3. Hollywood in “The Day of the Locust” 3.1 Faye's Desperation for Fame Faye Greener is the seventeen-year-old daughter of Harry Greener, who always wanted to become a famous actress. Because both her parents were actors, she does not know nor want anything else, in order to archive that aim she is willing to go to extreme measures (Mordercai). This is shown in her first conversation with Homer Simpson, who just recently moved to California (West 31), in which she is telling him that she will commit suicide if it does not work out for her (West 57). Her believe that she will become successful is so strong that she even plans to make a contract, which says that she will pay Homer all the money back he spends on her with a six percent interest …show more content…
The book ends with a huge mob of people at a movie première. These people are the “People who came to Hollywood to die” and according to Marcus Mordecai they are there because they get the chance to see the celebrities that have achieved what they want desperately themselves. This connects to the “Star System” they had in the 1930s where managements advertised their stars to be these perfect, nearly godlike creatures, giving the public unrealistic impressions (Dirks 2). At this event the people in the mob can finally show how angry and frustrated they are that their dream did not come true, they are no longer the people that just hang around the streets (West 2-3). They talk about “lynching perverts” (Mordercai Chapter 17) yet don't actually do anything as they stand extremely close to each other, allowing two men to nearly rape a young girl (West 178 -179). Tod sees this and tries to help her but the masses of people are too violent and push him away from her so that he can not help her when the second men gets to her (West 178 –