefinitionofthewordbeforethattime.TheOxfordEnglish

Dictionary(2010)statesthedefinitionof“Gonzo”as,“oforrelatingtoatypeof

committed,subjectivejournalismcharacterizedbyfactualdistortionand

exaggeratedrhetoricalstyle”and“bizarre,crazy;far‐fetched.”Merriam‐Webster’s

Dictionary(2010)definesthewordas“idiosyncraticallysubjectivebutengagé,”

“bizarre,”and“freewheelingorunconventional,especiallytothepointofbeing

outrageous.”AllofthesedefinitionswerecreatedasaresultofThompson’swriting,

asbothdictionariestracetheoriginofthewordtoitsusagein“FearandLoathingin

LasVegas”(publishedinRollingStonemagazinein1971).PeterTamony,authorof

anarticleabouttheprogressionoftheword“Gonzo”throughAmericansociety,

suggestedGonzocouldbeanAmericanizedversionoftheSpanishword“ganso,”

meaning“gander;lazy,slovenlyperson,dunce”(75).Othershavesaidtheword

comesfromotherroots,includinganItaliantranslationmeaningsimpletonorfool,

andthePortuguesedefinitionofhingeorpin.However,noneofthesemeanings

appeartobeapartoftheoriginofitsAmericanusage.2

2AccordingtotheonlineUrbanDictionary,Gonzoalsoreferstoastyleofvideopornographymadepopularinthe1990s.Thestyleischaracterizedbydoingawaywiththestorylineandfeaturingonlyintercoursethroughoutthevideo.

25

InaninterviewwithRonRosenbauminHighTimesmagazinein1977,

ThompsonrecountedhowheandCorosocoveredthe1968NewHampshire

primarytogether,Corosohadused“Gonzo”tomean“crazy”or“off‐the‐wall”

(TorreyandSimonson47).Thompsonlivedandportrayedalifestylethatwas

consideredcrazybysome.HeopenlyuseddrugslikeLSDandspeed,andhedrank

massivequantitiesofWildTurkey.InHell’sAngels,hewritesaboutdrivingonhis

motorcycleat3a.m.,traveling75milesanhourwithnohelmetonHighway1,a

two‐laneroadprecariouslyperchedonthecliffsoverlookingthePacificOcean.He

alsohadanaffinityforfirearms—especiallytheMagnumRemington.443—thathe

shotallhoursofthedayandnightonhispropertyinWoodyCreek,Colorado.

GeorgeMcGovern,whoranforthepresidentialcandidacyin1972,saidThompson

oncewenttoabarandorderedthreemargaritasandsixbeersallatonce,justfor

himself(qtd.inGonzo),andthisappetiteforbeingarebelcarriedoverfromhis

everydaylifeintohiswriting.FortyyearsafterGonzoemerged,writersarestill

usingtheword,bothinreferencetoThompson’swritingandtoCoroso’sideathat

thewordmeant“crazy.”Forinstance,ChuckKlostermanwroteanarticleaboutthe

changingfaceoffootball.Init,hewrote,“Footballcoacheswilltryanything.

They’reGonzo.”Inthisusage,Klostermanmeantthatfootballcoachesareableto

moveawayfromoradaptacceptedplaysinfootballandcreatenewplaysthatoften

3In2005,Thompsoncommittedsuicidebyshootinghimselfintheheadwitha.44Magnum.

26

seemextremebecausetheyarenotcommonlyused4.However,mostusesofthe

word“Gonzo”arestillassociatedwithThompson.

OnedefinitionstatesthatGonzowas“Hunter’sfamousstyleofextremely

personalandsuper‐subjectivewriting…whichentailsconversation,quotes,

sarcasm,humour,exaggerationandprofanity”(Anleu,et.al.31).While

practitionersofNewJournalismusedmanyofthesameliterarytechniquesas

Thompson,hisjournalisticstylewasdistinctivefromthestylesofotherwriters.

WolfeandMailer,forexample,wroteinstylesthatwerenotconsidered

conventional;bothwritersworkedtokeepthemselvesoutofthestory.Thompson,

ontheotherhand,madethewriterthecenterofthestory.Thewriterorthe

writer’spersonaprovidedinformationasfilteredthroughhimself,providinghis

personalopinionoftheeventstakingplace.Thompsonwasn’tseekingobjectivity,

butratherchoseeventsanddetailstointerpretwithinthestory.Healsoprovided

hisownthoughtsandideasashewrote,almostmakingitappearthatthoseideas

werepartofwhatwasobserved(Bruce‐Novoa41).Inanyevent,writer

participationwaskeytoproducingGonzoJournalism.Thewriterinfiltratedthe

scene,andparticipatedandobservedfromwithintheeventstakingplace(Green

108).Thompsondidnotjustwriteaboutwhathecouldobserveonthesurface,but

4Klostermanusestheexampleofhowdefensestrategiesradicallychangedfromthe1970swhenmostteamsuseda3‐4defense.Bythe1980s,commondefensestrategieschangedbecausesomecoachesfounddifferentapproachestothesportthatseemedradicalatthetime.

27

rather,hepenetratedthestoryasacharactertoseewhatwashappeningbehindthe

scenes.

Tokeepwithinthegoaloftheindividualizedreportingstylewithoutoutside

bias,Gonzoissupposedtobeproducedon‐sceneandmadeimmediately

publishable.AccordingtoThompson,“thewriter’snotesarepublishedsupposedly

withoutediting”(Bruce‐Novoa41).TheScanlon’sarticleprovedthatthistechnique

couldwork,andthatpeoplewouldreaditdespitetheuniquemannerinwhichit

wasproduced.Therawnatureofthearticleappealedtotheaudiencebecauseit

madetheworkseemauthentic,withoutthepolishedtransitionsoftenprovidedin

editedmaterial.Thompson’sfree‐flowthoughtsandobservationscanbeseeninthis

examplefromTheKentuckyDerbyisDecadentandDepraved:

Totalchaos,nowaytoseetherace,noteventhetrack…nobody

cares.Biglinesattheoutdoorbettingwindows,thenstandbackto

watchwinningnumbersflashonthebigboard,likeagiantbingo

game.

Oldblacksarguingaboutbets;“Holdonthere,I’llhandlethis”

(wavingpintofwhiskey,fistfulofdollarbills);girlridingpiggyback,T‐

shirtsays,“StolenfromFortLauderdaleJail.”Thousandsofteen‐

agers,groupssinging“LettheSunShineIn,”tensoldiersguardingthe

Americanflagandahugefatdrunkwearingabluefootballjersey(No.

80)reelingaroundwithquartofbeerinhand.

Noboozesoldouthere,toodangerous…nobathroomseither.

MuscleBeach…Woodstock…manycopswithriotsticks,butnosignof

28

ariot.Faracrossthetracktheclubhouselookslikeapostcardfrom

theKentuckyDerby.(“KentuckyDerby”)

ThispassageshowshowThompsonusesfracturedsentencestoportraythechaosof

theDerby.Theimmediacyofthewritingisclearlyshownthroughthelackof

transitionalmaterial.Astraditionalreportageandstorytelling,thearticlewould

havebeeneditedandadjustedafteritwaswritten.Becausethearticlewasnot

polishedandperfected,itsrawnatureallowedreaderstofeelliketheywere

experiencingthemomentwiththewriter.

