Summary of "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser. Plot, main characters, adaptation

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Summary of "American Tragedy" is quite easy to retell, as the work has a simple plot. Nevertheless, the depth of the author's observations on the life of his contemporary society at the same time makes retelling of this kind a difficult task. Indeed, in his essay, the writer raised complex issues that remain relevant for our time, so it is very important to identify at least some of them when analyzing the plot.

Author biography

Summary of "American Tragedy" shows that this novel reflects events from the writer's life. T. Dreiser was born in 1871 in Indiana, in a simple poor family. Because of the need, he was forced to constantly work in order to somehow make ends meet and feed his family. Difficult life circumstances, constant need did not give him the opportunity to get a full education. The future famous novelist (like the hero of the work in question) tried many professions, and usually he did menial work. Nevertheless, he managed to study for a year at the university, where he became seriously interested in literature. ATIn the 1890s, he worked as a reporter for a number of newspapers, which largely determined his literary career. In 1900, he made his debut with Sister Carrie, which outlined the main creative principle of the author: a harsh critique of the modern American way of life. In the same spirit, the famous "Trilogy of Desire" was written, in which he characterized the cultural and financial life of America.

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 man who dreams of breaking out into people and getting rich. The summary of "American Tragedy" should begin with a description of his life in his hometown, with which he is unhappy. The young man dreamed of making a career by any means, and for this he is ready for temporary inconvenience and modest work. So, first he gets a job in a pharmacy, and then becomes a lower 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 free time, having fun in nightclubs and restaurants. The young man makes good money, starts affairs with girls, in a word, allows himself everything that was forbidden at home and what he so dreamed of. The book "An American Tragedy" quite accurately reproduces the puritanical life of his family, in many ways reminiscent of the conditions in which the writer himself grew up. However, the excessive enthusiasm for a new life ended in tragedy. During one of the next pleasure trips, the car in which he was with his friends hit a girl to death, and this forced Clyde to look for another shelter.

Factory work

Summary of "American Tragedy" reflects the features of the plot of the work itself: brevity 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 in with his uncle, who gets him a job in his factory. This we althy entrepreneur was generally sympathetic to 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 unflatteringly about him, does not consider him capable of making a successful career. However, the uncle sympathizes with his nephew and makes him the head of the workshop where young girls work. One of them, Roberta Alden, liked the main character, and young people began to meet. However, the situation changed after Clyde became a member of the “golden youth” society thanks to his acquaintance with the daughter of a we althy businessman, Sondra Finchley.

Secular society

Perhaps no other work describes life in the United States in the 1920s in such detail and truthfully as "An 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 a 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 suitors, but gradually the frivolous flirting was replaced by 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 that very high secular society that he so aspired to. But the situation became more complicated due to the fact that his former lover was pregnant and demanded to marry her, threatening publicity that would deprive him of the chance to break into people.

Fatal Decision

Accurate psychological sketch of the characters is different "American tragedy". Theodore Dreiser, in a simple 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 hesitations, doubts, experiences, showing that the young man was unprepared for such life's trials. Indeed, when the threat of exposure loomed over him, he could not find any other way out than to kill the mother of his child. Thus, the writer showed how the dream of a prosperous life spoiled the moral character of this, at first, the most ordinary good person.

Consequences

The description of the trial of the protagonist ends the last part of the novel "Americantragedy". Theodore Dreiser reproduced the trial in detail, based on the chronicles and documents of his time, which is why his story is distinguished by terrible truthfulness and reliability. The reader will learn that Clyde, after long hesitation, did not dare to kill Roberta, but a random newspaper article about how, during a river trip of a young couple, the boat capsized, as a result of which the woman died, and the man disappeared, prompted him to think in the same way. deal with a girl. On the lake, however, he could not make up his mind and only accidentally pushed her into the water. However, Clyde was definitely to blame for the fact that he could not get the girl out and allowed her death. He hoped that the circumstances of this case would remain a secret, but the very ambitious and 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 for its reliable and truthful images of the characters. The protagonist is ambitious beyond measure and clearly overestimated his strength, dignity and capabilities. He could never be satisfied with the average position of an ordinary employee, he always wanted more, hence all his troubles. At the same time, it is quite obvious that a young man does not have enough intelligence or abilities to break through in life due to personal merits and talents. 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 trials, on the contrary, at a critical moment he falls into a punk and is lost. So, the novel "An American Tragedy", whose main character became a victim of his own ambitious aspirations, showed the other side of the so-called golden dream of the generations of that time.

Other characters

The rest of the characters also turned out to be very truthful and reliable, since the author himself often encountered representatives of various classes and professions in life, which was reflected in his work. He brought out typical images of we althy successful manufacturers and entrepreneurs, representatives of the "golden youth", ordinary workers and poor employees. The novel "An American Tragedy", reviews of which are generally very positive, reproduced in artistic form a picture of society in the second decade of the 20th century. Users note the latter circumstance as an undoubted merit of the work, but at the same time they stipulate that there is not a single hero in it who could be called unconditionally positive, who could be experienced and sympathized with. Many call this a lack of romance.

Movies

The work "American Tragedy", the adaptation of which is a notable phenomenon in the cinema, with the apparent simplicity of the plot, is a complex socialpsychological drama, which, unfortunately, was not always taken into account by the filmmakers. The first film was made in 1931. The script was originally written by Russian director S. Eisenstein, and Dreiser was satisfied with his work. However, later, for ideological reasons, the text was written by another author, but the author himself did not like the picture. The most famous film based on the work is A Place in the Sun (1951), which won several Oscars. 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.