The Angels were a group of people left behind by society. They were losers, people with no skills and no drive to be successful. Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society had left them behind. The Angels had no place in this new world and instead of trying to work within the system and trying to change things so that they could succeed, they decided to leave society all together, to form their own societies outside of American Culture where they could be free. They are like urban Vikings who frighten normal elements of society and pillage their towns, just looking for thrills and self-centered satisfaction.
But loyalty is also a tremendous part of life for the Angels. They despise the two-facedness of people in everyday society, so they formed a clan of brothers with a strict social code which makes two-facedness impossible: either one is at peace with the Angels and respects the Angel way of life, or he is at war against it and insults it. The latter case inevitably results in a savage beating from the Angels. This was the fate that befell Hunter S. Thompson. The Angels became convinced that he was writing his book without giving fair tribute to the Angels—that he was using them. Perceiving this as an insult to the clan, one Angel suddenly and without warning punched Thompson, triggering a mass attack involving at least five Angels. Thompson suffered a broken rib and never returned to outlaw motorcycling.
Next week, I’m starting Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Thompson’s most famous work.
1 comment:
I was very shocked that Angels turned on Thompson like that because I thought that they trusted him. He was the first normal person around the angels taking note on their lives. I mean a person can never tell how the Angels behavior is going to turn out. One thing that I did notice that the Angels had faith in the most was loyalty. I used the word faith because they did not care for anything else, so the Angels were to true to their word because that was all they had, each other. And that what was the strong bond between them.
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