Also,itwouldbedifficulttosayexactlyhowapersonwouldperceivea

certainevent,andeditingwouldmeansacrificingsomeofthewriter’soriginal

thoughtsforthesakeoforganizationandtransitionalmaterial.TrueGonzo

journalismissupposedtobewrittenwithoutediting;however,thisisarequirement

thatwasrarelymet100percent.Thompsonexplainedintheauthor’snotein

CampaignTrailthatthebookwas,“thebloodyproductoffifty‐fiveconsecutive

hoursofsleepless,foodless,high‐speedediting”(1).However,Thompson’saccount

ofthecampaigntrailwasuniqueinthathewrotehisbookasthecampaign

progressed,ratherthanreflectingontheeventsandwritingaboutthemafterthe

fact.ThompsonadmittedthatLasVegaswasa“failedexperimentinGonzo

Journalism”becauseithadnotbeenwrittenatthesceneoftheeventsasthey

occurred(LasVegas208).Theeventsinthebookactuallytookplacebeforehesat

downtowritethebook(LasVegas210).He“workedonitformorethansixmonths,

carefullycraftingitscraziness”whileworkingonanotherstory(Gilmore).Thebook

waswritteninthesamechaoticstyleoftheDerbyarticleeventhoughhewroteon

29

theeventsafterhewasabletoreflectonthem.Despitethis,thenoveliscelebrated

asThompson’smostwell‐knownpieceofGonzoJournalism,provingthatGonzodid

nothavetofollowanyrules,notevenitsown.

Thompson’sstyleofjournalismincorporatedmanytechniquesthatare

commonlyfoundinfictionwriting.TwotechniquescommonlyfoundinThompson’s

writingaremetafictionanduseofpersonas.Metafictionreferstothepracticeofthe

authorcommentingonthewritingduringthestory.ThistechniqueisusedinJohn

Barth’sLostintheFunhouseandNormanMailer’sTheArmiesoftheNight.

MetafictionisusedthroughoutFearandLoathingontheCampaignTrail’72,which

wasanassemblyofarticlesoriginallywrittenbyThompsonforRollingStone

magazine.Aftereacharticleappearsinthebook,Thompsonwritesabout

everythingfrompastexperiencestothedifficultieswithwritingaboutpoliticsto

loomingdeadlines.ThesepiecesoftencreateaframefortheeventsThompson

wroteaboutorprovidedtransitionbetweenarticles.InCampaignTrailhewrote,

“Sittinginfrontofmyblankpageat2:30a.m….I’llwriteabouthowitfeelstobe

sittinginfrontofmyblankpage”(12).Manytimesinthebook,Thompsonreflected

onhisdifficultiesofwritingaboutpolitics.Hellmannexplainsthatmetafictional

sectionsliketheseareshowthatthebookis,“apersonalconstructwhichshiftsits

dramafromtheeventsreportedtotheexperienceofthoseeventsbyanindividual

consciousness”(“CampaignTrail”19).Inmakinghispersona’swritingthecentral

factofthestory,Thompsoncanpresenttheeventsoncampaigntrailastheyhappen

withnoclearobjectiveorder(Hellmann“CampaignTrail”19).Inestablishingan

30

imaginativeorderfortheseevents,thewriterisabletousethepersonatocreatethe

storyaroundhimselfratherthantheeventsthatoccurred.

Personasserveasamaskforthewritertohidebehind.Thepersonaisthe

characterinthestory,andhelpsprovideadistinctionbetweenthewriterandthe

maincharacter.Thenecessityforthisisdue,inpart,toThompson’stendencyto

becomeinvolvedinunconventionalcircumstancesandoutlandishpranks.For

example,inCampaignTrail,thewriterreflectsonthewritingofhis“goodfriendand

colleagueoftheSportsDesk,RaoulDuke”(33).WhilethereaderknowsthatDuke

andthewriterareoneandthesame,makingtheseparationinhiswritingallows

Thompsontoseparatehimselfasapoliticalreporterfromthedrugsandoutlandish

actsthatheparticipatedinasacharacterofLasVegas.However,Gonzowaswritten

withthewriterasthefocusofthepiece,andThompsonwascompelledtobecome

hisalteregos.UsingthesepersonasallowedThompsontobebothseparatedfrom

andthefocusofthestory.Ironically,thenarrationofthesepersonaswereoften,if

notalways,justassubjectiveasthewriter.

Thompson’spersonainCampaignTrailisDr.HunterThompson.Thompson

oftenreferredtohimselfasa“doctorofjournalism,”whichisthebasisforthe

personathatgivesittheperceptionofbeingareliablesource.However,thiswas

notnecessarilythecase,asDr.Thompson’snarrationwasjustassubjectiveasthe

writer’s.Dr.HunterThompsonisafictionalpersonathatparticipatesinreallife

events.Thompson,thewriter,usedthispersonatoseparatehimselffromthese

events,makingthewritingappearmoreobjective.Dr.Thompsondidmanythings,

oftenforshockeffectorentertainment,throughoutthebook.ItisDr.Thompson

31

whocreatedhavoconEdmundMuskie’s“SunshineSpecial”whistlestopcampaign

inFloridabygivinghispresscredentialstoaninebriatedmanwholaterverbally

attackedthecandidate(ThompsonCampaignTrail88).Thisincidentwasso

detrimentalthatThompsonwasbannedfromtheMuskiecampaign.ItisDr.

Thompson’spoint‐of‐viewthatnarratedtheseevents,andthewriterreflectedon

theeventsaftertheyoccurred.ThedifferencebetweenThompsonastheauthorand

Dr.Thompsonasthepersonaisthattheauthorusuallyemergestotellthereader

aboutthetext,whilethepersonanarratesandparticipatesintheeventswithinthe

story,asseeninthisexamplefromFearandLoathingontheCampaignTrail’72:

TheMayorofLosAngeleshasneverbotheredtoexplainthe

twistedreasoningbehindhiscandidacyinNewHampshire,butevery

votehegetstherewillcomeoffMuskie’spile,notMcGovern’s.Which

meansthatMcGovern,alreadysittingon20to25percentofthevote,

couldzapMuskie’swholetripbypickingupanother10to15percent

inalast‐minuterush.

MuskietookaheadcountinSeptemberandfoundhimself

leadingwithabout40percent—buthewillneedatleast50percentto

lookgoodforthefence‐sittersinFlorida,Muskiewillhavetobeat

backtheshow‐bizcharismaofJohnLindsayontheLeft,moreorless,

andalsodealwithScoopJackson,Hubert,Humphrey,andGeorge

WallaceontheRight.

Jesus.ThisgibberishcouldrunonforeverandevennowIcan

seemyselfdealingintotheoldtrapthatplagueseverywriterwhogets

32

suckedintothisrottenbusiness.Youfindyourselfgettingfascinated

bythedriftsandstrangequirksofthegame.Evennow,beforeI’ve

evenfinishedthisarticle,Icanalreadyfeelthecompulsiontostart

handicappingpoliticsandprimarieslikeitwasalljustanotherfat

Sundayofprofootball:PickPittsburghbysixpointsintheearlygame,

getDallasevenwithSanFranciscolateron…winone,loseone…then

flipthedialandtrytogetaheadbyconningsomebodyintotaking

GreenBayevenagainsttheRedskins.(37‐38)

ThispassageexhibitshowDr.Thompson’scharacterwasboredwiththefactual

detailsofthecampaign.However,withhiscomparisonofpoliticstofootball(the

author’sfavoritesport),Thompsonthewritershowsthathehadaninterestinthe

innerworkingsofpoliticseventhoughhischaracterdigressedfromparticular

detailsofthecampaign.

