Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Lesson Plan

What does the first paragraph of Part I, Chapter I establish, both stylistically and in terms of context?

The first paragraph of the text sets up the muddy relationship between fact and fiction that continues throughout the course of the text. There is specificity in Thompson's narrative, but each detail is always caged in a qualifier. For example, the locator of Barstow wants to ground the text in a real location, but can't quite pin it down as they are only "somewhere around" the city (3). Similarly, Duke remembers his words, but not exactly: "I remember saying something like..." he offers (3). It is clear from the first line that drugs are taking "hold" of the...