The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test - 1234 Words

From what does the self originate? For ages, humans have pondered the nature of their personalities. Several theories have been presented over the years, One implies that a person’s traits are determined at birth and that one’s personality may be ingrained into their very DNA; while another sates that the environment in which the subject is in affects their characteristics far more than any deep-seated traits. This question, as well as many others, are topics that are brought to exhibition in Tom Wolfe’s book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Set in the late 1960’s, Wolfe tells the true story Ken Kesey and his band of followers, the Merry Pranksters, who brought the psychedelic drug movement to the forefront of American culture.†¦show more content†¦It was at this point they purchase an old school bus. This bus would be painted in Day-Glo and named â€Å"Further† and become synonomous with Kesey and the poster child for the psychedelic m ovement. On the trip to New York, the group films their LSD fueled adventures which they would title as The Movie and use it as a symbol of their movement to illustrate that you were either apart of it or you were not. Upon Kesey’s return to California, he is greeted in high regard as he is being seen as the leader of this rising new counter culture movement. He is picked to give seminars on what he is doing and to teach people how to live in the â€Å"now.† Following their return from the seminars, the Pranksters are raided by the police and cleaned out of all of their drugs. The following media frenzy cause the group to rise to prominence of the counter-culture movement. It was after this that Kesey befriends the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang and even begins leading retreats of church leaders. Some begin to think that the Prankster’s movement is mimicking a new religious movement and even begin to refer to Ken as â€Å"The Prophet Kesey.† Kesey begin hosting â€Å"Acid Tests† which were massive parties where everyone would take acid and attempt to discover themselves. These became instantly popular and take off immediately, but just as they are picki ng up steam, Kesey is arrested by the police forShow MoreRelated The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and Takin it to the Streets as Drug-influenced Literature1987 Words   |  8 PagesThe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and Takin it to the Streets as Drug-influenced Literature Art influenced by drugs faces a unique challenge from the mainstream: prove its legitimacy despite its tainted origins. The established judges of culture tend to look down upon drug-related art and artists, as though it is the drug and not the artist that is doing the creating. This conflict, less intense but still with us today, has its foundations in the 1960s. As the Beatnik, Hippie, and psychedelicRead MoreA Comparative Analysis of Armies of the Night and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test in Regards to New Journalism2190 Words   |  9 Pagesof the Night and Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test may seem very similar. They are both centered on a major author of the 1960s and his experiencing of historical events of the time, while set in the style of New Journalism. When examined closer, though, it becomes apparent that these novels represent two very different sides of New Journalism – Armies of the Night an autobiography with personal and political motivation s, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test a sociological piece which triesRead MoreEssay on Acid Test648 Words   |  3 Pages 1) Title of Book: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test 2) Author: Tom Wolfe 3) The grounds on which Thomas Wolfe created this documentation of the Merry Pranksters is that he attempts to re-create both the mental and physical atmosphere of their adventure and exploration across America. 4) Specific evidence in supporting the aforementioned thesis can be found in the â€Å"Author’s Note† section of the book but also in the writing style used to develop this masterpiece. Writing in a basic journal styleRead MorePlease Discuss the Social, Political, and Economic Conditions of the 1950’s; Which Lead to the Social Upheaval of the 1960’s.3629 Words   |  15 Pageshelped create the climate of social unrest in the 1960s. During the 1950s the United States was marked by an increase of affluence in American society; which resulted in elevated levels of consumption and an increase in the population (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test: Tom Wolfe: 9780312427597: Amazon.com: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. Pgs 18-31). However, in the midst of this economic prosperity a significant gap began to form between the rich and poor. To combat this growing concern PresidentRead MoreCarnatic Music888 Words   |  4 Pagesbooks reflecting the hippie experience, such as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. 2. In music, the folk rock and psychedelic rock popular among hippies evolved into genres such as acid rock, world beat and heavy metal music. 3. Psychedelic trance (also known as psytrance) is a type of electronic music music influenced by 1960s psychedelic rock. 4. The tradition of hippie music festivals began in the United States in 1965 with Ken Keseys Acid Tests, where the Grateful Dead played tripping on LSD andRead MorePsychedelic Musicians in Rock and Roll Essay2742 Words   |  11 Pagesand LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide; acid), and attempted to recreate drug-induced states through the use of overdriven guitar, amplified feedback, and droning guitar motifs influenced by Eastern music. This psychedelic consciousness was seeded, in the United States, by countercultural gurus such as Dr. Timothy Leary, a Harvard University professor who began researching LSD as a tool of self-discovery from 1960, and writer Ken Kesey who with his Merry Pranksters staged Acid Tests--multimedia happeningsRead MoreThe Mysterious LSD Essay2651 Words   |  11 PagesSince the 1930’s lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as the hallucinogen LSD, has been a topic of controversy and mystery. The components of LSD are lysergic acid and diethylamide. As part of the ergoline family, LSD is often classified as a synthetic drug because it is produced only in a laboratory (Petechuk 10). Users of LSD are people from solid middle- and upper-class backgrounds. They have many opportunities to pursue higher education and to have successful careers (Petechuk 9). To mostRead More Hunter S. Tompson and Gonzo Journalism Essay1931 Words   |  8 Pagesand sending them to the editors. What resulted was the beginning of gonzo journalism. Many see gonzo journalism to be a variation of a theme, which began with new journalism in the 60’s, led primarily by author Tom Wolfe. (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, etc.) New Journalism was said to have broken all the rules of traditional journalism. The old style journalists were supposed to take an objective point of view in their articles. The new journalists were far more subjective, getting personallyRead MorePeta s Use Of Visual Imagery As Rhetoric1979 Words   |  8 Pages30, 87-116. Retrieved from https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/5701/STARV30A3.pdf?sequence=1. Windt, T. (1972) â€Å"The Diatribe: Last Resort for Protest†, The Quarterly Journal of Speech. 58:1, 1-14. Wolfe, T. (1969). The Electric Kool-aid Acid Test:. Toronto: Bantam. Read MoreEssay on New Journalism2295 Words   |  10 Pageswithin one single sentence. A quotation from Kurt Vonnegut says it all, â€Å"Verdict: Excellent book by a genius who will do anything to get attention† (â€Å"About Tom Wolfe†). Some of his other journalistic works include The Pump House Gang and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test in 1968, The Painted World in 1975, and many more controversial pieces. The Painted World was on the American art world. â€Å"Wolfe referred to it as the â€Å"art village†, depicting it as a network of no more than three thousand people, of whom