Thompson/Cake (1)

To continue, we find similarities with Robbins in the writing of Hunter S. Thompson, who often portrayed his characters as literally or figuratively intoxicated, and only in this state do they seem to truly find their clearest ideas and feelings. It is the method of both writers to take the typical sanity away from their characters as a means of granting them complete rationality (2); in Fear, Thompson creates a world of intoxication and narcotic influence which, while sometimes a bit terrifying, gives the go-ahead to Raoul Duke to live as he feels he should, and must. The narcotics Raoul consumes are illegal, taboo substances which the greater part of humans believe to be harmful, destructive, vicious things (3). His actions and rationalizations are nearly entirely brought about by these drugs streaming through his system, and yet these intoxicants, unlike socially-imprinted human reason, grant him the freedom to make decisions which are not greatly influenced by other human beings and their beliefs or actions, but rather, strongly by his reactions to those human beings and his surroundings. It is in much this way that we find Robbins granting both Princess Leigh-Cheri and Wrangle the ability to rationalize all that they do and the myriad ways in which they do it (4). In many scenes, we find the princess and Wrangle consuming alcohol and reaching decisions which they might never have made sober, and yet once they sober up, they are not only quite happy with their decisions, but also feel quite fulfilled by the things such intoxicated decisions have introduced to them. Wrangle, as he stands, rarely makes a decision while literally intoxicated, but is rather in a constant state of intoxication by way of his own “outlaw” ways, he has essentially doped himself into his beliefs, much in the way a heroin addict never really beats the need, and instead might accomplish the lesser addiction of methadone, but rarely ever reached total bodily normalcy. As well, we find Leigh-Cheri reaching her great plan for the monarchy of Mu whilst in Hawaii, sitting on the beach, intoxicated with thoughts of eco-friendly legislation and a small, globally governing body, not narcotics to be sure, but certainly things which for the most part, the whole of the human race was not taking quite seriously during the time in which the book was taking place (5). By using alcohol to intoxicate his characters, I posit that Robbins was creating a link between the things we literally and figuratively choose to intoxicate ourselves with. Beginning with a dunk in drunkenness, and continuing by stirring them in a pool of their own personal passions, Robbins graduated his characters from their necessary baptism in alcohol to the self-fulfilling intoxication of one's own passion and motivations. I feel it should be noted that the majority of these alcoholic libations are not had straight, but rather blended with a number of fruits, and it is these that first stir the passions of our princess Leigh-Cheri (6). It stands to reason that we find Leigh-Cheri erupting from her shell upon swilling these fruits mingled with alcohol, the gifts of fertile land, to find herself mad about Wrangle. As well, it becomes more evident that she has given herself to the life of an outlaw when we find her practically chugging tequila, the favored drink of outlaws the world round, among them her Wrangle. To put it as Shakespeare did, it was “as if increase in appetite had grown by what it fed on,” but the focus of what these two feed on is love and passion for life and being outlaws, not on their love for one another, as Gertrude's (7).
Alcohol and passion are the primary foods of this novel, Wrangle and Leigh-Cheri feed on them always as if constantly starved for both (8). Their presence is enough reason to have them, and this reckless desire is evident throughout the text. But, do not misunderstand fervent desire for alcohol as alcoholism in Still Life, as that would be awfully close to calling the expression of passion in the text the equivalent of stalking. These two feed on alcohol, passion, and wedding cake throughout the work; it cannot be said that their infinite buffet is gluttonous as they do not overindulge, it cannot be said that it is unhealthy as they have neither gin blossoms or restraining orders, and it cannot be said that it causes harm to others (9) because their feast is meant to serve others as well, their actions are invitations to dine on passion for life and join the festivities. In the end, this buffet is meant to be the greatest party in human history, the one that will finally entice love to stay (10).

1 The food, not the rock band :(
2 Read that over once or twice, it starts to sink in shortly after the Riesling does
3 I can't believe I typed that in reference to drugs... it looks exactly like what I'd said about Miley Cyrus
4 Through tequila, like every other good idea
5 Sorry guys, flower power will not save the world. Not unless you find flowers that generate electricity, or a flower than can grow in an industrial turbine and run an entire power grid
6 One of them had avocado in it. Find me a tasty drink saturated with avocado and tequila and I'll find you several million dollars worth of thanks
7 Considering how much I love that particular soliloquy, I have a hard time rationalizing why I used it to reference this book. Especially anything in this book having to do with Wrangle.
8 Sex is all well and good, Robbins, but the way you put it makes me never, ever, ever want to contemplate it. I spent a god lot of hours after reading passages in this text having been reverted back to my grade-school "everyone has cooties!" mentality.
9 That's mostly true, besides that one guy Wrangle mangled, thus ruining his life.
10 Unless it gets a sober eye on Wrangle, at which point you'd have to drug and restrain it in order to harness it so that it couldn't not stay