Representation of the Corruption of the American Dream Based On Nathanael West's “The Day of the Locust” (1939)

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ABSTRACT

The focus of this thesis is to represent corruption within America's lifestyle ideal known as the “American Dream”; as seen through the perspective of modernist U.S. American writer Nathanael West's novel: Day Of The Locust. The author is widely considered to be representative of the modernist style of writing, one which immediately followed literature's realism period, at the start of the 20th century. Modernist writing focused more on the well-being of the individual, taking into consideration the cultural sensibilities resulting in the aftermath of World War I, as well as an increasingly industrialised world. Corruption of the American dream is herein interpreted as a representation of how low people are willing to go, what they are prepared to do, no matter how immoral, to achieve their ambitions, and the aim of this thesis is to illustrate the forewarnings provided in the literature of this era (particularly in The Day of the Locust ) against the pursuit of fame and fortune at all costs: in effect, a criticism of pure capitalism.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION1

Structure of the Dissertation3

CHAPTER 1: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF MODERNIST LITERATURE IN THE UNITED STATES4

1.1. Defining Modernism4

1.2. History of Modernist Literature in the U.S.A6

1.3. Conclusion12

CHAPTER 2: AMERICAN DREAM IDEOLOGY AND ITS REFLECTION IN AMERICAN SOCIETY AND LITERATURE15

2.1. Overview of the American Dream Ideology15

2.2. The American dream in the Modernist Era17

2.3. Conclusion19

CHAPTER 3: NATHANAEL WEST AND THE DAY OF THE LOCUST21

3.1. Corruption and the American Dream21

3.2. Background of his first three novels28

3.3. Conclusion31

BIBLIOGRAPHY34

INTRODUCTION

In general, modernist literature (broadly encompassing the years 1900-1950) categorises an era of artistic productivity featuring writers who felt the "traditional" forms of literature were becoming outdated in the new economic, social, and political conditions of an emerging fully industrialised world. It was fostered by a utopian spirit inspired by current happenings like the works of Sigmund Freud, anAustrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis, as well as others in the fields of various human studies, such as anthropology or psychology to name a few. These writings were characterised by an exuberant spirit, which fundamentally rejected the sentiment and discursiveness typical of preceding styles, and which rather favoured precision of imagery and clear, sharp straight-talking language. This new modernist style was soon to receive another powerful influence, namely World War I, which injected a cynical sense of disillusionment and fragmented thought, not only in European literature of the time, but also in the literature of the United States of America; itself of course also involved in the Great War.

Concurrently a “sink or swim”, or even an “each to their own” existential attitude to life was manifesting itself more and more across the United States, and within this mentality of each looking after themselves selfishly, lay the essence of corruption within a hitherto already existent lifestyle ideal known as the “American dream”; and so making a way in life in this early twentieth century period not only encompassed the notion of a rags to riches possibility, ...