The Day of the Locust: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Day of the Locust" is a novel that explores the lives of various characters in the backdrop of Hollywood's glitzy yet grim reality. The protagonist, Tod Hackett, is an aspiring artist and set designer who grapples with his artistic ambitions while being surrounded by a cast of eccentric individuals, including the self-aggrandizing screenwriter Claude Estee, the beautiful but manipulative Faye Greener, and her troubled father, Harry. Faye, embodying the archetype of a femme fatale, navigates her relationships with men with a blend of seduction and cruelty, often leaving a trail of emotional destruction.
Other notable characters include Homer Simpson, a miserable retired bookkeeper who becomes involved with Faye, and Adore Loomis, a child star who represents the perverse side of Hollywood's dream-making industry. The novel also introduces Abe Kusich, a dwarf hustler, and Earle Shoop, a dim-witted cowboy, highlighting the diverse and often grotesque makeup of the Hollywood community. Collectively, these characters illuminate the harsh realities of ambition, desire, and disillusionment in a world where the pursuit of dreams often leads to chaos and unhappiness. The narrative culminates in a climactic moment that underscores the societal tensions and the dark side of the American Dream.
The Day of the Locust: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Nathanael West
First published: 1939
Genre: Novel
Locale: Hollywood, California
Plot: Social realism
Time: The 1930's
Tod Hackett, a set and costume designer and Yale graduate. His friends say he sold out to Hollywood, but he hopes to prove them wrong by becoming a serious artist. When not doing his hack work at the dream factory, he concentrates on his painting of Los Angeles aflame. Large and awkward, Tod appears void of artistic talent; however, he has intelligence and a complex personality. This protagonist encounters an odd assortment of grotesques—a scriptwriter, prostitutes, bit-part actors, a vaudevillian, a retired bookkeeper, and a gambler. His obsession with Faye Greener prevents his being a totally objective observer of the Hollywood scene. In his masterpiece painting The Burning of Los Angeles, Tod depicts these dream makers and consumers as having been cheated by Hollywood's promises of glamour, sex, power, and wealth. At the end, he is rescued by police before being crushed to death by mob violence and expresses his anguish in hysterical laughter and screaming.
Claude Estee, a successful Hollywood screenwriter. He lives in a replica of an antebellum mansion, impersonates a Civil War colonel, and amuses guests by having a rubber horse submerged in his pool. A little man who flaunts his power and money, Claude becomes what he pretends to be, parodying Hollywood's artificiality to control it. He remains Tod's closest friend, and Tod asks the police to take him to Claude's at the end.
Faye Greener, a would-be actress who manufactures dreams. At seventeen, she has had one line (spoken badly) in a film and has acquired a hardened outlook. Her seductive smile shows a lack of intelligence, yet she is a beautiful femme fatale—tall, with wide shoulders, long legs, and long, platinum hair. Her sensuality is not of pleasure but of struggle. Although she attracts men with her dazzling sexuality, she treats them cruelly once they have satisfied her needs. Determined to love only handsome, wealthy men, she rejects Tod's advances yet tantalizes him. After her father dies, she moves into Homer Simpson's home but continues her relationships with other men. Tod eventually realizes that like a floating cork, she will survive.
Harry Greener, Faye's ailing father, a vaudeville clown for forty years. His biggest stage success came as a bedraggled harlequin, kicked about by acrobats. While peddling his bogus homemade polish, he collapses in Homer Simpson's home. He has a strangely sadomasochistic relationship with his daughter: He taunts her with maniacal laughter, which she quiets by hitting him hard in the mouth with her fist. Harry goes into his comic routines like a windup mechanical toy, and his masklike face has a repertoire of theatrical expressions. When he dies, Faye resorts to prostitution to pay for his funeral, which turns into a spectacle for curiosity seekers.
Homer Simpson, a retired bookkeeper who has come to California to die. At forty, he is lonely and miserable; his life has been without variety or excitement. Although he is large and muscular, he is impotent, and his peculiarly unruly hands show his oddity. Like a poorly made machine, he worked mechanically with impersonal detachment for twenty years; now he has difficulty relating to people. After Harry dies, he takes Faye in, supports her, and suffers her cruelty in silence. When she leaves him, Homer heads home to Iowa, walking catatonically with suitcases. Before Tod can get a taxi for him, Homer retaliates against Adore Loomis and, in turn, is attacked by the frenzied mob.
Adore Loomis, a would-be child star. Dressed like a little man and performing sexually suggestive lyrics and gestures, eight-year-old Adore is a perverted child forced into adulthood. His merciless attack on Homer pushes the crazed man over the edge of sanity.
Abe Kusich, a dwarf, gambler, and low-life hustler. Tod first sees Abe sleeping in a hotel hallway, having been thrown out without his clothes by a prostitute. He looks grotesque with his slightly hydrocephalic head; moreover, he acts depraved, whether starting a drunken brawl or handling a fighting gamecock.
Earle Shoop, a cowboy who works occasionally in low-budget Westerns. More than six feet tall, Earl wears a ten-gallon hat and high-heeled boots that add another eight inches. Although he is stupid, Earle attracts Faye with his good looks.
Miguel, a Mexican who raises gamecocks. Like Earle, he satisfies Faye's lust for sexuality. He pairs off with her at the end.