Imitation

The author uses the film adaptation of Patrick Hamlin's novel Elsinore Lane in order to introduce her thematic exploration of imitation and illusion. Over the course of the chapters following Patrick's arrival in California, the world around him feels increasingly foreign. The movie, the California landscape and culture, and the structures that define life in Hollywood act as symbols of performance and imitation. Each setting and image contributes to a narrative world that ultimately feels like a plastic reproduction of the real.

The author uses these narrative devices to illustrate the ways in which contemporary American society has separated the individual from the natural world, and constructed a flimsy version of reality in its place. When Patrick first starts interacting with Horseshoe and the Arm in Chapter 1, the two assistants discuss the glamor and allure of the film industry. While in the car together, the Horseshoe...