View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is in the car Thompson has in Part 1, Chapter 9?

2. Why is Thompson not able to see the race?

3. Where does Thompson get his credentials in Part 1?

4. How much money was the man who talked about abusing his wife given when he was taken to the bus stop?

5. In Part 1, Chapter 7, what does the lawyer pull out in the elevator?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

3. What bothers Thompson about the newspaper he is reading while waiting for his car to be brought to him in Part I, Chapter 9?

4. 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?

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

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

7. What does Thompson’s lawyer ask him to do when Thompson finds him in the bathtub? What is the result of that request?

8. 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?

9. Where does Thompson stop in Baker, California, and how is he feeling while he is there?

10. What does Thompson notice about other journalists at the Mint 400, and how does he feel about what he sees?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss what you think are the characteristics of a successful book and why Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is or is not a successful book based on your criteria. Do you think the criteria for a successful book should be different if it is written for adults versus young adults? Why or why not

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

People are an integral and important part of almost all literature. Discuss the following:

Compare/contrast the personalities and beliefs of Thompson and the attorney. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Are they people with or without any redeeming qualities? Be specific and give examples.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,059 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample