Chapters 1-7

The Day of the Locust begins after Tod Hackett has recently graduated from Yale University, and has been living in Hollywood for about three months. While preparing to go to a party, he thinks about Faye Greener, the very attractive aspiring actress who lives just below him with her father, Harry. He is also reminded of his friend Abe Kusich, because he has found Abe's card stuck in his door, a note on it offering a tip on a horse race. He also thinks about his planned painting, "The Burning of Los Angeles," and the people who "come to California to die" that he will depict in it. When Tod sees these people on the streets, he notices that they are poorly dressed and "their eyes are filled with hatred."

At the party, hosted by Claude Estee, a successful screenwriter, Tod sees the fake dead horse...