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| Plot Summary of An American Tragedy |
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"Dreiser's "Tragedy" was based on an actual New York murder and led the way to the genre pioneered by Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." In it he describes the arc of a young man's life up the ladder of social success and how his secret relationship with a working girl who he impregnates, threatens to destroy that success and, eventually, why he murders her. He does not escape his due, but it carries a nasty taste of human nature to the end."
Kelly Whiting, Resident Scholar
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"Clyde Griffiths, the main character in this 1925 Dreiser masterpiece, is the eldest son of poor, street-preaching parents. Throughout his childhood the family is on the move, operating missions and preaching the word of Jesus on the street. When Clyde becomes a teenager, he gets his first close-up look at "society" by working as a bell-hop in an upscale hotel in Kansas City. A tragic accident puts him on the lamb, and he eventually winds up in upstate New York, seeking the sponsorship of his uncle, a wealthy, prominent factory owner in the community. Clyde is hired on in the factory and eventually gets promoted to supervisor. He falls in love with and impregnates one of his inferiors, Roberta, a poor farmer's daughter, before realizing that he has a chance at romance with Sondra, one of the "society" girls in town. This conflict ultimately results in Clyde murdering Roberta for the sake of uniting with Sondra, thereby securing wealth and social prominence for himself. The rest of the story is comprised mostly of the legal proceedings that follow. Is Clyde guilty of premeditated murder? Will he go to the electric chair? Might the evidence suggest that Robert's death was actually an accident? "
Roger, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of An American Tragedy |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story
- 1900-1920's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- love triangle/polygon
- workplace romance
Life of a profession:
- businessman, good becoming bad
Crime & Police story
Yes
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Lover is
- of a different social class
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- business executive
- accused criminal
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
- Midwest
Water?
Yes
Water:
- drowning
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
- prison
- resort/hotel
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- explicit references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- impregnation/reproduction
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Theodore Dreiser Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Jack Goodstein
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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