An American Tragedy

"An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser is a sprawling epic delving deep into the psyche of Clyde Griffiths, a young man shaped by poverty and yearning for social status. Dreiser meticulously crafts a character study, unraveling the complex layers of Clyde's desires for wealth, privilege, and recognition. As we journey through Clyde's tumultuous life, we witness the moral and mental acrobatics he employs to justify his actions in pursuit of his ambitions. In a timely narrative, Dreiser exposes the dark underbelly of human nature, showcasing the frightening capacity for self-deception in the quest for material gain. This novel is a haunting reminder of our internal conflicts in pursuing success. In the case of Clyde, we follow his thoughts and justifications through his incremental progression from innocent child of street preachers to murderer.

The film "A Simple Plan" could have easily been called "An American Tragedy," and the book "An American Tragedy" could have just as easily been called "A Simple Plan." The plan at the book's center seems so simple indeed. The novel's protagonist, Clyde Griffiths, impregnates a girl below his social station, and he's so terrified by the idea of being exposed and ruining his chances at a life as part of the social elite (and losing the local well-to-do beauty to whom he's hitched himself) that he actually finds himself driven to kill her as his only escape. But Clyde has a simple mind, and his efforts to claw his way out of a desperate situation that inexorably suffocates him is compelling fiction.Theodore Dreiser has been called one of the worst great writers in the history of literature, and that claim is justified. He can hardly compose a sentence that doesn't drop like lead from the tongue. He's especially fond of the double negative, which can become pretty tedious in a 900+ page novel. And in retrospect, the amount of plot on display in his novel does not seem to warrant its length, but somehow, I was able to overcome these two factors and find myself engrossed in it anyway. It doesn't for one second become boring or slow. And it offers some especially candid and frank ideas about the nature of guilt and the culpability of those who take lives, whether they're working on the side of crime or the law. Most fascinating for me were the novel's final pages, when Clyde tries to turn to religion for solace when he's at his loneliest, but can't get around the notion that there's really nothing to turn to.Dreiser pulls off quite a feat by making all of his characters sympathetic. I didn't want Clyde to get away scot-free with what he'd done, but my heart couldn't help but go out to him. Likewise, Roberta, the girl he wrongs, could have come across as shrewish in another author's hands (she does in the film version, "A Place in the Sun," if you're interested in a literature to film comparison) but she doesn't here. Even Sondra, who could have been so unlikeably spoiled, comes across as essentially a warm character.1925 was the literary year for deconstructing the American Dream. Both "An American Tragedy" and "The Great Gatsby" came out that year, and while I have to admit that "Gatsby" is a better written book, "Tragedy" just has a visceral appeal for me, and it's the one I enjoyed more.

Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) is one of the giants of American letters. His novel "Sister Carrie," written in 1900, is a cathedral of naturalist literature. Almost as epic as his novels was the constant state of warfare that existed between Dreiser and publishers who consistently refused to publish his books because of the shocking themes the author wrote about. One of his biggest battles involved "An American Tragedy," a sprawling book based on a real murder case that occurred in New York at the beginning of the 20th century. Dreiser used the Chester Gillette/Grace Brown episode as the basis for a story that strongly criticized America's infatuation with materialism and social status. In the Gillette case, a young dandy with an eye for the ladies impregnated a young woman and then drowned her in a lake when her condition threatened to put an end to his social life. During the subsequent trial of Chester Gillette, all of America readily soaked up the sordid details of the case. Gillette, vehemently denying that he had anything to do with Grace Brown's murder despite his conviction on a first-degree murder charge, died in the electric chair at Auburn State Prison on March 30, 1908. Dreiser went to such lengths investigating the case for his book that he even took his wife out on the lake where Gillette committed his crime, apparently worrying his spouse that he might recreate the crime.In "An American Tragedy," Chester Gillette becomes Clyde Griffiths, the son of itinerant evangelists who roam the country operating missions for the destitute. His parents often take Clyde and his siblings out on the streets of the city in order to sing hymns and hand out religious tracts. While in Kansas City, Clyde reaches the age of sixteen and decides to strike out on his own. Tired of the austere life led by his family, Clyde secures a job as a bellboy at a big hotel downtown. The money he earns and the friends he makes at the hotel quickly lead to Clyde's indoctrination into the fast life of fine clothes, fine food, and fast women. An unfortunate incident with a "borrowed" car leads to his hasty departure from Kansas City to points east.After a few years of drifting from job to job under an assumed name, Clyde happens to run into a rich uncle at a hotel in Chicago. The uncle, moderately impressed with his nephew's appearance and attitude, offers the young man a job at his collar factory in Lycurgus, New York. Clyde jumps at the opportunity, picturing himself rising quickly at the factory into a world of wealth and privilege. The reality turns out to be quite the opposite. His uncle is indifferent to Clyde's presence, rarely inviting him out to the family estate and starting him at the lowest, dirtiest job in the factory. A cousin named Gilbert also proves troublesome to Clyde's aspirations. Gilbert sees his poor cousin as a real threat to his own position as heir apparent at the factory. Moreover, Gilbert and Clyde are astonishingly similar in appearance. Despi

