The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West

The Day of the Locust focuses on what our country is about. In particular I see a similarity with America as a country. America’s history is made up of immigrants from all over the world in pursuit of happiness. It is leaving home, which is all you have known and taking a chance in a foreign place where you don’t know anyone. This is done because you are willing to take a chance on a better more fascinating life, where you can dream. In the Day of the Locust Tod Hackett leaves Yale University where he studied fine arts to move to Hollywood, where he is in awe of the people there who have come from all over America and is fascinated by their hopes and dreams.
In Hollywood, like in America in general there are people of different social status and different ambitions. Tod becomes friends with people who are different than him, yet they have things in common. Tod meets Homer who like him also has an attraction to Faye an aspiring actress. Tod has this attraction to Faye, but deep down dislikes the person she is.
The differences that these people had ultimately was not enough to maintain a healthy relationship and we saw the destruction among these three main characters explode in the end. Like everywhere in America and in the world these are challenges that people face every day. We face discrimination, love, hate and every other emotion in the books. We are challenged with acceptance of those around us and mostly contemplate what it is that they can do for us.
Tod speaks mostly about the people who come to California to die and in the beginning makes a reference to a painting that he will create called, “The Burning of Los Angeles.” In the end when the riot occurs and Tod gets rescued by the policeman he envisions his painting and is uncertain if the sound he hears is an actual siren or him. This leads me to believe that he has gone insane and he too has become one of those people who come to California to die.