Day Of The Locust Analysis

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Nathanael West’s Day of the Locust follows a young costume designer by the name of Tod Hackett after he had moved to Los Angeles in the 1930’s in search of work. As Tod settles in his new hometown, he comes across many interesting people; the most important of which, his neighbor Faye, he falls into a mad lust with. Tod befriends and observes many particular characters in Los Angeles. He is fascinated with the life-less faces of the lower classed and often immigrant people who live on the outskirts of the romanticized and glamorous lifestyles often associated with the city. By the end of the novel, Tod comes to find that the city has done to him what it has done to all the other people that he had observed with fascination; it has corrupted him.
A graduate from Yale, Tod moved to Los Angeles to work in Hollywood. After moving into a new home, Tod befriends a young aspiring actress, Faye Greener. Faye is a pretentious beauty who lives with her father, a door-to-door silver polish salesman. As he was working in the hills, Faye’s father fell ill at the home of Homer Simpson, a well-o...

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