Los Angeles: Paradise on Earth?

Paper Summary:

The paper describes the popular image of Los Angeles and Southern California as a warm weather paradise where people are more casual, laid-back and largely willing to get along. The paper reveals that the reality is somewhat different, for the region has areas of poverty, annual forest fires and periodic earthquakes as well as times of drought and seasons of flood. The paper looks at seven literary passages and one song that challenge the image of paradise, where the writers of these works seeing a population steeped in boredom, fearful of earthquakes and living with high rates of crime.

From the Paper:

"After referring to California as the land of sunshine and oranges, Nathanael West writes, "Once there, they discover that sunshine isn't enough. They get tired of organs, even of avocado pears and passion fruit. Nothing happens. They don't know what to do with their time. (West 192)" This passage also conveys the idea that the population of Southern California consists largely of immigrants from other parts of the country people who aspired to be in California and then are bored by what they find. The growth in the region has always fed this image, though naive-born Californians are everywhere just the same. The passage also suggests that people are often dissatisfied when they get what they think they want."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cain, James. Mildred Pierce. New York: Vintage, 1941.
• Fante, John. Ask the Dust. New York: Harper Perennial, 1939.
• Isherwood, Christopher. A Single Man. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1964.
• Murray, Yzta Maya. Locas. New York: Grove Press, 1997.
• Rodriguez, Luis J. The Republic of East L.A. New York: Harper Collins, 2002.

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• Analytical Essay # 15788 : "Paradise on Earth"
• Essay # 137755 : "The Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster (a Review)"
• Analytical Essay # 123324 : "Los Angeles Aqueduct and Water"

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