Both the film and the novel begin with the following quote from Dr. Johnson: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." How do the main characters go about making beasts of themselves and does it really relieve their pain?

I did not really enjoy the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It was way too trippy for me, and I did not like all the wierd things that went on after the main characters took the massive amount of drugs. This movie was not entertaining for me whatsoever, but I guess I can sort of see how it can be analyzed. I've never really been exposed to any sort of hard drugs, and this movie was just a little too much for me. I don't see how it fits into this "American Dream" talk at all. The rediculousness of these characters and their drug addiction/ escape from reality makes me think of people who do these hard drugs in real life, and how lame it is, and how they take advantage of people in society and con their way out of so many things. We all have problems, and issues that we have to deal with in life. Suck it up, and deal with it, just like everyone else.

Dr. Gonzo and Raoul Duke made beasts out of themselves by continuously taking these hard drugs that cloud their perception and does not allow them to see reality for what it is. These drugs just distract themselves from themselves, and the pain that they deal with on a regular basis. It only temporarily gives them relief from their pain and problems, which is the reason why the taking of these drugs lasts the entire movie. I feel as if they are entering their own little bubble when they do these drugs, and reality has no meaning. As soon as the drugs begin to wear off, they take more. What happens when they run out? They'll have to face the "harsh" realities of life that they have been escaping from. They have to revert back to life on this Earth just like everyone else does day in day out. They appear to be these beasts when they take the drugs to the everyday non-drugtaker.