Following the First World War, American writing blossomed into a more enlightened and fulfilling read. With the focus of many novels turning to the homeland and the issues currently ailing Americans, novels suddenly became a political outlet. While critiquing society, writers still managed to follow the form of a novel by including the conventional elements such as a plot, narrator, character, setting and symbolism. The decades following this renaissance in writing yielded many great novels, a few which were covered over the course of this semester. Taking in account the literary contributions these books have made since there initial publishing it would seem that none would stand alone amongst a party of such well written texts. However, it is my intention to show why one novel surpasses the others to be termed the great American Novel.
             When trying to determine what the great American novel is one must take into account many elements of the particular novels, the setting and the history surrounding the setting. All of the novels covered this semester were set in America at some point and time in the novel. The setting is key because it is one of the elements of reality which gives a novel its credibility. So for a novel to be set in America is not enough to make it great. It must also give us a setting that tells a story in itself. In addition to a great setting an author must also create characters that represent Americans of the time. Four Novels succeed in this aspect: The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, Catch-22, and The Day of the Locust.
             The Day of the Locust which was written during the mid to late 1930's by Nathanael West, is set in Hollywood and the surrounding areas of Los Angeles during the 1930's. Following the stock market crash of 1929, the West once again seemed like the new frontier and many Americans moved west following a dream of new opportunities. West himself seems to be a mirror image of his pr...