Easy Rider Essays

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This guilt-free atmosphere encourages people to explore 2 new freedoms.

In fact, this new-found, drug-infused escapism is an essential part in discovering what it means to be truly free in America. So they put [them] through the turnstiles and turned [them] loose inside” (Thompson 46).

In the movie Easy Rider (1969) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S.

Thompson, characters engage in this form of escapism as a way to push both the physical and spiritual boundaries that they feel constrict them.

As the city expects people to over-indulge in activities like drinking and gambling, from Duke’s perspective, it should also be expected- obvious even - for people to take advantage of this opportunity.

Corporal Punishment Essay Outline - Easy Rider Essays

He justifies going against society by believing that he is merely exploiting the resources that are available to him.This authenticity goes hand-in-hand with the lack of restraint in Duke’s lifestyle.Of course, this includes the consumption of various drugs from marijuana to ether.In his book, Thompson uses drugs as a way to bluntly reveal the truth about Duke’s story. It reflected the hopelessness and fear hidden beneath the surface; the American Dream was nowhere to be found and the mission was bound to fail.Revealing this truth, Easy Rider allows its audience to grief the loss of this classic idea of the American Dream, and leaves it for them to decide the kind of lifestyle they choose to live.When visiting a commune, Billy suggest that “this could be the right place” (Easy Rider) even though it was in the desert, and they had little resources, except what they can grow and share between them.Similarly to how drugs are used in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, LSD in the communes in Easy Rider is part of an alternative lifestyle that emits themes of freedom and belonging.By doing so, they escape the limitations of living with a careful, sober mind.Thus, the duo taps into a new form of freedom and originality that uncovers what America has to offer.Thompson bluntly compares the American Dream to “what was left of the “Old Psychiatrist’s Club”-a huge slab of cracked, scorched concrete in a vacant lot full of tall weeds” (168).This conclusion was reached after the Gonzo journalist and his attorney asked a drive-in employee where the American Dream is, as their last hope of getting the answer to the story that they’re covering.