In the book, The Day of the Locust, the author, Nathaniel West puts emphasis on the theme of love. However given the hedonistic nature of this novel the question arises, what type of love is he emphasizing? The novel is centered around people striving for success at all costs: “I’m going to be a star some day,” she announced as though daring him to contradict her […] “If I’m not, I’ll commit suicide” (154). This quote identifies how consumed Faye is with the Hollywood dream and how she has yet to fall to the mercilessness of Hollywood movie industry. Throughout the book, West has shown that no one is to be trusted in Hollywood and everyone is there to achieve success for themselves. From the moment Faye and her Father stepped into Tod’s house, they were deceiving him to get him to buy shoe polish. Since the characters are so consumed with this ambition of success, one can think that the characters are using the idea of love as a catalyst to achieve success. Faye will only “fall” for someone who is wealthy or handsome which would thus give her some platform; she constantly shuts down anyone she does not deem wealthy or handsome enough. Which in turn leads to many men pinning after her for the entirety of the novel, and she uses them when she is in need of something. For example, Faye took advantage of Homer when she needed clothes and a place to stay. So, I think that West is trying to say that Hollywood love cannot be trusted when people are thoroughly consumed with themselves.
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Great American Novels 
2 replies on “Love in the Day of the Locust”
Your idea that these characters use love as a catalyst is a super cool concept because I totally agree that these characters have a very materialistic view on the world. They strive to obtain things they believe will make them happy and think it’s the end of the world if they don’t get them. A big question for sure would be how does this Hollywood environment affect peoples mental states? And what happens when they crack under the pressure of all that is expected of people in Hollywood? Like you said, everyone is very selfish and focused on their own ambitions and will stop at nothing to obtain their own personal goals.
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While reading this blog post, something that I completely agree with is the fact that Hollywood love can’t be trusted since they are so full of themselves. Although a common theme in the book, I see an example just about every day on social media or online where another well-known Hollywood couple had broken up, most likely since they are so self centered. It’s happening today, so I have no doubt that it’s been happening from when this book was written and set.
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