the day of the locust

A detailed Summary of the day of the locust

Nathanael West's The Day of the Locust tells the story of people who have come to California in

search of the American Dream. They travel west hoping to escape less than perfect lives and pursue

success in Hollywood. The characters in this novel dream of a life of luxury, having lots of money, and

living happily ever after. They eventually come to the realization that the seemingly picture perfect life

that California represents is not as easy to attain as they once thought. The characters in The Day of

the Locust grow discontented and disappointed with their lives and embittered towards the world, which

instigates the downfall of this lower level of Hollywood society. Todd Hackett, Faye Greener, and Homer

Simpson all depict failed attempts to achieve the American Dream.

Todd Hackett is a main character who lives with the continuous threat of failure while he

attempts to fulfill his personal dreams amongst the lower classes of Hollywood. Hackett comes to

California hoping for a career designing movie scenery, but he faces many obstacles that he must

overcome before he can move up in the Hollywood society. Todd's life begins to go downhill as he

associates more frequently with the lower levels of Hollywood s

wanted that she would leave him to find someone who could. As Faye faces her guilt for her father's

a prevalent example of Hollywood's degenerative impact upon those in search of materialistic success.

ociety. This prevents him from climbing

resentment..."( ). These people are left feeling cheated of their imaginary picture perfect life; their

materialism and superficiality can stem form the pursuit of the American Dream.

demise, she furthermore sacrifices her moral beliefs when she works as a prostitute to afford her father's

regular free for all" (183), where people find themselves swallowed up by a shallow world of hate, lies,

Approximate Word count = 898
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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