Great American Novels

Day of the Locust follows a group of people desperate to find success in the film industry despite the immense hardship of the Great Depression. Nathaniel West paints a picture of the grim realities of the film industry hidden underneath the its shiny Hollywood exterior. The main characters of the book have been broken down by one failure after another until they have reached the point of giving in to their basic desires to seek out pleasure at any cost. This plot point seems to revolve around Faye, who seems to become the target of sexual desire for every man she meets. Her relationships are emotionless and she can never be genuine with anybody in her life. Faye’s desirability causes several fights throughout the book as men vie for her attention. They choose to fight rather than acting civilized because their failures have made them more animals than people. Nathaniel West uses Day of the Locust to comment on how things that look nice on the outside aren’t always good when you take a closer look. Therelevance of this message in the modern world is that it is still very much true. Hollywood still remains an excellent example of this as sexual assaults by people like Harvey Weinstein continue to be revealed.

After having read all of the novels assigned in this class as well as American novels that were not assigned, I’ve noticed that they tend to have a bleak view of the American dream and experience. I often hear people talking about how American literature portrays the idealized image of the American dream and thus has an overall positive outlook on life and the future. While I can understand how a book like The Grapes of Wrathcan be interpreted as a portrayal of American resolve through extremely difficult circumstances, the rest of the books don’t seem to have any convincing optimistic interpretations. For example, in both of the novels written by Cormac McCarthy that I read this semester, Blood Meridian and No Country for Old Men, the antagonist, who in both cases seems to represent evil itself, ultimately wins. Day of the Locustdepicts Hollywood degeneracy in graphic detail. While these books contain intriguing stories, they carry a heavy message that maybe the United States and the American dream isn’t what we thought it was. I think that it’s important to get this realism across to the audience because it shatters their previously held naïve beliefs and makes them better equipped for the real world. However, I do think that maintaining a certain level of optimism in literature is very important if the author’s goal is to bring about meaningful change.

Mid-way through the book Revolutionary Road, the main characters mention Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin senator during the 1950’s that was so anti-communist that his actions created the term “McCarthyism.” McCarthyism includes the creation of false claims of anti-US activity to incriminate random US citizens, and also the use of the FBI to monitor US citizens to make sure nobody was against the US Government. Now while McCarthyism faded and disappeared completely by 1960, today we have a new brand of Surveillance, The Patriot Act. The Patriot Act’s full definition is “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.” Now this sounds great and all, and after the tragedy of 9-11, the country did need to beef up security in some areas, (you could walk up to the gate at an Airport before 2001,) however, The Patriot Act today monitors everything that we do. The Government agents working for the FBI can seize information without warrant, which might not sound bad, but sometimes the government doesn’t have its citizens needs prioritized where they should be. (For example, Amazon Echo is never really off/not listening, it listens to you to say the work to reactivate it. And the government can listen in to any Echo without any warrant. You are literally putting government wiretaps into your house) The even scarier thing is that the last three US presidents, Bush, Obama, and Trump, have all renewed the bill, with approval each time from Congress. And some people can say with a straight face that Republicans and Democrats are vastly different from each other. They seem to love working together to restrict civil liberties, so that in the future they can arrest anyone that steps out of line. Joseph McCarthy would have loved to see how much Americans are watched today, and it leaves me wondering how long it is until we end up living in 1984.

Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise not only tells a story and has a message behind it, but he acts out the writing with a particular style. In the first part of the novel DeLillo focuses on the consumerism of the 1980’s he notes this by writing long off-topic tangents about different materialistic goods. The next focus on consumerism is how he shifts his writing throughout the first half. There is not really a plot and DeLillo is constantly switching up the scene so one minute the main character, Jack, is taking German lessons; the next minute he is having a conversation with his son while dropping him off at school. I think DeLillo deliberately writes in this fashion to represent how the human mind is constantly shifting the focus from one task to another without any bridge to connect the tasks. So he is taking a relatively hard theme to conceptually write about and is turning it into a style of writing. DeLillo emphasizes that the American people are consumers, receivers, receptors, and this theme flows into the next part of the novel labeled as “The Airborne Toxic Event.” In this part, there is a toxic mass that takes on a town, and while the town is evacuated all of the people are still susceptible to the hazardous mass, almost like sitting ducks. So, the consumers that had the world in their hands in the first part of the book, are now receiving the at full force the result of their own consumerism. Thirdly, DeLillo makes a point to put the children in the novel above the parents. He describes the children as in general more watchful, intelligent, and competent than their parents. At one point, Heimrich, Jack’s son, is talking to a crowd of people informing them on the airborne toxic event, what it is composed of, how it affects the body, and what they are doing to destroy it, before any of the adults. DeLillo also paints Heimrich in this superior lighting by having his conversations much more theological than the parents’ conversations. “Our senses? Our senses are wrong a lot more often than they’re right. This has been proved in the laboratory. Don’t you know about all those theorems that say nothing is what it seems?” This quote is from Heimrich talking to his father on the topic of rain; a topic so simple that the conversation can be ended with the phrase “yes, it is raining” or “no it is not raining,” but DeLillo takes advantage of the opportunity to make the younger generation more intellectually awake than the older generation. This novel also stands out because DeLillo never addresses the title in any form. In other novels the author will drop in a sentence that contains the title, but DeLillo never does this. Instead he takes white noise and turns it into part of his writing style. In the first part, DeLillo is constantly listing all of the material things people own or bring to college, after a couple lines of this the readers feel extremely bored and in turn ends up tuning out the reading, they are reading the white noise. DeLillo also continues this theme in the last part of the novel as the main character Jack is about to kill a man and in the process Jack is talking to himself and reciting his plan over and over again until that too become white noise resulting in Jack straying from the perfectly thought out plan and in turn saving the man’s life that he put in danger. White Noise is a novel with a constant flow of ideas, thoughts, and themes, each in connection with one another. The novel stylistically stands out because it is so complex.

In 1939, Nathanael West published The Day of The Locust. It did not do that well when it was first published, only selling around 1,480 copies. It was only years after West’s death that the novel began to receive acclaim, receiving a movie adaption in 1975. Continuing to receive praise to this day. That is because it presents the three things that define “A Great American Novel”; well written, an interesting story, and themes that still mean something years after the book has been published.

West does not shy away from describing violence and lust in his novel.  In one graphic scene, Tod is watching a cock fight at Homer’s house. “A large bubble of blood rose where the beak had been.” (Pg.155). This dark tone is used in both describing the character’s surroundings, but also their thoughts. This is shown when Tod goes to the movies with Faye. After her looking for work to support herself. “Her self-sufficiency made him squirm and the desire to break its smooth surface with a blow, or at least a sudden gesture, became irresistible.” (Pg.141). Certain parts of the novel are hard to read because of these disturbing lines, but it only adds to the story. Showing the unpleasant can allow the reader to get a closer look into the flaws of each of the characters, and make their later actions more real.   

The novel starts off following Tod as he goes about his life as a designer on the sets of Hollywood, and ends with him in a massive riot. Even if a reader does not like a lot of violence, the way Tod got to this point still makes for a very interesting story. The plot is easy to follow along with and the characters are also easy to keep track of. However, the novel gets more satirical as it goes on, and by the end it is dripping with satire. This separates itself from other works written about The Great Depression. Making it a very unique story.

The spot where West’s brilliance shines is in the way he shows his themes. He shows one overarching theme of apathy throughout the story. Shown by Tod’s lust for Faye. Tod even tries, drunkenly, to sleep with Faye at her father’s funeral. “That was because her beauty was structural like a tree’s, not a quality of her mind or heart.” (Pg126). Showing his lack of empathy for her situation. He also keeps some of his themes hidden, only for them to show their importance in the ending. An example of this is the idea of “The American Dream” in California. Tod ends up meeting multiple people who travel to California to look for stardom in Hollywood.  One of these people is Maybelle Loomis. She takes her son, Adore, to California to make him a child star. “Like California”, she laughed at the idea that anyone might not like it. Why, it’s a paradise on earth!”  (Pg.138). Like her, they did not realize how hard it would be and became disgruntled that their dreams were not coming true. This comes to a head in the book’s climax, Homer ends up killing Adore outside a movie theater with an already tense crowd. Pushed over the edge by Adore continually mocking him. This starts a riot with everything falling into chaos, showing “The American Dream”, is not always what it turns out to be.