AnotherpersonaorcharacterThompsonusedwasRaoulDuke,themain

characterinFearandLoathinginLasVegas.Dukewasapseudonymusedby

Thompson.SeveralofThompson’sRollingStonearticles,includingtheoriginal

publicationof“FearandLoathinginLasVegas”arecreditedtoDukeratherthan

Thompson.LikeDr.Thompson,Duke’scharacterisbasedonthewriterhimself.

Thepersonaisareporterwhotakescopiousamountsofdrugs.Dukealsodresses

likeThompson,wearingaviatorsunglassesandusingacigaretteholder5.Duke

randomlyeruptsintodialogue,oftenyellingandstartlingthereaderorthe

5WhileplayingDuke’scharacterinthemovieadaptationofthebook,actorJohnnyDeppworeThompson’sclothes.

33

characterswithinthestorywithhisparanoidanddrug‐inducedhallucinations.As

theGreatRedSharkspeedsdownthedeserthighwayonthefirstpageofLasVegas,

Duke’snarrationgoesfrombeingcalm,internaldialoguetoscreaminghysterically

injustoneparagraph.

Iremembersayingsomethinglike‘Ifeelabitlightheaded;

maybeyoushoulddrive….’Andsuddenlytherewasaterribleroarall

aroundusandtheskywasfullofwhatlookedlikehugebats,all

swoopingandscreechinganddivingaroundthecar,whichwasgoing

about100milesanhourwiththetopdowntoLasVegas.Andavoice

wasscreaming,‘HolyJesus!Whatarethesegoddamnanimals?’

Thenitwasquietagain.(LasVegas1)

ThevoicethatDukehearsscreaminginthispassagewashisown.However,because

ofthedrug‐aidedhallucinations,heheardthevoiceasthoughitwasfromanoutside

sourceratherthanashisowninternaldialogue.Dukeisn’tjustacharacterinthe

story,butheisalsoanexaggeratedrepresentationoftheauthor.Hellmannexplains,

“Thompsoncreatesaself‐caricaturewhoisextremelydisoriented,bothbyactual

eventsandbyparanoidillusions—usuallyinducedbyliquorordrugs—presentin

hisownconsciousness”(Fables69).Essentially,Dukewasanotherversionof

Thompson,anuntamedforcewhosurpassestraditionalsocietalnormstoreacha

greatertruth.Duke’sexaggeratedexploits—realornot—madehimuntouchablein

themyopicAmericaoftheearly1970s.

GilmoreobservesthatThompsonandDukeareoneandthesameuptoa

point.“However,thefearandloathingThompsonwaswritingabout—adreadof

34

bothinteriordemonsandthepsychiclandscapeofthenationaroundhim—wasn’t

merelyhisown;hewasgivingvoicetothemind‐setofagenerationthatheldhigh

idealsandwasnowcrashinghardagainstthewallofAmericanreality”(Gilmore).

Inthissense,DukeisthetoolThompsonused,andDuke’sthoughtsandfeelingsare

understoodtoberepresentativeofthecounterculture.Gilmoreexplains,

“Thompson’sfearandloathingwasaboutdisillusion—thefeelingsthatgnawedat

youafteradreamthatprovedonlyanhallucination.Itwasabouttheterroroflosing

thatillusion,andhavingnorefuge.”

ForThompson,theeventhewassupposedtoberecordingwasnot

necessarilythefocusofhiswriting.InLasVegas,thestorymovesawayfrom

coveringtheMint500andthedistrictattorney’sconventionandismorphedinto

thesearchfortheAmericanDream.InVegas,“Thoughtsanddescriptionsflow

together,movingrapidlyfromonesubjecttoanother,directionoftendeterminedby

wordassociation.Thefreeflowallowsforconstantdigression,oneofThompson’s

centraltechniques”(Bruce‐Novoa41).Thewriteroftenmovesawayfromthe

centraltopicofhiswritingtoexplainordiscusssomethingrelated(orattimes,

seeminglyunrelated)tothestory.AsceneintheLasVegasairportisaperfect

exampleofhowThompsondigressesinhiswriting.“Ifeltveryobvious.

Amphetaminepsychosis?Paranoiddementia?—Whatisit?MyArgentineluggage?

Thiscrippled,lopingwalkthatoncemademearejectfromtheNavalROTC?”(Las

Vegas199).Ratherthanreturningtothepointthathefeelsnoticeableinthe

airport,ThompsoncontinuestoconsiderthelengthofhislegandhowtheNaval

captainfeltaboutit.Thenhepicksupanewspaperintheairportthatcontainsa

35

blandstoryaboutthecaptain’sdeathwithfewspecificdetails.Thisisobviouslya

jabatnewspapersatthetimethattookinformationaspresentedwithoutdigging

deepertofindmoredetails.“…Whybotherwithnewspapers,ifthisisalltheyoffer?

Agnewwasright.Thepressisagangofcruelfaggots,”Dukemuses(LasVegas200).

Inlessthanapageandahalf,thewritermanagestoleavehisparanoidmusingsto

discussissueswiththelengthofhislegsandthecaptain.Heincludesthearticle

aboutthecaptain’sdeathinfullandthenusesittocommentateontheapathetic

dispositionofthepresscorps.Thompsondoesnotreturntohisfeelingsofparanoia

intheairportuntilthenextchapter.Digressionscreateastream‐of‐consciousness

thatthereaderperceivesasimmediateintheVegasstory,despitethebookhaving

beenwrittenmonthsaftertherecordedeventsoccurred.

Thompsonalsouseddarkhumorinhiswriting.Inoneinterview,hesaid,“…I

thinkalmostanykindofhumorIlikehasatouchofmelancholyorweirdnesstoit.I

seemtobealone,forinstance,inconsideringJosephConradoneofhistory’sgreat

humorists”(qtd.inTorreyandSimonson44).Inhiswriting,Thompsonoften

portrayedhumanexistenceasironicandpointless,andyetalsocomedic.

Nowofftheescalatorandintothecasino,bigcrowdsstilltightaround

thecraptables.Whoarethesepeople?Thesefaces!Wheredothey

comefrom?Theylooklikecaricaturesofused‐cardealersfrom

Dallas.Butthey’rereal.And,sweetJesus,thereareahellofalotof

them—stillscreamingaroundthesedesert‐citytablesafour‐thirtyin

themorning.StillhumpingtheAmericanDream,thatvisionofthebig

36

Winnersomehowemergingfromthelast‐minutepre‐dawnchaosofa

staleVegascasino.(LasVegas57)

ThispassagefromFearandLoathinginLasVegasdemonstratesThompson’sviewof

theAmericanpeople.Itshowsdesperation,themadhopeofwinninganearly

unattainableprize,asitiscommonknowledgethatinmostcasestheHousealways

wins.Thompson’simageryoftheseseeminglyaveragepeople“humping”the

AmericanDreamiscomicalandthegreatironyofthesceneisthat,despitetheir

continuedeffortstowinbiginVegas,mostofthepeopleThompsonisdescribing

willgohomeemptyhandedorpossiblyindebt.

Thompson’sworkiscontroversialbecauseoftheinclusionoffictional

elementsandhyperbole.Thefictionalelementswereusedtoenhancethestoryand

makeitmore“real”forreaders.Byfictionalizingcertaindetailsandcreating

compositecharacters,Thompsonwasabletodescribeeventsinawaythatwas

meaningfulandrelevanttohisaudience.Asexpected,thisrancontrarytothe

journalismpracticesofthetime,whichfocusedonpresentinganobjectiveand

unbiasedperspective.NewJournalistswereknowntoenhancefacts,embellish

details,andaddotherfictionalelementstotheirworks,andThompsonwaswell

knownforincorporatingtheseelementsinhiswriting.ThompsonwrotethatGonzo

is,“astyleof‘reporting’basedonWilliamFaulkner’sideathatthebestfictionisfar

moretruethananykindofjournalism…WhichisnottosaythatFictionis

necessarily‘moretrue’thanJournalism—orviceversa—butthatboth‘fiction’and

‘journalism’areartificialcategories;andthatbothforms,attheirbest,areonlytwo

differentmeanstothesameend”(LasVegas208).ForThompson,theendresult

37

wouldbetotellthestorywithoutconcernaboutbiasandprovidingplentyofshock

value,aswashischaracter.

TheuseofparodyandhyperboleinGonzoJournalismledmanycriticsto

questionthelegitimacyofThompson’sinterpretationofeventsandthejournalistic

valueofhiswriting.However,whileitistruethatThompsondidincorporate

fictionalelementsinhiswork,itdoesnotmakewhathewroteanylesstrue.As

Hellmannexplains,“Theclearstatusoftheworkasaparodisticversionofthe

eventswhichmakeupitssubjectmatterenablesThompsontodistortthesurfaces

ofconventionaljournalisticaccountsintosymbolsoffictivetruth”(“CampaignTrail”

17).Thompsonroutinelyusesmetaphorandotherstory‐tellingtechniquesto

provideatrueraccountofwhathappened.“Storytelling,then,ismadetofunction

asreporting,areportingthatiscertainlyfablebutnotfalsehood”(Hellmann

“CampaignTrail”21).However,Gonzowasameanstoanultimatetruthcontinues

toleadcriticstodisagreeaboutthevalueofThompson’swriting.

Thompson'sInfluenceonModernMediaandLiterature

HowcanthevalueofThompson’sworkbejudged?Further,howcanacritic

measurehiscontributiontoliteratureand,especially,toJournalism?Thompson’swriting

showsanevolutionarystepinJournalism,usingtechniquesrarelyappliedtoJournalism

whileatthesametimeadaptingolderidealsandmethodsinhisreportage.Lookingatthe

historyofJournalism,readerscanseehowitaffectedThompson’swritingandhow

Thompsonbroughtaboutchangeinthinkingabouthowreportageshouldbepresented.59

B.C.E.marksthefirstrecordeduseofJournalism,whenJuliusCaesarorderedthe

publicationoftheactadiurna,ordailypublicrecords.Sincethattime,journalismhas

survivedasrecords,pamphlets,andbroadsheets.However,itwasn’tuntilthelate1600s

whentheword“journalist”cameintouse,anditwasn’tuntil1800sthattheword

“journalism”wasusedtodescribewhatthisnewkindofwriterdid1.

Throughoutitshistory,journalismhasbeeninfluencedbyseveralfactors2.First,

politicalandsocialgroupswhohadampleresources,wealth,andpowerhavebeenonesto

useorcontrolthemediatotheiradvantage.Historyhasalsoshownthepublic’s

willingnesstopurchaseonetypeofnewsandinformationoveranother.Likewise,those

producingthenewsoftendeterminewhatisreportedbasedonthetypeofinformationthe

audiencepreferstoknowabout.Forexample,duringtherecentconflictinIraq,News

Corporation’smediaoutletshavereportednewsinsupportofthewar—aviewtakenby

manyconservatives.RupertMurdoch,NewsCorporation’schairman,isaright‐leaning

1TheOxfordEnglishDictionarystatestheword“journalist”hasbeenaroundsince1693,but“journalism”didn’tcomeintouseuntil1833.

2SeeRossEaman’sHistoricalDictionaryofJournalism(2009).

39

conservative.Althoughhisnewspapersandnewschannelstakeaconservativeposition

towardtheeventstheyreport,NewsCorp’sFoxNewsChannelisthemostwatchednews

networkinAmerica.Furthermore,theideaof“thepublicinterest”isanever‐evolving

debateaboutwhatmakesupjournalism.In1926,Americanphilosopherandsocialtheorist

GeorgeHerbertMeadwrote,

Thereporterisgenerallysentouttogetastory,notthefacts.Furthermore,

newspapersareorgans—organsofcertainfairlydefinedgroups.Itisthis

realmofthereverie—ofimaginedenjoyableresults—whichdictatesthe

policyofthedailypress.

Whetherthisformoftheenjoyedresulthasanaestheticfunctionor

notdependsuponwhetherthestoryofthenews,afterbeingthrownintothis

acceptableform,servestointerprettothereaderhisexperienceasthe

sharedexperienceofthecommunityofwhichhefeelshimselftobeapart.

(390)

SinceMeadwrotethispassage,mainstreammediahascontinuedtomovetoward

andfocusonobjectivityinnewsreporting.NewJournalists,eveninthe1960s,wereable

topresent“stories”ratherthan“facts”intheirwritingasMeadsuggests.However,noneof

thosewritersinterpretedtheeventstheywererecordingquitelikeThompsondidwith

GonzoJournalism.Thompsonsoughttofindthestorybehindthefactsandusedhis

perspectivetopresenttheeventsherecorded.Hewasabletotranslatehisexperienceonto

thepageforhisreaders,creatingastoryofaestheticandinterpretivevalueratherthan

merelyrecordingthefacts.FortyyearsbeforeThompson’sbreakthroughintojournalism,

MeaddescribedexactlywhatThompsondidinhiswritingasajournalisticideal.

40

Newspapersinthe16thand17thcenturiesofteninterpretedaccidents,weather,and

otherphenomenaasactsofGod.Thesereportsprovidedasharedcommunityviewofthe

events,anddidnotnecessarilypresentanyevidenceorabalancedviewfortheirclaims.In

the18thcentury,journalismchangedasnetworksforsharingnewsimproved.American

colonialnewspapersevolvedgreatlywhen,in1758,BenjaminFranklinandWilliam

Hunter,DeputyPostmastersGeneral,allowedprinterstoexchangecopiesoftheir

newspaperswithoutcharge(Eaman23‐24).Coincidently,thebetterqualityofthe

reportednewshelpedraisethereadershipofnewsreports.“Bythe1820s,therewere

some600newspapersintheUnitedStates,morethaninanyothercountryintheworld,

whilebetween1790and1840,thepercentageofhouseholdsreadingnewspapers

increasedfrombetween10and20percentin1790tocloseto70percentby1840”(Eaman

25).

However,ashiftinthinkingcameaboutinthe1800saswell.The19thcentury

broughttheageofrealismandtheadventoftheindustrialrevolutiontotheworld,and

thesechangesledthemovetowardobjectivity.Bytheearly20thcentury,journalistsand

editorsfelttheyneededtoraisetheirstandardsbyclearlyidentifyingtheirsourcesand

verifyingtheirclaims(Eaman35).CornellUniversitywasthefirstschooltooffercourses

injournalismin1875.Bythe1890s,theinvertedpyramid3wasusedbymostnewspapers

becauseitprovidedaformatforclearcommunication(Eaman31).Earlyarticleswere

oftenpublishedanonymously,butintheearly1900s,bylinesstartedtoappearwithnews

stories.Thiswastomakethereaderawareofwhowaswritingthearticles,butitalsogave

3Seepage6.

41

newspaperreportersnotorietyfortheirwork(Eaman38).In1904,thefirstfulljournalism

programwasestablishedattheUniversityofIllinois.Withtheriseofjournalismin

academiaandthecreationofprofessionalorganizationsandcodesofethics,journalists

continuedtodevelopnewstandardsforreportingthenews.

Whiletheconceptofobjectivitydidnotstartwithjournalism,thepursuittoward

objectivityinAmericannewswritingbeganwiththefieldofsciencewritingintheearly

19thcentury.“Bythe1820sand1830s,wildspeculationononesideandafiercedisregard

fortheoryinfavorofpalpablefactsbythemajorityofscientistsontheotherbecame

definingfeaturesofAmericanscience”(Schiller84).Thestudyofhistoryalsoaffectedthe

objectivity’sriseatthistime,as“historywasbecomingaprofoundlyimportantmeansof

validatingthepresent,bydramatizingitsorganicandnecessaryconnectiontopastevents

andpastgreatness”(Schiller85).Historywasseenasanabsolutetruth,andthusthere

wasageneralconsensusthatitneededtoberecordedwithoutbias.Becausenewspapers,

journals,andmagazineswereunderstoodtobeapreservationofhistory,itwasinevitable

thatobjectivitywouldbecometheidealforjournalists.

Asaprecursortotheobjectivitymovement,JamesGordonBennettsaidinthefirst

editionoftheNewYorkHeraldonMay6,1835thatheintendedtorecordfacts,“strippedof

verbiageandcoloring”(Schiller87).ThetraditionalAmericanideologybegantoputan

emphasisonobjectivityinjournalism,butnoteveryonewasconvinceditwouldbecome

thecornerstoneofAmericannewswriting.HenryLuce,founderofTimemagazine,

dismissedobjectivityasamythintheearly20thcentury,convincedthateventsneeded

explaininganddeciphering(Ward11).However,oncejournalismbecameacceptedinto

academia,standardsweresetandobjectivitybecametheideal.By1911,journalism

42

textbooksbeganincludinginformationaboutobjectivityinregardstoreporting(Mindich

116).Subjectivityinnewswritingwouldnotreturnuntilthe1960s,whenwritersof

creativenon‐fiction(Mailer,Capote,andothers)wovesubjectiveviewpointsintotheir

works,whichsoonafterspawnedNewJournalism.Thechangingvaluesofthatdecade

allowedthesewriterstoquestiontheauthorityofjournalismpracticesandultimatelyled

themtocreatetheirown.However,whenthecounterculturemovementfadedinthe

1970s,objectivitystillremainedthemodelforaccuratenewsreporting.

TheJournalist’sCreed,writtenin1908byWalterWilliams,thefirstdeanofthe

MissouriSchoolofJournalism4,continuestobepivotableasadeclarationofthevaluesand

principlesforjournaliststheworldover.Thecreedstates,“Ibelievethatclearthinkingand

clearstatement,accuracyandfairnessarefundamentaltogoodjournalism.”However,this

statementisnotrelevanttoThompson’sworkbecausehewasnotconcernedwithaccuracy

andfairnessinhiswriting.Forexample,whenThompsonwroteCampaignTrail,mostof

hisarticlesshowedGeorgeMcGovern,Thompson’schoiceforthepresidentialcandidacy,in

amorefavorablelightcomparedtotheothercandidates.Thus,Thompsondidnotprovide

afairrepresentationofallthecandidatesbecausehefavoredhiscandidateabovethe

others(Gonzo).However,theMissouricreedalsostates,“Ibelievethatajournalistshould

writeonlywhatheholdsinhishearttobetrue.”Similarly,Thompsonwrotewhathefelt

wastruebyusinghisperspectivetorecordevents.

Itisimportanttopointout,however,thattraditionaldefinitionsofjournalismvary

fromhowjournalistsviewthemselves.Journalistsaredefinedas“onewhoearnshisliving

4TheUniversityofMissouri‐ColumbiabecamethefirstuniversityintheUnitedStatestoofferaprofessionaljournalismschoolin1908.

43

byeditingorwritingforapublicjournalorjournals”(OxfordEnglishDictionary)or“a

writerwhoaimsatamassaudience”(Merriam­Webster).Journalistssetstandardsfor

themselveswellbeyondthesebasicdefinitionstoincludeaccuracyandobjectivity,but

thesefeaturesonlydefinethejournalistswhochoosetofollowthem.DanRather,along‐

timetelevisionnewsanchorforCBSNews,stroveforaccuracyinhisreporting,andwould

notcompromisehisintegrityasajournalisttoswayastoryinonedirectionoranother

becauseitwasthecurrenttrend.“I’vemademymistakes,buttheonemistakeI’vetried

hardnottomakeistosay,‘Okay.Iknowwhichwaythewindisblowing,andI’mgonna

tailormyreportingtofitthat.’Ain’tgonnadothat.Haven’t.Don’t.Won’t.”(qtd.inLeung).

Ina1974interviewwithPlayboymagazine,Thompsonsaidheneverthoughtofhimselfas

areporter(TorreyandSimonson21).However,asheoftendid,hecontradictedhimself.

InaninterviewwithSpinmagazinein1993,Thompsonsaid,“Asajournalist,Isomehow

managedtobreakalltherulesandstillsucceed”(qtd.inTorreyandSimonson104).Gonzo

canbeclassifiedasjournalismbecauseitfitswithinthebroadlydefinedparametersof

whatjournalismcanbe.Whilehedidn’tsubscribetothesamestandardsthatmost

journalistsholdthemselvesto,Thompson’swork,still,suppliedaversionofthetruth.

Inretrospect,Thompson’sinterpretationswereoftenaccurate.In1966,Thompson

portrayedtheHell’sAngelsasbeingviolentanddangerous.JustthreeyearsafterHells

Angels:AStrangeandTerribleSagawaspublished,thebikergangwasimplicatedinviolent

altercationsattheAltamontFreeConcertinCalifornia.Sotoo,theLasVegasversionofthe

AmericanDreamthatThompsondescribedin1971isthesamenowasitwasthen—the

AmericanDreamisstilltogetsomethingforfree.Today’ssocietyisfullofpeoplewhofile

frivolouslawsuitsorparticipateinotherscamstomakegetrichquick.Ironically,LasVegas

44

(whilebecomingmoreofafamilyvacationdestination)isstillthecitywheretheAmerican

Dreamcanbewonorlostonthecardtables.Moreover,Thompson’sperceptionofU.S.

PresidentRichardNixonwasalsoprovedtobeaccurate.Throughouthispresidency,

ThompsoncalledNixon“acrook”and“aliar.”Nixonwasre‐electedinthe1972presidential

electionbyalandslide,butresignedtwoyearslaterwhenitwasrevealedthathiscampaign

wasinvolvedintheWatergatescandal.TapesseizedduringtheWatergateinvestigation

revealedthatNixonhadalsodelayedtroopsfromreturningfromVietnambeforehisre‐

electiontoportrayhisadministration’s“Vietnamization”inafavorablelight5.Hispromise

toresolvetheconflictinVietnamwasafalsificationofwhatwasreallyhappening.

However,bymaintainingthefaçadethattheU.S.government’sinvolvementwaseffective,

hegainedthetrustoftheAmericanpeopleandwaselectedpresidentforasecondterm.

