The Rum Diary, in Summary

what is the significance of power? You say that Yeamon was very controlling of Chenault. I think he was control because he had no control over his own life, so to escape he used Chenault.

I definitely agree. Yeamon is a very individualistic character. This suggests inner strength, but also a mistrust and fear of the outside world, which is why he strives to be so individualistic. That fear of the outside world springs from his inability to control others, though he attempts to do so by fighting them and by treating Chenault like a slave. Of course, no matter how much of an individual he thinks he is, his life is impacted by factors beyond his control and that really frightens him.

The Rum Diary ends on chapter 21. Anthony Burgess, in a foreword to his famous novel, A Clockwork Orange, once wrote of his choice to include 21 chapters in that book, “21 is the symbol of human maturity…The number of chapters is never entirely arbitrary,”(Burgess, A Clockwork Orange Resucked,vi). The 21 chapters of The Rum Diary have a similar meaning: the book is about Kemp’s realization of his maturity and his growing readiness to take on responsibility.

A Clockwork Orange contains 3 separate sections, each 7 chapters long. It seems that Thompson has done the same thing, though he did not make the separation as obvious as Burgess did. The first part of the book saw a Kemp who was unsure of what he wanted from life. He lived nomadically, migrating from place to place to seek happiness. In many ways he reminded me of Chris McCandless, seeking individuality and truth. However, Kemp realizes that he is getting older, and he fears that change. He sees that the next stage of his life is coming, and fast. In the second section, Kemp has his run-in with the law, landing him in prison. This makes him realize that he’s not young enough to get away with partying and fighting and that it’s time to grow up and gain some stability; that is why he bought the house and car and got a well paying job from Sanderson. The final part of the book begins when Kemp, Yeamon, and Chenault arrive in St. Thomas. In this section, Kemp watches Yeamon’s life fall apart: he loses his girl, his home, and is made into an outlaw after participating in the murder of his old boss, Lotterman. Kemp, on the other hand, gains a woman and decides to return to New York to live with her. We cannot know what Kemp will do upon reaching New York. We do not know whether he will he continue to live recklessly or begin to settle down. However, we do know that during the second part of the book, Kemp was turned off of his youthful troublemaking and that in the third section, he saw Yeamon’s rebelliousness destroy him. It is safe to suppose that he is finished with that way of life and ready to move on; his journey to maturity is complete.