 The themes that West uses in his novel still apply to American society today. People show apathy to others on social media. Bullying them or spreading lies about them without thinking about the things that might be going on in their own life. Even in America today, “The American Dream” can be difficult to achieve even when you’re already an American citizen. Even though The Day of The Locust is disturbing at times, it still holds a lot of truth about American society today. That is why it still receives praise to this very day.

Cold Mountain and The Awakening are both in similar time frames within American history but they are very different in their overall messages. The Awakening is from Edna’s perspective of her growing independence in a society where woman are supposed to idolize their husbands and take care of the children. Cold Mountain focuses on Inman who is a rogue Confederate soldier in his travels home to Ada but Ada manages the traditional society in a different way than Edna. Much like Edna, Ada grew up training to be the perfect lady. When Ada’s father died, she was left with a decision but it didn’t seem like she has a choice. One of her main options was to return to Richmond and marry a man she didn’t love. She refused to fall into the pattern but she also didn’t know how to run a farm to be successful. Edna was in a marriage with a husband and even kids that she didn’t love. She loved someone else but due to the American society in the 1800s, there was seemingly no chance of happiness to her. That was the difference between her and Ada. Ada worked. Though she didn’t have any legal connections or children and she was saved when Ruby came to help her on the farm but she didn’t falter within the long days of physical work. Edna was selfish in her decisions including taking her own life and leaving her children. But they both showed resilience for a time. They showed a strength to find independence of their own that so many women entrapped in society at the time couldn’t begin to fathom.

One of the central plot lines in White Noise is Babette Gladney’s fear of death which eventually turns into Jack Gladney’s fear of death which is grounded and legitimized by his own scheduled mortality. This of course stems from Jack’s exposure to the major toxic event, which makes qualified doctors inform him that they believe he has about 30 years left to live. Anyways, when I read, I think about what I am reading. And the fear of death has been brought up a lot in White Noise, which has lead me to think about it frequently, and now I too am slightly afraid of my own death, just like the fictional characters in the novel. I could die at any time. Just because the average person of my general class, nationality, and income bracket lives into their 70s doesn’t mean that I will. Accidents happen frequently in cars, people frequently become furious whith each other to the point of physical violence, and the most dominant physical force on earth, gravity, seems to be out to get me every time I move. Even a death in my 70s would probably come from some painful or horrible disease like cancer or Parkinson’s. And every hour I live brings me closer to this end.

The only way I can get out of this manner of thinking is by distracting myself, and fortunately this happens a lot because even now, I remain pretty busy. But I wonder, if I only am not scared of death when I am distracted, is it my true nature to be obsessively afraid of death at all times?

Alright, it is time for me to finish this two part series. If you have not, please read part one

3. To Kill A Mockingbird- it’s just a classic. You’ve read it, he’s read it, your cousin has read it, your mom has read it, your neighbor’s dog has read it, the random person I Omegled at 11:13 PM today has read it, and your descendants will probably read it. The story itself is spectacular, and it is the majority of the reason that the book is great. The characters: the Finches, Tom Robinson, the Ewells, Boo Radley, Calpurnia, Dill, and many more service the story well and are each compelling and interesting. The way the novel addresses the racial injustices in the south in the 1930s is incredibly well done and moving. Harper Lee’s writing style as is incredibly engaging, I remember enjoying every page of this novel. It is all around just a solid piece of literature.

2. In Cold Blood – it’s incredible that such an interesting story is true. In Cold Blood revolves around the murder of the Clutter family in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. This specific case was initially fascinating because their seemed to be no plausible motives for the killings and no prime suspects. The story follows the lives of the Clutters before they are killed, the investigation into the mystery of their deaths, and the lives of their murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith before and after their foul deed. The author, Truman Capote spent time with both Hickock and Smith when they were behind bars, and did much research on the investigation and the Clutter family in order to better understand the full story. Using his proficient writing manner and masterful grasp of the fascinating source material, Capote was able to write a truly engrossing piece of literature.

