Chapters 21-24

Times are changing for Kesey, Mexico is a lot different than San Francisco, but I guess that determines who you are.  If you are Ken Kesey you can most likely make anything out of anywhere, especially with the excessive drug use acting as an escape from reality.  It sounds like Kesey doesn't mind being in Mexico too much, he even has the company of Zonker and a new friend, called Back Maria.  We hear that the rest of the Pranksters are struggling without Kesey up in California, the group is slowly deteriorating but Kesey doesn't tend to think of them too much.  He thinks of his new life, sitting on the balcony getting drunk, smoking grass and staying at a $80 a month place.

In these chapters we hear that Mountain Girl goes to court, and her lawyer and the media create an elaborate sob story in order for her to get off charges.  She is around 7 months pregnant, and is only 20 years old.  Her story is that she didn't know what she was doing, she got involved in this lifestyle because it was the thing to do at the time and the demon, Ken Kesey, sucked her further into this lifestyle.  Then when it truly came time for Kesey to help her out, when they got caught with the four grams of weed, Kesey fakes his death and disappears to Mexico, which the media soon finds out about.  Kesey had to do it in order to avoid serving five years minimum in jail, I hope the Pranksters aren't actually upset with him because he is looking out for everyone's best interest.

In these few chapters it is finally obvious that this young rebellious group is truly filled with a bunch of outsiders.  That these people are lonely, but Kesey wonders how they can be lonely.  First Black Maria points out that she is lonely, than Kesey wonders is Mountain Girl lonely?  Would she ever feel lonely? Would she ever feel desperate?  All these teenagers are leaving their friends, their families, their jobs, and their educations in order to find beautiful people like them.  These beautiful people though are truly just a bunch of lonely souls who end up leaving everything they have and in most cases regretting it eventually.  Of course they are lonely they've never lived away from home before.  Kesey thinks they are truly out-front people doing so many things together and getting high together all the time, this doesn't mean they're not lonely though.  Most of them are probably hiding their inner feelings, and are scared shitless at the fact that one day this adventure will be over, and reality will hit them hard.