The summary of "American Tragedy" is fairly easy to retell, since the work is notable for its simple plot. Nevertheless, the depth of the author’s observations on the life of his contemporary society simultaneously makes retelling of this kind a difficult task. Indeed, in his essay, the writer raised complex issues that remain relevant for our time, therefore it is very important to outline at least some of them when analyzing the plot.
Author Biography
A brief summary of the American Tragedy shows that this novel reflected events from the life of the writer. T. Dreiser was born in 1871 in Indiana, in a simple poor family. Because of his need, he was forced to constantly work to somehow make ends meet and feed his family. Difficult life circumstances, constant need never gave him the opportunity to get a full education. The future famous novelist (like the hero of the work under consideration) tried many professions, and usually he did the dirty work. Nevertheless, he managed to study at the university for a year, where he was seriously interested in literature. In the 1890s he worked as a reporter in a number of newspapers, which in many respects determined his literary career. In 1900, he made his debut with the novel "Sister Kerry", which outlined the main creative principle of the author: harsh criticism of the modern American lifestyle. The famous Trilogy of Desire, in which he described the cultural and financial life of America, was written in the same spirit.
First part
The work consists of three books, each of which is dedicated to a certain stage in the life of its protagonist Clyde Griffiths, a young, ambitious, ambitious, but indecisive and timid person who wants to get out of people and get rich. A brief summary of the American Tragedy should begin with a description of his life in his hometown, which he is unhappy with. The young man dreamed of making a career by any means and for this he is ready for temporary inconvenience and modest work. So, at first he gets a job in a pharmacy, and then becomes the lowest employee in one of the hotels.
Here he plunges headlong into a new life. He makes friends with whom the hero has fun in his spare time, having fun in nightclubs and restaurants. A young man makes good money, makes intrigues with girls, in a word, allows himself everything that was forbidden at home and what he dreamed about. The book "American Tragedy" quite accurately reproduces the puritan life of his family, largely reminiscent of the conditions in which the writer himself grew up. However, an excessive passion for new life ended in tragedy. During one of the next amusement walks, the car in which he was with his friends knocked the girl to death, and this forced Clyde to look for another refuge.
Factory Work
The summary of “American Tragedy” reflects the features of the plot of the work itself: laconicism of the narrative, simple language, detailed reproduction of the realities of contemporary society. The next book is perhaps the culmination of the work. Clyde moves to his uncle, who arranges for him to work in his factory. This wealthy entrepreneur was generally sympathetic towards him, but his family looked down on the poor relative. So, the son of Samuel Griffiths Sr. oppresses his cousin in every possible way, speaks unflattering about him, does not consider him capable of making a successful career. However, uncle sympathizes with his nephew and makes him the head of the workshop where young girls work. One of them, Robert Alden, was liked by the protagonist, and young people began to meet. However, the situation changed after Clyde turned out to be a member of the “golden youth” society thanks to his acquaintance with the daughter of one wealthy entrepreneur Sondra Finchley.
Secular Society
Perhaps, not a single work describes life in the United States of 1920 in such detail and truthfulness as “American Tragedy”. The novel is very detailed and at the same time effectively describes the representatives of the high society of that time. Sondra is the embodiment of the golden dream for the protagonist: she is rich, young, beautiful, spoiled. Being a proud and narcissistic girl, she initially decided to use Clyde in order to annoy one of her unlucky boyfriends, but gradually frivolous flirtation gave way to a sincere feeling. Griffiths began to spend a lot of time with her and, finally, realized that he had every chance to marry her and become a full member of the very high secular society to which he was so eager. But the situation was complicated due to the fact that his former lover was pregnant and demanded to marry her, threatening publicity, which would deprive him of the chance to get into people.
Fatal decision
The exact psychological sketch of the characters is distinguished by the "American tragedy." Theodore Dreiser in an uncomplicated and very accessible language conveyed the inner world of his hero, who did not immediately decide to kill his girlfriend. The author masterfully conveyed his spiritual fluctuations, doubts, experiences, showing that the young man was not ready for such life tests. In fact, when the threat of revelation loomed over him, he could not find any other way but to kill the mother of his child. Thus, the writer showed how the dream of a prosperous life spoiled the moral character of this initially ordinary ordinary good person.
Effects
The description of the trial of the protagonist concludes the last part of the novel "American tragedy." Theodor Dreiser reproduced the lawsuit in detail, based on the chronicles and documents of his time, which is why his story is terrible truthfulness and reliability. The reader learns that Clyde, after much hesitation, did not dare to kill Roberta, however, a random newspaper article about how a boat turned over during a river walk of one young couple, as a result of which the woman died and the man disappeared, prompted him to think in exactly the same way to do with a girl. On the lake, however, he could not decide for good and only accidentally pushed her into the water. However, Clyde was exactly to blame for the fact that he could not get out and allowed her death. He hoped that the circumstances of this case would remain a secret, but the active local investigator Mason, seeking his appointment as a district judge, very energetically led the investigation and ensured that the young man was convicted and sentenced to death.
Clyde Characteristic
The American Tragedy, the analysis of which is the subject of this review, is interesting in its reliable and truthful characters. The protagonist is ambitious beyond measure and has clearly overestimated his strengths, dignity and capabilities. He could never satisfy the average position of an ordinary employee, he always wanted more, hence all his troubles. At the same time, it is completely obvious that a young man does not possess sufficiently intelligence or ability to make his way through life through personal merit and gifts. Clyde is the most ordinary American, he is not stupid, courteous, he has a pleasant appearance and attractive manners, but all this is clearly not enough for a successful career. The young man does not have a strong-willed character that would help him in the trials, on the contrary, at a critical moment he falls into punk and gets lost. So, the American Tragedy novel, whose protagonist fell victim to his own ambitious aspirations, showed the flip side of the so-called golden dream of generations of that time.
Other characters
The remaining characters also turned out to be very truthful and reliable, since the author himself often came across in life with representatives of various classes and professions, which was reflected in his work. He deduced the typical images of wealthy prosperous manufacturers and entrepreneurs, representatives of the "golden youth", ordinary workers and poor employees. The novel "American Tragedy", reviews of which are generally very positive, artfully reproduced the picture of society in the second decade of the 20th century. Users note the latter circumstance as an undoubted merit of the work, however, they also stipulate that there is not a single hero in it who could be called absolutely positive, who could be experienced and sympathized with. Many call this a flaw in the novel.
Films
The work "American Tragedy", the film adaptation of which is a noticeable phenomenon in the cinema, with the apparent simplicity of the plot, is a complex socio-psychological drama, which, unfortunately, was not always taken into account by the filmmakers. The first film was shot in 1931. The script was originally written by domestic director S. Eisenstein, and his work satisfied Dreiser. However, later, for ideological reasons, the text was written by another author, but the author did not like the picture. The most famous film based on the work is called “A Place in the Sun” (1951), which received several Academy Award. So, one of the most famous works in our days remains "American tragedy." The novel is still relevant thanks to a thorough analysis of human nature.