1. Station 11– which I read in Science Fiction Literature, but is great for other reasons than for its Science Fiction genre (honestly the novel is not really Science Fiction). Station 11 is about a virus called the Georgia Flu which wipes out a majority of humanity. It is never stated exactly how many people died, but I’d guess at least 99.9% of the total human population. Wow, a scary virus, how timely. Anyways, the novel follows many different characters at times before and after the Georgian Flu’s major outbreak. Similarly to in Catch 22, Station 11 is not written in a chronological fashion, but this is to the novel’s advantage. The author, Emily St. John Mandel is able to weave together many different events from all different times into a cohesive story with a huge revelations at the end. All of the characters who are followed in the novel are united by shared relationships with one character, the famous actor Arthur Leander. Station 11‘s characters are good and its plot is captivating. I had trouble putting this novel down when I was reading it last December, and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Thanks for the read.

Death is a common thing in literature. Whether used as a plot device or as a theme in a novel, it can be used to the author’s advantage. In No Country for Old Men, and The Grapes of Wrath. We see how two different authors use death in their works.

In No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, death is heavily used to forward the plot of the story and to showcase themes. It is commonly used to show Chigurh’s dark nature as he kills without remorse, and the danger Moss faces as he runs from the cartel. Yet, McCarthy writes about Moss’s death as the police come upon the crime scene with Moss already dead. Showing a brutal crime scene, but not the protagonist death itself shows how casually he treat Moss’s death. Showing that not all heroes get happy endings.

The Grapes of Wrath treats death differently though. When Grandma and Grandpa die, the family knew that they did not have much time left. Yet, they still showed grief when they passed. This showed a less analytical, and a more thoughtful way of looking at death than in McCarthy’s writing. Even though Casy’s death still showed similar amounts of brutality to McCarthy’s writing, Tom stilled showed that Casy’s death would not be for nothing and promised to continue to try to help people.

Kate Chopins, “The Awakening” is a feminist focused novel that focuses on the reality of life for many women stuck in a marriage during the 1800s. It exposes the lives that many of these women lived- submitting to their husbands and abandoning a sense of identity and individuality. Edna, the protagonist in this novel, wants to be outside of these social norms and be able to stand on her own, without her husband who she doesn’t even want to be married to. After reading this book, I concluded that I believe it should be considered a great American novel. Its elegant writing style and its open face explanation of reality for women in this time and underlying experiences of women now, all open the eyes of readers to these truths. Stylistically, Chopin wrote with an elegant style, but wasn’t afraid to express the deep feelings that Edna had as a character. Some of these feelings were dark, like the fact that she hated her children and blamed them for putting them in a mother role, and ultimately abandoning them when she swims out to sea and never returns. While this ending may not have been what readers wanted to hear, the writing style worked for this novel because it shows what these societal norms pushed some people to. Another reason why this novel should be considered a great american novel I believe is because of Ednas character development throughout the novel and how Chopin makes it very clear what Ednas mindset is, which allows us to have a deeper connection with her.

One major theme throughout this novel is the consequences of self expression during this time, especially when women tried to express themselves in ways that society had told them was unacceptable. Edna stumbled into a marriage that she didn’t want to be in and over the course of the novel, she began to defy orders from her husband. He would offer her wine or tell her to come inside and go to bed but she refused and this gave her a sense of power and control. She didn’t want to be held back and wanted to be her own individual person, which can apply to aspects of life today. I believe that yes, everyone is their own individual but when you are in a marriage, you both have to work together and compromise on some things. When it comes to Ednas resentment of her kids, this is another aspect that the author got wrong about applications to today. Edna didn’t want to be a mother, but she had kids and she abandoned them when they needed her. Edna was a selfish character, by entering into relationships with other men outside of her marriage and by blaming her kids for her lifes predicament and ultimately killing herself. She was only thinking of herself in these situations and didn’t care about how her decisions would effect others, especially her children. As Ednas character development becomes more prominent as the novel continues, the people surrounding her start to judge her for actions and don’t understand her or her ways. Every aspect of Ednas life taught her something about herself. Her ability to swim taught her that she has the strength and can stand on her own. Her paintings taught her that there is truth in individuality. As she became more outspoken about there newfound interests and passions, she was met with more backlash ,especially from her husband. This continual back and forth causes a bigger rift to come between them, driving Edna more away from him and into the hands of other men, mostly Robert. Ultimately, when Robert leaves her and says “i’m doing this because I love you”, this is the final straw for Edna, and she ultimately commits suicide.