ThescandalssurroundingtheNixonadministrationhavebecomeapartofourhistory,and

historyhasshownThompson’sportrayalofNixontobeaccurate.

WhileLasVegasisThompson’smostfamousbook,FearandLoathingonthe

CampaignTrail’72wasThompson’smostimportantcollectionofreportage.When

comparedtoanotherbookaboutthecampaigntrail,TheMakingofthePresident1972by

TheodoreH.White,BurdettA.Loomis,professorofpoliticalscienceattheUniversityof

Kansas,wrote,“White’sdescriptionofakeyvoteattheDemocraticconventionpalesbeside

thatofThompson,intermsofaccuracy,wit,anddetail;Whitemayhavethebestsourcesat

thetoplevel,butThompsonseemstoknowandreportmore”(318).Thompsonreported

whathethoughtwasimportanttohisreaderwhileotherchroniclers(likeWhite)ofthe

5SeeKenHughesarticle,"FatalPolitics:Nixon’sPoliticalTimetableforWithdrawingfromVietnam"inDiplomaticHistory(2010).

45

campaignstucktothefactsandfigures.Loomisexplained,“FearandLoathingprovides

bothabetterunderstandingoftheabsurdworldofpresidentialcampaigningandmuch

moreenjoymentthanwhateveraninstitutionalinsiderlikeWhitecanhopetoproduce”

(319).

However,onecriticofCampaignTrailsaidthebookwasnotreallyaboutthe

campaigntrail,butmoreaboutThompsonandhiswriting.WayneBooth,writingforthe

ColumbiaJournalismReview,assertedin1973,“ThethesisofLoathingisthatHunter

Thompsonisinteresting—orperhaps,togivehimthebenefitofthedoubt,thatMcGovern

couldhavewonifhehadfollowedThompson’snatural,sincere,unfailingpopulistinstincts”

(8).Inotherwords,accordingtoBooth,thebookwasn’treallyaboutwhatitissupposedto

beabout.WhileBoothapplaudedWhite’sinterpretationofthecampaigntrailforproviding

sourcesforhisinformation,healsosuggestedthatWhite’saccountwasdevoidofthe

humorandentertainmentvaluefoundinThompson’sbook.Forexample,inCampaign

TrailThompsonwroteaboutanincidentonMuskie’s“SunshineSpecial”whistlestoptour

inFlorida.ThenightbeforeMuskieadvisorspurposelyleftThompsonasleeptocontinue

thetourwithouthim,Thompsongavehispresscredentialstoanotherman.Theman,

“PeterSheridan,”boardedthetrainanddrunkenlyharassedmanypeople.Atthenextstop,

themangotoffthetrainandcontinuedtoberatethecandidatefromtheplatform,causing

Muskietolashoutathishecklerinfrontofhisconstituents.Thefollowingshows

Thompson’sreactionasanotherreporterfilledhiminonwhathadoccurred:

“Jesus!”Isaid.“Whydidn’ttheyjustputhimoffthetrain?”

“How?Youdon’tstopacharteredAmtraktrainonamainlinejust

becauseofadrunkenpassenger.WhatifMuskiehadorderedanemergency

46

stopandwe’dbeenrammedbyafreighttrain?Nopresidentialcandidate

wouldriskathinglikethat.”

IcouldseetheheadlinesineverypaperfromKeyWesttoSeattle:

MuskieCampaignTrainCollisionKills34;

DemoCandidateBlames“CrazyJournalist”(CampaignTrail90)

Thompson’ssarcasmtowardthisconversationwashumorous.Itisincludedtoentertain

thereaderratherthansimplyprovidehistoricalnarrative.However,Boothfoundthat

Thompson’sself‐imposedignoranceofpoliticscauseshiswritingtobe“melodrama,not

history,andwhathewritesisnotevenasclearasdrama”(9).Boothexplainedthat

Thompson’sendgoalwasnottoinformthereaderorexplainthegameofpolitics,but

rathertoentertain(12).HeconcludedthatCampaignTrailwas,“aninflatedfootnoteon

howheusedthecampaigntoachievea‘veryspecialkindofHigh,’anEntertainmentfor

thosewhowanttoseepoliticsasasillygamethatcouldbedispensedwithifonlypeople‐

who‐feel‐rightwouldgettogether.Cleverness,energy,andbrashnesscannot,finally,make

upforignoranceandlackofcriticaltraining”(12).Thompson’swork,inBooth’seyes,

createdafictionthatlackedanyformofhistoricalvalueasaviabledescriptionofthe

politicaleventsof1972.

CriticsofGonzo,likeBooth,oftenquestionThompson’scredibilityasawriterandas

areliablewitness.Bydefinition,Gonzorequiredthewriter’sviewpointanditallowedthe

writertopresenthisperspectivetothereaderwithoutattemptingtorerecordeventslike

writerslikeTomWolfe.TherewasnoexpectationofobjectivityinGonzojournalism.

Thompsononcesaid,“thetruthisusuallyalotweirderthananythingyoucanmakeup”

(qtd.inTorreyandSimonson47).Writers’searchfortruthbeganwellbeforeThompson’s

47

writing.AmericansatiristMarkTwainhasoftenbeencreditedasaprecursorof

Thompson’swriting,andtheirwritingstylessharesimilarqualities.6Theirquipsaboutthe

socialandpoliticaleventsoftheirrespectivetimeperiodswereentertaining,insightful,and

oftenharsh.Twainwrote,“Truthisstrangerthanfiction,butitisbecauseFictionisobliged

tosticktopossibilities;Truthisn't.”7Twainandmanyotherwritersthoughttruthcouldbe

powerfulinliterature.Similarly,Thompson’sstoriesdon’tjusttellwhathappened.Rather,

Thompsonlookedbeyondtheeventstorecordthegreatermeaningbehindthem,while

alsorecreatingtheemotionalambienceofmoment.

InFearandLoathingontheCampaignTrail’72,Thompsondidn’trecordtheevents

ofthecampaign,rather,hesoughttobreakawayfromthepackjournalism8mentalityand

createinterestingarticlesthatincludedwhatoccurredbehindthescenesandoff‐the‐

recordinformationthatotherjournalistsself‐censoredfromtheirstories(Dunn35).Tim

Crouse,theotherRollingStonereporteronthe1972campaigntrail,stated,“Hunter’s

pieceswereaveryparticularhybridofveryclearminded,accurate,straightreportageand

thensometimesflat‐outfantasy.Itwasallruntogetherandsomepeoplefoundithardto

tellthefantasyfromtheotherstuff”(qtd.inGonzo).Thompson’suseofextreme

6SeeJeffreySteinbrink’s“MarkTwainandHunterThompson:ContinuityandChangeinAmerican‘OutlawJournalism’”publishedinStudiesinAmericanHumorin1983.

7FoundinTwain’sFollowingtheEquator:AJourneyAroundtheWorld.ThequoteiscreditedtoPudd'nheadWilson'sNewCalendarwithinthetext.

8TimCrousesaidthepackmentalityofjournalistscreatedanexpectationthateachoftheirstoriesandtheinformationcontainedwithinmuchessentiallybethesame(Dunn35).Heattributesthistoreporter’scollectiveusageofofficialsourcesandpreviouslyacquiredknowledge(Dunn34).

