Analysis of The Portrayal of The Major Characters in Nathanael West's 'The Day of The Locust'.

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ABSTRACT

Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, penulis membahas karakteristik tokoh-tokoh utama yang terdapat dalam novel berjudul The Day of The Locust karya Nathanael West.

Novel ini menceritakan tentang obsesi orang-orang dalam industri hiburan dan keinginan mereka untuk mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih baik di Hollywood. Namun, semua itu berubah menjadi mimpi buruk karena mereka tidak dapat bertahan dengan gaya hidup di tempat tersebut.

Dalam analisanya, penulis mendapati bahwa gaya hidup di Hollywood mempengaruhi karakteristik para tokoh utama yang tinggal di sana. Para tokoh utama dalam novel tersebut mempunyai tujuan mereka masing-masing ketika mereka datang ke Los Angeles. Mereka mencoba beradaptasi dengan gaya hidup Hollywood hingga mengalami perubahan karakteristik. Namun, pada akhirnya perubahan tersebut membawa kehancuran pada masing–masing karakter, ditandai dengan rasa depresi yang timbul dalam diri mereka. Dapat ditarik kesimpulan bahwa kehidupan di Hollywood tidak selalu sebaik yang orang-orang pikirkan. Sebaliknya, ada banyak kepahitan di sekitar Hollywood yang terbungkus dalam kemegahan dan kemewahan gaya hidup para penghuninya.

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APPENDICES

Synopsis of The Day of The Locust

Tod Hackett is recruited from Yale School of Fine Arts to work as a set

and costume designer in National Films in Hollywood. Tod observes some groups

of people who come to California to die and portrays them in his painting “The

Burning of Los Angeles”. When in Hollywood, Tod admires Faye Greener, a

beautiful movie extra who lives downstairs.

Homer Simpson has recently moved to Hollywood from Iowa on his

doctor’s suggestion because he has pneumonia. He does not work because he has

saved enough money. In Hollywood, Homer meets Faye, and he is very attracted

to her.

After Faye’s father dies, she works as a prostitute to pay for her father’s

funeral. She has moved into Homer’s house on the arrangement that Homer will

support her until she becomes a star.

One day, Faye throws a party in Homer’s house and invites Tod, his

screenwriter friend Claude Estee, Abe Kusich the dwarf bookie, and also Miguel

and Earle, the Mexican. Homer wants to share with Tod about his feeling for

Faye, but it is very difficult for him to explain his feeling. In the early morning,

Homer and Earle discover Miguel in bed with Faye, and it causes Earle and

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Faye’s attitude hurts Homer so that he decides to go back to Iowa. Tod

tries to hold him back in the crowd of Hollywood when a boy who lives in

Homer’s neighborhood throws a stone that hits Homer. Homer gets up and jumps

on the boy’s back with both of his feet until the boy dies. The situation in the

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Biography of Nathanael West

Nathanael West is an American writer who satirized the American dream

and saw that liberty and freedom had become a bizarre nightmare. He was

fascinated by what he called 'the secret inner life of the masses', where the power

of unfulfilled desires always threatens to turn into malignant violence.

Nathanael West was born by the name of Nathan Weinstein in New York

City on October 17, 1903. His interest in the arts, books, and theatre make him

reluctant to follow his father in business career. He studied at Brown University.

In 1924 West graduated with a Ph.D. degree and changed his name legally

to Nathanael West. He moves to Paris and he wrote his first novel, The Dream

Life of Balso Snell (1931), a fantasy about western civilization set in the innards

of the Trojan horse. Back in the United States, West managed small hotels,

Kenmore Hall from 1927 to 1930 and the Sutton Club Hotel from 1930 to 1933.

West continued with a similar theme of good aims gone wrong in his next

novel, A Cool Million (1934), an attack on the optimistic rags-to-riches ideal.

West moved to Hollywood in 1933, to work on a film version of Miss

Lonelyhearts. He returned in 1935. He remained in Hollywood for the rest of his

life, working as a scriptwriter for smaller studios like Monogram. During this time

West published The Day of the Locust (1939), a study of the fragility of illusion.

