They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Horace McCoy
- First Published: 1935
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: 1935
- Setting: Los Angeles, California
- Principal Characters: Gloria Beatty, Robert Syverten, Mrs. Layden, Rocky Gravo, Vincent “Socks” Donald, Mrs. J. Franklin Higby, Mrs. William Wallace Witcher
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Suicide, Murder or homicide, 1930’s, American Dream, California, West, U.S., Death or dying, Dancing or dancers, Fate or fatalism, Hollywood, Contests
- Locales: California, Hollywood, CA
The Novel
Originally titled “Marathon Dance,” They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? grew out of Horace McCoy’s harsh experiences in Hollywood during the worst days of the Great Depression, when some twenty thousand extras were reportedly unemployed. McCoy centers his narrative on Robert Syverten and Gloria Beatty, two Hollywood hopefuls who are forced by poverty to become partners in a grueling marathon dance contest held in a dance hall on a Santa Monica pier.
As is typical of most 1930’s noir fiction, the novel employs a flashback structure, with...
[The entire page is 1865 words long]
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