Mainly want to make a couple points:1. Totally agree that this is one of the great novels of all time.2. The person who claims it is too long totally misses the point. First, you will not end up dragging yourself through this book, the reverse will happen. If you enter in good faith, you will be promptly nailed to this book, not thinking for a minute that any part of it is labored or boring. Secondly, the scope of this novel is very unique. Rather than the typical epic which uses time and history to spread things out and increase drama, this novel uses setting in a wonderful and tragic way, spinning together three frames, the urban, the suburban, and the wild. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the way the author is able to show the character's path, through transgression, without moralizing or being overly allegorical. Without giving it away, this book is one of fate driving to a climax of inaction, but guilt nonetheless.It's ironic that the summary mentions that Dreiser is unclassifiable, because I've found that most people: a. have never read this book (even very well-read people) and b. have dismissed Dreiser in their mind as a bookish also-ran who played an archaic tune unaware of the newly emerged modern cacophany. While Gatsby still garners respect (hell it's thinner, even intellectuals are lazy), one wonders if it is because it tips its hat, with the eyes of TJ Eckleberg (seen across the Wasteland) and the Jazz references, to the new age. Nevermind all that. This is a truly unique epic that by turns reads like Greek tragedy and seems visionary in its depiction of human beings' falling out with nature, and the base nature of the fundamental criminal betrayal at the heart of it.Trivia: this was based on a story Dreiser followed in the papers when he was young about an actual case that occurred in Courtland, NY. I saw a documentary about that case that was extremely disturbing; it seemed from the photographs and the handling of the case that the killer was insane, but the state (with no real notion of that in the law at the time ~1905?) electrocuted him nonetheless....Summary: read this book!

In An American Tragedy, Dreiser sets out to outline the pathos of an American Dream gone wrong. In Clyde Griffiths, you have Everyman, someone who strives to rise from poverty to riches, from anonymity to wealth. But to reach that goal, he resorts to falsehood,adultery and murder. The early part of this epic focuses on Clyde's childhood, his religious upbringing and his subsequent rebellion against the austere and joyless existence he is destined to live had he stayed in his parent's mission.Working as a bell-boy in a hotel, Clyde comes under the influence of other wayward youths, which will play a big part in his having to leave Kansas. In Chicago, he meets his wealthy uncle, who offers him a job at his collar factory in Lycurgus, and it is there that Clyde meets and falls in love with Roberta, a worker under his charge. Again, fate deals Clyde a bad hand and he chances upon Sondra, a rich girl who catches his fancy and who, ultimately, leads to his demise. While the last part of this book can be tightened and shortened, Dreiser presents to the reader an excellent example of the power of great narrative. The ominous portents of Cylde's destruction is presented as his initial pursuit of Hortense, a less-wealthy version of Sondra. The irony of his first direct contact with Roberta on a boat on a lake, and her subsequent death in similar circumstances, cannot escape the reader. Clyde's inability to grasp his guilt even up to the end is a true reflection of human nature. Although Dreiser's sentence construction can, at times, be ponderous, the his descriptive and narrative powers more than make up for that. This 800-plus epic is well worth taking the time to read!