West and his wife were tragically killed in a car accident in 1940.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODECTION

Background of the Study

Nathanael West is an American novelist of the 20th century. Aside from

novels, he also writes stories, poems, essays, plays, and film scripts. Some of

Nathanael West’s novels are The Dream Life of Balso Snell, Miss Lonelyhearts,

A Cool Million, and his last novel before his death is The Day of the Locust. In

this novel, he uses a symbol of destruction in the title of the novel, The Day of the

Locust.

West's use of the locust in his title, then, calls up images of destruction and

a land stripped bare of anything green and living. Certainly, the novel is

filled with images of destruction: Tod Hackett's painting entitled "The

Burning of Los Angeles," his violent fantasies about Faye, and the bloody

result of the cockfight, just to name a few. (Sanderson)

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I have chosen The Day of the Locust, Nathanael West’s most popular

novel, for my thesis. I am personally interested in analyzing it because the setting

of this novel is centered in Hollywood in the 1930s, the time West worked as a

scriptwriter there. I believe that is why he chose to write a novel about the

entertainment industry.

I would like to analyze the portrayal of the major characters of this novel

because they are very interesting. Character itself is very important in a novel

because ”Without characterization, no thesis, no plot, and no setting can develop

genuine interest for a reader or cause him to care what happens, or does not

happen, to whom and why” (Shaw 71).

I also find that the major characters are very dominant in this novel. The

major characters in The Day of the Locust are Tod Hackett, Homer Simpson, and

Faye Greener, who are related to the Hollywood lifestyle. Each character

represents an artist, a businessman, and a film star. Two of them have an

obsession to materialize their dreams and one of them has a purpose to get a better

life in Hollywood. Their characteristics are influenced by the Hollywood lifestyle.

The lifestyle in Hollywood itself is dominated by glamorous things and

competitiveness that requires abilities, intelligence and hard work to survive.

Sometimes, they also live in pretense, which turns their life into a fake or a

fantasy. These things influence the characteristics of the major characters. “. . . it

is a bit of fantasy lifestyle. The rich and famous of Hollywood are an interesting

crowd of eclectic and eccentric personalities, . . . It appears to be just an illusion,

albeit a carefully orchestrated smoke and mirror magic trick of reality, as these

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Statement of the Problem

The problems stated are:

1. How does the author portray the major characters?

2. What is the author’s purpose of creating such characters?

Purpose of the Study

According to the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study is:

1. to show how the author portrays the major characters in the novel.

2. to show the author’s purpose of creating such characters.

Method of Research

In my research, I conduct the library research, by first reading The Day

of the Locust as my primary text. Then, I read and collect some texts from the

library and the internet to support my topic. The information and the knowledge

that have been gathered are then used to analyze the text. Finally, I draw a

conclusion from the research I have done.

Organization of the Thesis

There are three chapters in my thesis. The thesis starts with

Acknowledgements. The first chapter is Introduction which consists of the

Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,

the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. The second chapter

is Analysis of The Portrayal of The Major Characters in Nathanael West’s The

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ends with the Bibliography and Appendices in which I present the Synopsis of the

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CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

Aftef analyzing Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust, I would like to

dfaw some conclusions. The majof chafactefs in Nathanael West’s The Day of the

Locust afe Tod Hackett, Homef Simpson, and Faye Gfeenef. Accofding to the

stofy, the majof chafactefs have theif own pufpose fof living in Hollywood. Each

and evefy one of them also has diffefent chafactefistics.

Tod Hackett comes to Hollywood because he has been fecfuited as a set

designef in National Films. Befofe he moves to Hollywood, he is poftfayed as a

pessimistic pefson. Aftef he moves to Hollywood, he often stafes at people who

live in Hollywood, and obsefves theif lives. It inspifes him to become an

optimistic and talented pefson. Unfoftunately, he has a destfuctive quality. He

fealizes that living in Hollywood is like living in a fake wofld. He finds that

people who live in Hollywood cannot be honest about themselves. He becomes

immefsed in his imagination and his imagination becomes violent. I notice that he

has become a destfuctive pefson because he destfoys himself by gfowing his

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Those things make him staft loosing his mind.

Anothef majof chafactef is Homef Simpson. Homef Simpson comes to

Califofnia when his doctof gives him a suggestion to live in a wafmef place

because he has pneumonia. At fifst, he is poftfayed as an intfovefted pefson.

