The Day of the Locust (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Nathanael West
- First Published: 1939
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: 1930’s
- Setting: Hollywood
- Principal Characters: Tod Hackett, Claude Estee, Faye Greener, Harry Greener, Homer Simpson
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Acting or actors, Authors or writers, 1930’s, California, West, U.S., Films, movies, or motion pictures, Hollywood, Filmmaking or filmmakers, Harlequin or Commedia dell’arte
- Locales: Hollywood, CA
The Story:
Tod Hackett, a set and costume designer, arrived in Hollywood, still idealistic from Yale. He worked on his painting, The Burning of Los Angeles, to fulfill his dream of becoming a successful artist. As he watched people from his movie studio window, he saw soldiers moving like a mob, with a fat man cursing at them through a megaphone. Tod observed how people masqueraded by dressing in roles and how houses reflected odd mixtures of architectural styles. He recalled the day when Abe Kusich showed him his seedy hotel, and Tod immediately had become obsessed...
[The entire page is 2084 words long]
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