dreams in the day of the locus

A detailed Summary of dreams in the day of the locus

Nathanael West's The Day of the Locust is filled with examples of people who have come to California in search of their dreams. They leave their often miserable lives to head out west where they believe their lives will get better. They dream of a life where they can become their own boss, have lots of money, and live happily ever after. They begin to realize soon, however, that the sunshine and sea cannot fulfill their dreams. The characters in the novel become discontented with their lives and angry at the world. This leads to the eventual downfall of Hollywood's society and certain characters in the story. Tod Hackett, Faye Greener, and Homer Simpson all exemplify the failed attempts to achieve the Californian dream in The Day of the Locust.

Tod Hackett, a central character in The Day of the Locust, lives his life with the constant threat of failure while attempting to achieve his personal dreams amongst the kooks of Hollywood. Hackett comes to California hoping for a career designing movie scenes, but has many obstacles to overcome before achieving this career oriented goal. He aspires to climb the ladder of fame, but find himself continuously associating with the lower levels of the movie scene. It is with these people

Homer Simpson comes to California with the hopes of living a peaceful life and escaping his past. His "life had been entirely without variety or excitement...he had worked mechanically...with impersonal detachment"(West 88). The bashful man falls in with the wrong crowd where his demise is inevitable. Homer's shyness and inability to refuse people's requests allow him to be taken advantage of by various characters in The Day of the Locust. Homer's love for Faye blinds him, and he easily gives in to her many requests. One particular request was for Earle and Miguel to live in Homer's garage. Homer, out of love for Faye only, agrees. This living arangement causes many problems for all involved, especially Homer. Faye also uses Homer's love to her best advantage. When she needs help, she will quickly turn to Homer. When Homer is in the downs though, she abandons him. Homer still continues to worship her like a lovesick puppy. His eventual breakdown is caused by this pile up of problems and will effect many characters in The Day of the Locust. A young prank turns sour when Homer attacks a young child who has thrown a rock at him at a crowded movie premier. His pent up anger and frustration is let loose upon this poor child. This mob scene is " a regular free-for all" (West 183), and is a perfect example of how Homer's dreams and hopes are shattered. The animal-like frenzy that Homer morphs into is only the very end to a long and drawn out failed life.

follows in which Earle and Miguel go from good friends to enemies, and Homer questions hisgenerosity and love towards Faye. Another disagreement occurs an hour or so earlier when Abe Kusich resents Faye dancing with Earle, and he decides to hit him. Faye is the center of the trouble in these particular situations, as she often is. At a cookout in the woods, Earle and Miguel fight again in a jealous rage over Faye. Their friendship is put in jeopardy over a

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Approximate Word count = 1294
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Movies