The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West
**Overview of "The Day of the Locust" by Nathanael West**
"The Day of the Locust" is a novel by Nathanael West that delves into the disillusionment surrounding Hollywood in the 1930s. The narrative centers on a cast of characters, primarily from the lower middle class, who flock to Los Angeles in pursuit of their cinematic dreams, only to find those aspirations hollow and ultimately destructive. The title references the biblical plague of locusts, symbolizing the chaos and decay of civilization. Characters in the story, such as Faye Greener and Tod Hackett, embody exaggerated traits influenced by media portrayals, illustrating how identities are shaped and distorted by cinematic imagery.
As the plot unfolds, the once-desired Hollywood glamour gives way to violence and despair, culminating in an apocalyptic climax where the cheated become a frenzied mob. The novel serves as a critique of the American Dream and the often harsh reality of those who seek fame and fulfillment in an industry built on illusion. West's vivid descriptions and biting commentary offer readers a haunting glimpse into the darker aspects of ambition and identity within the entertainment world. "The Day of the Locust" remains a poignant exploration of the human condition, revealing the perils of a society enamored with superficiality and the pursuit of dreams that often remain unfulfilled.
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The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West
First published: 1939
The Work
At first titled The Cheated, Nathanael West’s final work, The Day of the Locust, takes its title from the plague of locusts set upon the pharaoh in the Book of Exodus. The Day of the Locust leaves the reader with a pervasive sense of horror that civilization is being destroyed. All the characters in the novel are cheated; they swarm to 1930’s Hollywood in search of cinematic dreams. When these dreams prove to be bogus, these characters, mostly from the lower middle class, turn violent.
The characters in The Day of the Locust are unreal constructions from low-budget movies. In the Hollywood “dream factory,” nothing is what it appears to be. A fat lady in a yachting cap is really a housewife going shopping. An insurance agent is disguised by his Tyrolean hat. Women in slacks, bandannas, and sneakers are office workers. Faye Greener, a main character, is a trashy imitation of the 1930’s Hollywood sex goddesses. Homer Simpson, another main character, is a Midwestern innocent, signified ironically by his powerful hands, which are likened not to hands of creation, building, or strength but rather to rapists’ or stranglers’ hands. The aspiring child star Adore Loomis is also a construction of movie imagery. His grotesque song-and-dance of sexual pain is ludicrous and painful to watch.
The identities of all characters in The Day of the Locust have been formed by media images. Harry Greener, Faye’s father, has become “a mechanical toy that has been overwound.” Greener’s actions are those of a performing clown. Faye, consumed by her own dreams, continues to create them but is stopped by her own vagueness. A Tarzan-like male, a spoiled young female, and the dangers of a storm and snake are clichés of a proposed unfinished screenplay.
Even the book’s personification of Satan is reduced to a media image. The dwarf Abe Kusich carries a rolled copy of Daily Running Horse instead of a crooked thorn stick. Abe’s violence is grossly comic. When Faye’s cowboy lover Earle kicks him in the stomach, Abe responds by squeezing Earle’s testicles until he collapses.
The protagonist Tod Hackett is a painter and observer of the Hollywood scene. His proposed work, The Burning of Los Angeles, foreshadows the terrible ending of the novel, in which a crowd of the cheated are waiting for a world premier of a new film. West foreshadows the apocalyptic ending with his description of the searchlights by the theater: “great violet shafts of light moving across the evening sky in wide crazy sweeps.” The crowd becomes a vicious mob and Tod is caught in the frenzy; he can no longer speak but only imitate the sound of screaming sirens. West’s prophetic vision of the rage that wells up when people’s identities are found to be a sham remains terrifying.
Bibliography
Comerchero, Victor. Nathanael West: The Ironic Prophet. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1964. Argues that the novel should be read as a satire of a declining Western culture. Perceptive analysis of West’s apocalyptic vision.
Fiedler, Leslie A. “Master of Dreams.” Partisan Review 34, no. 3 (Summer, 1967): 339-356.
Gehman, Richard B. Introduction to The Day of the Locust, by Nathanael West. New York: New Directions, 1950.
Madden, David, ed. Nathanael West: The Cheaters and the Cheated. De Land, Fla.: Everett/ Edwards, 1973. Contains five assessments of the novel, and several general essays on West’s work.
Malin, Irving. Nathanael West’s Novels. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972. Offers a close textual analysis of West’s images, metaphors, and symbols as clues to the novel’s themes and characterization.
Martin, Jay. Nathanael West: The Art of His Life. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1970. The first full-length biography and critical study. Analyzes the novels in the context of West’s Hollywood years; also includes twenty pages of pictures and a detailed listing of his film writing.
Martin, Jay, ed. Nathanael West: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971. Includes short essays by West’s contemporaries William Carlos Williams and W. H. Auden.
Reid, Randall. The Fiction of Nathanael West. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1967.