Thfoughout the stofy, Homef is vefy attfacted to Faye, a woman whose life

fepfesents the Hollywood lifestyle, which is vefy glamofous both in appeafance

and lifestyle. Then she fofces Homef to take up hef way of living and Homef

becomes a sociable pefson. He fofces himself to be a pafty-goef and a dfinkef

because accofding to Faye, someone who is sociable usually dfinks. Latef on in

the stofy, Homef becomes pessimistic, which leads to his depfession. At fifst, he

is affaid of his sickness. Evefy times he tfies to sleep, he feels affaid that he would

nevef get up again. Then, he has an excessive sadness about evefything he wants

to get but he cannot. He also has a deep sadness about Faye. He loves hef so

much, and he tfies to be a sociable pefson as she wishes him to be, even though he

feels uncomfoftable. Unfoftunately, Faye does not love him and she leaves him.

His depfession leads to an outbufst and he becomes a bfutal, aggfessive man with

a tempef.

The othef majof chafactef in the stofy is Faye Gfeenef. Faye Gfeenef is a

young woman who comes ffom an ofdinafy family. She has a dfeam to be a

famous movie staf in Hollywood. She lives only with hef fathef who wofks as a

clown, and that means that they afe not fich. Howevef, she is descfibed as a

beautiful woman and she thinks that hef beauty pfovides hef with an oppoftunity

to be a famous movie staf in Hollywood. She becomes a vefy ambitious pefson

who uses all way possible to advance hef cafeef. In ofdef to achieve hef ambition,

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Faye develops anothef chafactefistic. She fealizes that to be a movie staf in

Hollywood, she needs the attention ffom the people afound hef. Thefefofe, to be

noticed by people, she becomes coquettish and she focuses on hef glamofous

appeafance. Howevef, all hef effofts afe useless. She still cannot be a famous

movie staf and that makes hef despefate at the end of the stofy. In hef despaif, she

laughs at hefself. She also blames hefself fof hef fathef’s death because befofe hef

fathef dies, she thfeatens hef fathef that she will leave if he does not give hef a

new evening gown, and hef fathef does not answef hef.

Thfough this novel, Nathanael West wants to show to the feadefs that the

Hollywood lifestyle influences the people who live thefe. Bittefness,

disappointment, angef, and violence afe paft of the life in Hollywood. The people

also live in pfetense, which makes theif life become fake of not honest. Thefe is

also sadness in Hollywood because dishonesty is vefy common thefe. In addition,

people who cannot adapt themselves to the situation in Hollywood cannot sufvive.

Ffom this novel I find about the felation between the lifestyle of a ceftain

society and its people’s chafactefistics. The lifestyle in a society can influence its

people’s chafactefistics. Good lifestyle instills positive chafactefistics and bad

lifestyle instills negative chafactefistics into people. The lifestyle in the society

itself is not the only factof that detefmines a pefson’s chafactefistics. Economic

situation also detefmines people’s chafactefistics. Unfoftunately, in this novel, I

find that the lifestyle in Hollywood instills into the majof chafactefs some

negative chafactefistics. Behind the glamofous sufface of the Hollywood lifestyle

lies the ugly tfuth.

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Thfough the majof chafactefs, I can leafn that life is not always as

beautiful as we wish. What is admifable in one’s eyes is not always so. Thefe is

often bittefness inside it. If we cannot adapt oufselves to the lifestyle and situation

in a society, we cannot sufvive.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text:

West, Nathanael. The Day of the Locust. USA: Penguin Group, 1975.

Reference:

Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. United States: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1972.

Internet Websites:

Liukkonen, Petri. “Nathanael West”. LITWEB. 20 Apr. 2009 < http://www.litweb.net/biogs/west_nathanael.html>

Sanderson, Susan. “The Day of the Locust (Criticism)”. Answers.com. 2003 < http://www.answers.com/topic/the-day-of-the-locust-criticism>

Winslow, Lance. “Hollywood Lifestyles – Fantasy and Reality Unveiled”. Ezine @rticles. 2009. 12 Oct. 2008. 20 Apr. 2009