Middle Years

After leaving the military, Thompson began Columbia University's School of General Studies. Studying under the GI Bill, he also worked as a sports editor for a newspaper company. Thompson also began to focus more on literature
instead of being as reckless as he was during his earlier years. He also worked for Time Magazine as a copy boy. While working for Time he made copies of Ernest Hemingway's A farewell to Arms and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby to observe and learn both of the writer's styles of writing. Later, Thompson was fired by Time for insubordination. During this time period Thompson worked for many different newspaper and printing companies in which he was dismissed from his duties for many different reasons ranging from damaging candy machines to arguing with people.
Thompson could not hold a job so the next best option in his head, was to simply pick up and move. Thompson moved to Puerto Rico, where he also could not hold a job. However, his time spent there was later discussed in two novels one including The Rum Diary. Thompson viewed himself here as an observer of what went on around him. Carr describes Thompson as "the observer not only changes events by his presence, but his presence also frequently surpasses the event in terms of importance. (Carr). After moving back to the states, he began working longer for different companies, holding jobs for more than a few months. Also, he began illustrating his own articles for National Observer and Brazil Herald.
In May of 1963, Thompson married his girlfriend Sandra Dawn Conklin. She had accompanied him to countries previous to their engagement and wrote articles with him. Now married, Thompson and Conklin moved to Aspen, Colorado where they started a family. Juan Fitzgerald Thompson was born March 23, 1964. The family moved to California in 1964 where Thompson continued to write for the National Observer where he introduced himself to the hippie culture and lifestyle.

Carr, David. "The Thompson Style: A sense of Self, and Outrage." The New York Times 22 Feb.2005.Web.

Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S Thompson was born in July in 1937. From an early age it was evident that Thompson was going to become an iconic figure in American literature. High school played a large role in Thompson’s life that would help determine who and what he would be the rest of his life. Literature, violence, and always getting in trouble were common routines for Thompson. When Thompson was in high school his father passed away and his mother was an alcoholic who could not control her wild child. Thompson was a member of the Athenaeum Literary Association which fueled his desire for literature. With Thompson always being in trouble, the judge finally gave him two choices: Prison or the Military. Reluctantly Thompson chose to join the Air force in which his political views had been firmly established. Once Thompson had left the Air Force he began using drugs intently. Drugs and Alcohol would soon ignite him and be the catalyst for many of his best novels.
Adolescence for Thompson was nowhere near ideal for a young man. However, this established many stories that Thompson would incorporate within his books and articles. Thompson had also approached writing with a completely new and innovative way of writing. He would write about his own experiences. He would not only write about one side of the story, but both sides. Thompson approached as if he were writing from the perspective of both entities. Characters within his novels would commonly have constant rambles about politics and anything that was relevant to that character. This type of writing Thompson called Gonzo Journalism. This technique would make the reader feel as though they were actually experiencing what was happening. Thompson felt that if one was to truly enjoy a novel, they need to be sucked into it and drawn to it. In one of his most renowned books Hell’s Angels, Thompson actually explored the life of the Hell’s Angels. His experiences helped grab his readers and made it feel as though they were actually experiencing the action themselves.