48

exaggerationcoupledwithunverifiabledetailscapturedtheessenceofwhatoccurred,but

sometimesleftdoubtastothetruthoftheeventsheclaimedtoberecording.Noteveryone

understoodthedifferencebetweenwhenThompsonwasmakingajokeandwhenhewas

beingserious.Forexample,majornetworkspickedupanarticleThompsonwroteabout

candidateEdmundMuskie’ssupposeddrugabuseonthecampaigntrail.Thompsonwrote,

IimmediatelyrecognizedTheIbogaineEffect—fromMuskie’stearful

breakdownontheflatbedtruckinNewHampshire,thedelusionsandaltered

thinkingthatcharacterizedhiscampaigninFlorida,andfinallythecondition

of“totalrage”thatgrippedhiminWisconsin.

Therewasnodoubtaboutit:TheManfromMainehadturnedto

massivedosesofIbogaineasalastresort.Theonlyremainingquestionwas

“whendidhestart?”Butnobodycouldanswerthisone,andIwasnotableto

pressthecandidatehimselftoanswerbecauseIwaspermanentlybarred

fromtheMuskiecampaignafterthatincidentonthe“SunshineSpecial”in

Florida…(CampaignTrail134)

ThompsonusedthispassagetomakefunofMuskie’sbehaviortowardtheendofhis

campaignrun.However,othernewsagenciespickedupthestoryfromRollingStoneand

publishedthisinformationasfact.Theinformationinthepiecewasnotverifiablenorwas

itlikelythatapresidentialcandidatewouldputhiscampaigninjeopardybytakingillegal

drugs.ThompsonwrotethatMuskie’sdrugusewasarumor,andlaterheadmittedthathe

wasthepersonwhostartedtherumor(Gonzo).Becausetherewas,infact,arumor,

Thompson’sreportagewastruthful.Ironically,othernetworkspickedupthestoryand

publisheditasatruthfulstory,evenwithoutsourcestobacktheassertion.“Itoccurredto

49

meabouthalfwaythroughthecampaignthat…thatpeopleactuallybelievedthethingsI

waswritingabout.MuskieeatingthisstrangeBraziliandrug,”Thompsonsaidinatelevised

interview(qtd.inGonzo).Anotherintervieweraskedhimtoexplainwhyhetoldeveryone

hemadeitup,andThompsonreplied,“Ihadto.Icouldn’tbelievethatpeopletookthis

stuffseriously”(qtd.inGonzo).ToThompson,theembellishmentwasabigjoke.However,

noteveryoneunderstoodthepunchline.

Despitetheexaggerationandunverifiableinformation,FrankMankiewicz,George

McGovern’scampaignmanagerin1972,saidFearandLoathingontheCampaignTrail’72

was“theleastfactual,mostaccurateaccountofthatcampaign”(qtd.inGonzo).Thompson

capturedtheessenceofthecampaigninhiswriting,describingitinawaythatthepublic

couldunderstandwithoutexclusivelystickingtothefacts.Hedidnotjusttoreportonthe

campaigntrail,butherecordedwhathappened—thechaosandpoliticswithoutthe

polishedfactsprovidedbyspeechesandcampaignmanagers.“Bytheendofthecampaign,

Thompsonwaswidelyregardedashavingwrittensomeofthemosticonoclasticand

effectivepoliticalcoveragethatAmericanjournalismhadeverproduced”(Gilmore).

ThereisnodoubtthatThompsonhasinfluencedmodernmedia.Thompson’s

particularbrandofsatirewasaprecursortoentertainmentprogramslikeTheDailyShow

(1996)andTheColbertReport(2005).Theseshows“report”thenewsusingtechniques

similartheonesfoundinThompson’swriting.Thompson’spersonascreatedauthorityin

hiswriting,andStephenColbertandTheDailyShow’sJonStewartbothpresentacertain

persona—thatofanewsanchor—togivetheirviewerstheimpressiontheycouldbe

legitimatejournalists.Theirpersonasfunctionasaderisionofbigmedianetworks.

ColbertandStewart’spersonasaresimilartoThompson’sRaoulDukeinthattheyuse

50

exaggeration,humor,andburlesquetoexplaintheirversionoftheeventstheycover.These

personas,likeDuke,provideascreenforthecomediantohidebehind.Viewersare

presentedwithaversionofthetruththroughcaricatures.StewartandColbert’sludicrously

parodisticversionsofeventsarealsoreminiscentofThompson’swriting.Whileirony,

parody,andsatirehavebeenusedthroughouthistory,usuallyasformsofentertainment,it

wasThompson’spasquinadethatpavedthewayformodernsatiricalmedia.

PeoplereadThompson’sworkbecauseheprovidedanindividualizedoutlookthat

wasentertainingandselective.Inthesameway,satiricalnewsprogramspresentonlythe

informationthatcanbewrittenintoacomedysketch9.Thepublicwantstobeentertained.

Wardexplained,“Themarket‐drivendemandforattention‐grabbingnewsencourages

entertainmentdisguisedasnews”(14).“News”showslikeStewart’sandColbert’sblurthe

linebetweenfactandfictionstrictlyforentertainmentpurposes10.Satiricalnewspapers

likeTheOnion(1988),availableinprintandonline,oftenusecompletelyfabricated

material,parody,andsatiretocreate“news”thatentertainsratherthaninforms.Thereis

noexpectationofobjectivity.AswithThompson’swork,somepeoplemistakenlyinterpret

satiricalnewsasobjectivereportage.Forexample,in2002,theBeijingEveningNewsrana

storyabouttheU.S.CongressthreateningtoleavetheCapitalBuildingandpossibly

relocatingoutofWashington,D.C.unlessupgradesweremadetothebuilding.Thewriter

9Stewart’sprogram,forexample,focusesmostlyonU.S.foreignpolicyandpolitics,andittendstoignoreothermajorcurrenteventssuchasmajornationaltragedies(PewResearch).

10Thehostsoftheseprogramsarecomedians,notjournalists.Interestinglyenough,in2007,AmericansrankedStewartasthefourthmost‐admiredjournalist,listedwithmediaiconslikeDanRather,TomBrokaw,BrianWilliams,andAndersonCooper(PewResearch).

51

hadgottenthestoryfromTheOnion.Thenewspaperreportedthestoryasobjectivenews,

evenincludingarenditionofthenewcapitalbuilding(alsofromTheOnion)witha

retractabledome,withoutcheckingitslegitimacy.ThisisaresultoftheChinesemedia

becomingmoreopenandallowingtheavailabilityofmoreinformation,even

wrongheadedly,oftenfrom“Internet‐savvy,English‐speakingwriterswhofreelyliftstuff

fromtheWebandsubmittoeditorswhoadopta‘don’task,don’ttell’attitudetowardthe

material’sorigins”(Chu).

Furthermore,inlightofThompson’sinfluence,thecurrenttrendinjournalism

stemsfromthepublic’sdemandfornewscateredtowardtheirpolitical,religious,orother

beliefs.ModernconservativecommentatorslikeGlennBeck,SeanHannity,andRush

Limbaughprovideinformationastheyseeitontheirrespectiveprograms.The

informationtheyaffordisdeterminedbythevaluesandidealsoftheirintendedaudience.

Theriseofcommentatorswhopresentthenewsbasedontheirbeliefshascreateda

polarizedmodernmedia.FoxNewsChannelcurrentlyprovidesnewsfromthe

conservativepoint‐of‐view,aspeoplewhowatchtheFoxNewsprogramareawareofthe

leaningsoftheirprogramprovider.Wardobserved,“ItisanironyofhistorythatWestern

society,whichfirstregardedjournalistsasquestionablewriters‐for‐hire,hascometo

dependsoheavilyontheunevenstandardsofitsnewsmongers”(10).Coincidentally,

Thompson’sreportingstylewastheharbingerofmodernconservativenewsreporting.Fox

Newshasreportedlymanipulatedcertainaspectsofthenewstoprovideaconservative

perspective,despiteclaimingtobe“FairandBalanced.”Thishasnotstoppedthepublic

fromobtainingitsnewsfromtheprogram,asitisthemostwatchednewsprogramin

America.

