Jonathan Veitch asserts in the preface of his book American Superrealism that critics have had problems in placing Nathanael West within the literature of the 1930s and American literature in general. They understood him for example as "a poet of darkness", as "an apocalyptic writer", as "a homegrown surrealist", as "a writer of the left" , as a "universal satirist" , in a way as "the prototype of the contemporary Jewish-American novelist" (Wisker 1-2) or as a realistic writer (Martin, see Roberts). Although some of these characterizations are contradictory, they all fit because they reflect different facets of the author, or rather his work. West combined all these elements and probably even several others in his writings. His "style was never constant. At times his pictorial technique closely resembles collage [but also] cartoon strips, movies, and several different schools of painting, as well as such non-graphic visual arts as the tableau and the dance." (Reid 9)
Taking the (though not planned) final result of his development as a writer, his last book The Day of the Locust (1939) as an example, I want to show in my essay that at least one of West's books does not "fall between the different schools of writing" (Wisker 2), as he once noted. He is certainly a representative of modernism, the "literary movement" and "point of view" of his time (see O'Conner) not only because a "struggle for definition is part of what those years are about" (Wisker 121). Nathanael West was influenced by the same historical events and used many of the strategies other contemporary writers employed to express his way of seeing the world. I will point out the features of modernism in the novel because, as Randall Reid states,
"[i]n a century which has made experimental writing almost an absolute value, he is one of the more interesting innovators. […]"
First of all, it will be useful to look at the historical background to understand modernism before defining it with emphasis on decadence as a special characteristic. In the next part of my essay, I am going to show how modernism, that is surrealism, Dada and the typical modernist themes, is reflected in the novel. Finally, I will summarize the resulting main points in the conclusion.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
1. Modern Society and Popular Culture
2. Modernism
2.1. Philosophical Background
2.2. Characteristics
2.3. Decadence
II. Modernism in The Day of the Locust
1. Surrealism and Dada
1.1. The Use of Readymades and Clichés
1.2. Flow of Narrative
1.3. Surreal(istic) Imagery
1.4. Human Machines
1.5. Humor
2. Modernist Themes
2.1. Alienation
2.2. Violence and Decadence
III. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This essay explores how Nathanael West's novel The Day of the Locust (1939) functions as a representative work of literary modernism. By situating the text within the historical and social context of the 1930s Depression era, the analysis demonstrates how West employs modernist strategies—such as surrealism, Dadaist disruption, and the exploration of alienation—to critique the artificiality of Hollywood and the dehumanizing effects of consumer culture.
- The intersection of historical crisis and the rise of modernist aesthetics.
- The use of "readymades" and clichés to expose the artificial nature of Hollywood society.
- Narrative disruption and the rejection of linear storytelling as a reflection of historical discontinuity.
- The transformation of characters into "human machines" in a commercialized environment.
- The interplay of violence, decadence, and apocalyptic themes as a critique of consumer capitalism.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1. The Use of Readymades and Clichés
Nathanael West belongs to a group of artists who recognized that the unconscious is a reflection of the possibilities and limitations that a particular culture makes available to it at any given historical moment. Consequently these artists sought to create an art that returns to [...] the contested terrain out of which our fantasies, dreams and ideas emerge. If that means drawing on 'clichés, trivia and drivel', to borrow Shattuck's pejorative description, these artists did not hesitate to do so. In fact, they created an art almost entirely composed of these and other, similar readymades. (Veitch 20)
Although Hollywood with its weird architecture is full of "clichéd readymades of desire", the people who live there do not see the irony of their environment. (see Veitch 116) The contradictions and artificiality of the scenery becomes very clear in the description of Homer's cottage in the seventh chapter (see Locust 52-4) and the variety of different readymades: "Mexican ranch houses, Samoan huts, Mediterranean villas, Egyptian and Japanese temples, Swiss chalets, Tudor cottages, and every possible combination of these styles" as well as "a miniature Rhine castle with tarpaper turrets pierced for archers" and "a highly colored shack with domes and minarets out of Arabian Nights." They are all made of "plaster, lath and paper." (see Locust 23-4) Hollywood appears to be a cheap conglomeration of materialized dreams that the movie industry produces.
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction: This chapter contextualizes Nathanael West's work within the socio-economic crisis of the 1930s and defines the broad scope of modernism, focusing on decadence and the collapse of Victorian values.
II. Modernism in The Day of the Locust: This core section analyzes how surrealist techniques, Dadaist subversion, and themes of alienation and violence are embedded in the novel to critique American consumerism and the "dream factory" of Hollywood.
III. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes how West uses specific modernist techniques and motifs to depict a society in fragments, ultimately framing the novel's apocalypse as an inevitable result of cultural and moral decay.
Keywords
Nathanael West, The Day of the Locust, Modernism, Surrealism, Dada, Hollywood, Alienation, Decadence, Consumer Culture, Readymades, Narrative Disruption, 1930s Depression, Apocalypse, Violence, Mass Culture
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic work?
This work examines Nathanael West's 1939 novel The Day of the Locust through the lens of literary modernism, analyzing how the author critiques the social and psychological climate of the 1930s.
Which specific themes are addressed?
The study covers key modernist themes including alienation, the fragmentation of the self, the influence of mass media, the inevitability of decadence, and the destructive nature of consumer culture.
What is the central research question?
The essay aims to prove that The Day of the Locust is a quintessential modernist novel that successfully captures the era's anxiety and cultural disarray through intentional literary innovation.
Which methodologies are employed in the analysis?
The author uses a comparative literary approach, linking West’s narrative strategies—such as flashbacks and the use of caricatures—to broader modernist movements like Surrealism and Dadaism.
What does the main body of the text focus on?
The main body investigates how Hollywood is depicted as a landscape of "readymades" and how the characters, acting as "human machines," reflect the dehumanizing influence of their environment.
Which keywords best describe this paper?
The paper is defined by terms such as Modernism, Surrealism, Alienation, Consumer Culture, Decadence, and the 1930s Depression.
How does the author define the "human machine" concept in the novel?
The author interprets "human machines" as characters who have lost their internal agency and individuality, reducing their interactions to automatic, scripted reflexes driven by cultural clichés rather than authentic emotion.
What is the significance of the "apocalypse" mentioned in the conclusion?
The apocalypse represents the inevitable culmination of the decadence and unresolved tensions present throughout the novel, symbolizing the total failure of civilization as perceived by West.
- Quote paper
- Linda Schug (Author), 2003, Modernism in "The Day of the Locust" (1939) by Nathanael West, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/47516
