We can work on Hunters S Thompson’s Hell’s Angel

A summary and Analytical response

Introduction

Hells Angels by Thompson is two years chronicle which focuses on Oakland and San Francisco chapters of California broad gang. The narrator discusses the origin of the gang and their background using general terms. She also discusses their social importance and their unlikely rise to national fame through exposure by media following their numerous fierce crimes. The narrator gives a detailed motorcycle run to specific destinations by following Hell’s Angels and being involved in their festivities. This paper will provide a summary, and analytical response to the Hunter’s Hell’s Angel’s excerpt Roll’em boys and postscript. The attitude of the author and how he relates it in the book will be analyzed and the strategies which the author uses to communicate in the book.

Thompsons begins the story with a vivid account of his involvement with the Hell’s Angels gang which was based in California and Oakland. The narrator says that he spent two years in which he lived with the notorious Angels cycling through the coast. The author reveals in the revolutionary spirit of the Hell’s Angels cycling clan, which befits their initials the “raising Angels” (Forsberg, 2015). The book successively captures that particular time in the history of America when the history of biking was initially defined and when such countercultural engagements were horrifying and electrifying in the country. Thompson writes the book all through with boldness and energy. Also, the author writes the book with nuanced, brutal honesty and an incisive eye.

In the first chapter of the book “Roll em, boys” serves as a flashy introduction. The author writes it in a casual sensationalist and embraces this method and uses it all through in the rest of the book. This method is commonly called gonzo journalism even though that phrase did not come up until numerous years after the book was published. The author describes the Hells Angels as serious people who used to cycle at high speeds of almost ninety miles per hour; he says that ” The menace is loose again, the Hell’s Angels, the hundred-carat headline, running fast and loud on the early morning freeway, low in the saddle, nobody smiles, jamming crazy through traffic a ninety miles an hour down the center stripe missing by inches.”: The author also says that the Hell’s Angels could ride, raid and rape and they boasted that no police force could break their motorcycle gang fraternity. The author says that the members of Hell’s Angels were outlaws and they were fond of making trouble. The author seems to be very descriptive and calls Hell’s Angels as pure animals. By describing Hell’s Angel’s as pure animals, the author uses metaphor to make the reader comprehend the behavior of the gang. The author also demonstrates a negative attitude towards the gang. Apart from calling them animals, he adds that “They’d be animals in any society. These guys are outlaw types who should have been born a hundred years ago”. The negative attitude is related to how the gang perceive themselves as invisible, and they do whatever they like to anyone. They rape and commit crimes, and they are not afraid of any police.

Use of repetition

When analyzing the author’s communication strategies, the author is fond of using repeating to emphasize the significant points of the story. The author repeats several times and on different occasions that the gang was “outlaw.” In one incident, he argues that the gang was an outlaw who was supposed to be born many years back. On another occasion, he says that “The run was on, outlaws from all over the state rolled in packs towards monetary”. By repeating that term, when describing the Hell’s Angels gang, the author shows the reader how the men were fugitives. He also tries to show the reader that despite committing a lot of crimes, the gang members were not victims like ordinary criminals. He also means that the men were never victimized and they lived beyond the law. In his communication also, the author repeats how the Hell’s Angels men used to ride. On one occasion, the author says that “They rode with a fine, unwashed arrogance, secure their reputation as the most rotten motorcycle gang in the whole…” In another incidence, the author describes how gangs rode while sitting on their low saddles with no smiles. When the author occasionally describes the gang ridding their motorcycles, he tries to show the reader how the gang was fond of using their motorcycles to move from one place to the other. He also tries to bring into attention that the gang was well known due to its use of motorcycles.

Use of specialized language

Another communication strategy that the author is fond of using is a specialized language. On several occasions, the reader can note several specialized languages which are different from the other common language. For example, the author uses “one-percenter” to refer to the portion of the population which does not want to be associated with the riders association. By using such words, the author is trying to transmit his ideas and content more effectively. In another case where the author uses specialized language is when one of Hell’s Angels member had died. The other members were supposed to collect money to send the body back to her mother in North Carolina (BookRags, 2019). The member who had died is described as one of the best outlaw members in their tradition, and that was being stone broke, homeless and owning nothing in the world but only the clothes which they put on. The other members of Hell’s Angel say that there was nothing they could do but send the remains to her mother. Describing the situation, the author uses the term “solemnity” to describe how everyone even the police was feeling. He says that “the recent demise of buddy lent the 64 affairs a tone of solemnity that not even the cops could scoff off. The author uses the term solemnity to describe how the death of one member of Hells Angels made the others conscious. The author wants the reader to rethink the situation again of living being an outlaw but dying with nothing. Even though the Hells men saw themselves, as outlaws, they died with nothing. However, even though the author has a good command of using specialized words to communicate his ideas and content, a lot of readers may find it challenging to comprehend.