52

Thompson’swritingalsohelpedtorelaxtheboundariesofmodernjournalism.

Thompson,likejournalistsofthe19thcentury,wasnotaslavetoobjectivity.Hewasnot

thequietobserver,andhiswritingfurtherexpandedthecreativelibertiesaffordednon‐

fictionwriting.Thompsonprovidedatruththroughhisperception,andhistechniques

havebeenintegratedincontemporarymediawithinterestingresults.Studieshaveshown

thatwithinthepastdecade,Americanshavebeguntodoubtthelegitimacyofjournalists

andtheirreporting(Maier).

TheAmericanSocietyofNewspaperEditorsconductedasurveyin1999that

showedabout53percentofAmericansthinkthemediaisoutoftouchwithmainstream

society,and78percentbelievereporterscatertotheireditor’sinterestsinsteadofthe

readers’(Maier).However,theriseofblogsandsatiricalnewsoutletsshowthechanging

perceptionAmericanshaveonwhatnewstheywanttoseeorread.TheInternetallowsthe

publictobeselectiveaboutthenewstheyreceive.TheInternetbringsthenewstopeople’s

homesintheformofvideos,newsfeeds,articles,andothermedia.Peopleshare

informationonblogsandinchatrooms.These“reporters”don’tattempttopresenta

balancedstory,butrathertheyshareinformationfromtheirpoint‐of‐view.Wardsuggests

thismovementtoward“publicjournalism”movesawayfromobjectivityandpresentsthe

journalist“asafairbutengaged‘catalyst’ofcivicconversation”(14).

Meadpredictedin1926thatmethodsforreceivinginformationwouldchangeasthe

mediadiscovereditsroleinaffectingthecommunityitserves.Heobserved,“Itdoesnot

necessarilyloseitsparticularindividuality,butitbecomesfunctionalinthegreatersociety

inacreativesense”(390).Today’sfocusonselectivemediaandtheturntowardmore

creativesourcesofinformationshowsthepublic’sinterestincontrollingthetypeof

53

informationitreceives.AsMeadnoted,intelligentnewsorganizationsmaybeabletolead

theirconstituentsinaspecificdirection.However,tocontinuetokeeptheiraudiences’

attention,theymustprovidethenewsinthemanneritsreadersandviewersdemand.

TheimpactofThompson’swritinghasalsomadecontributionstoliterature.His

styleisreminiscentofwriterslikeTwain,JoshBillingsandJamesThurber,andlikethese

writers,Thompsonprovideshumorouspoliticalandsocialcommentaryratherthan

straightreportage.ThompsonalsodrawsfromtheflamboyantwritingsoftheBeatera.

Hisproseoftenmirrorsthechaotic,freeformstyleofJackKerouacandthewitofWilliam

Burroughs.Likethesewriters,hiswritingoftenworksasaforcefulsocialcommentarythat

pulledthereaderintothemoment.InthisexamplefromFearandLoathinginLasVegas,

Thompsonlamentsthedemiseofthecounterculture:

Therewasmadnessinanydirection,atanyhour.IfnotacrosstheBay,

thenuptheGoldenGateordown101toLosAltosorLaHonda…Youcould

strikesparksanywhere.Therewasfantasticuniversalsensethatwhatever

weweredoingwasright,thatwewerewinning…

Andthat,Ithinkwasthehandle—thatsenseofinevitablevictoryover

theforcesofOldandEvil.Notinanymeanormilitarysense;wedidn’tneed

that.Ourenergywouldsimplyprevail.Therewasnopointinfighting—on

oursideortheirs.Wehadallthemomentum;wewereridingthecrestofa

highandbeautifulwave…

Sonow,lessthanfiveyearslater,youcangouponasteephillinLas

VegasandlookWest,andwiththerightkindofeyesyoucanalmostseethe

54

high‐watermark—thatplacewherethewavefinallybrokeandrolledback”

(67‐68).

ThetoneofthispassagedemonstrateshowThompsoncraftedhiseasy‐goingstyletomimic

theeffervescentmentalityoftheLovegenerationhewasdescribing.Thompson’swriting

spoketohisreaders,whohadsimilarlybeenaffectedbythechangesinsocietyafterthe

endoftheHippiemovement.ReaderstodaycontinuetoenjoyThompson’swriting

because,likeTwain,Kerouac,andothers,hiswritingnotonlyrecordsevents,itportrays

thedispositionofaparticulargroupofpeopleduringadistinctiveperiodinhistory.

TherehaveonlybeenafewwriterswhohaveadoptedGonzostyleintotheir

writing.Forexample,OscarZetaAcosta,Thompson’sfriendandthebasisfortheDr.Gonzo

characterinFearandLoathinginLasVegas,isconsideredaGonzowriter.Autobiographyof

aBrownBuffalo(1972),Acosta’sfirstbook,waswrittenasanautobiography,butit

includedfictionalizedmaterial.Bruce‐NovoaexplainedthatlikeThompson,“Acosta’sbooks

arealsohybridsoffiction,journalism,andautobiography.Thoughdifferentfrom

Thompsoninmanyways,AcostaisaGonzowriterandcharacter.Thefirstchaptersof

BrownBuffaloseemtobestraightGonzostyle;thereaderisthrustintoThompson’schaotic

society”(44).TimCahillisalsoconsideredaGonzowriter;heisatraveljournalistwho

usesdigressionandstreamofconsciousnesstowriteabouthisadventuresaroundthe

world.Heisanordinarymanwhodoesextraordinarythings,andhiswildmisadventures

arepartofthejokeinhisbooktitlesincludingJaguarsRippedMyFlesh(1987)andA

WolverineIsEatingMyLeg(1989).

55

Althoughtherearen’tmanypeoplewhowritelikeThompson,hiswritingstill

appealstoreaderstoday.Heisaculticonbecauseofhiswritingandhisnonconformity.

Thompsoncontinuestoreachtoday’sreadersthroughthedocumentariesandotherrecent

worksthatchroniclehislifeandwriting.Hislegendasaheroofthecountercultureiskept

alivebyhisfriends,namelyJohnnyDepp,whowillstarintheupcomingmovieadaptation

ofThompson’sTheRumDiary(2010).Thompson’spenchantfortheabsurdcontinuestobe

entertaining,andhisunconventionalstyleappealstotoday’sreaders.Hiswritingwas

stronglyworded,andhewrotewithoutlimitorcontrol.AsGilmorelamentedafter

Thompson’ssuicide,“Therearen’tmanyaroundthesedayswhoarewillingtotellusthe

hardstuff,andjustaboutnonewhoarewillingtonameswineasswine.”Whereas

traditionalmediausesrestraintasamethodtoprotectitself,Thompsonwroteexactlyhow

heviewedthingswithoutcareofthereprisals.Whilecombiningentertaininganticsand

insightfulanalysis,hiswritingchallengedthedistinctionbetweennon‐fictionandfiction

writing.Hisreportageexaminedin‐depththeAmericancharacterwhichcontinuestobe

calledintoquestiontoday.

56

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