Raoul Duke’s fast-living druggie way of life has led him to adopt a very anti-authoritarian viewpoint as far as the law is concerned. Raoul speaks of the police with great contempt, calling them “pigs” (93) and “bastards”(92). He feels that these policemen not only enforce stifling restrictions, but they take pride in doing it. After being pulled over by a cop on Highway 61, Raoul is disgusted at the thought that the cop would shortly be off, chuckling to his friends about this drunken madman he had pulled over.
Duke is put into direct confrontation with the cops when he is assigned to a new story: the National Conference of District Attorneys Seminar on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Duke is delighted by the chance to be in the heart of what he sees as an evil machine. Perhaps, he thinks, he will be doing some of the dangerous drugs as the district attorneys speak about them. Upon checking in at his new hotel, Duke enjoys watching a bellhop tell one of the visiting cops that there were no vacancies left in the hotel; he would have to go elsewhere. Duke enjoys this because it is a reversal of roles. Usually, it would be the cop enforcing rules against someone like the bellhop. But seeing the cop get a taste of his own medicine is deeply entertaining to Duke.
1 comment:
I noticed that a lot of men have trouble taking commands from authority figures, to me it seems like they always want to be in control of their own life. Does it make Roaul feel better when he calls Police officer cruel names? Does it fill the void he has?
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