They were the ones Tod wanted to paint as the marauding crowd in his painting — “The Burning of Los Angeles”. However, he would paint them in a special way.
He would not satirize them as Hogarth or Daumier might, nor would he pity them. He would paint their fury with respect, appreciating its awful, anarchic power and aware that they had it in them to destroy civilization.
It’s possible to argue that Nathanael West takes the same position about his characters. It’s been said that one of the greatest strengths of The Day of the Locust is precisely this quality. I disagree.
I look at West as an excellent prosecutor. He’s not the judge (us) or the jury (the critics). All he can do is try to convince us that his argument is the valid one; that his clients are guilty. The decision is ultimately up to us, but West’s evidence and presentation is so staggering that there is only one decision. The question of the innocence of his characters doesn’t come up. He presents and we judge, “guilty”.
And that is what makes The Day of the Locust a masterpiece. It’s a splendidly, imaginatively, and concisely presented prosecution.
Conclusion
Civilization has not been destroyed. Los Angeles has not burned. But, I think, the entire world is simmering — just a little bit.
Rating: 4.0 / 4.0
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