Vogel Short Blog #2

“At this time Tom knew very little about them except that they had come to California to die” (60).

Stated on just the second page of the novel, West quickly establishes just how tough it was to make it in Hollywood during its Golden Age. This fact could be clearly witnessed not just in the novel, but in real life. In an attempt for stardom, many actresses were coaxed into situations that often destroyed their lives in the long term. One of the most infamous examples of this was Judy Garland. Probably best known for her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Garland took prescribed barbiturate sleeping pills along with illicitly obtained pills containing morphine. These pills were common among actresses of the time period as they often were overworked and under enormous stress to pump out movie after movie. The barbiturate pills eventually led to Garland’s death as she overdosed at the age of forty-seven. To me, Garland serves as the prime example of the harsh reality behind the facade of 1930s Hollywood’s outward jubilee. From the beginning of the novel, West establishes a bleak atmosphere that not only carries throughout but also one that closely mirrored the reality of the time.