American Tragedy

Author: Theodore Dreiser (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-01-01
Features: In An American Tragedy, Dreiser depicts the complete process of how the protagonist Clyde Griffiths is corrupted by societal evil, gradually transforming into a murderer and ultimately destroying himself. The novel is divided into three volumes. The first volume portrays how the naive and immature young man Clyde is corrupted and poisoned by the outside world, evolving into a cynical and unrepentant person, until he kills a girl with a car and escapes from Kansas City. This is the preparatory stage of the story. The second volume describes how Clyde, after meeting his wealthy uncle Samuel Griffiths, comes to the Reckord factory as an assistant foreman under the pretext of being a poor relative. He then falls into a triangular love affair with the poor female worker Roberta and the wealthy Sandra. To pursue Sandra, Clyde willingly violates the basic moral principles he was taught since childhood and sacrifices Roberta. As a result, he kills the young woman, who became pregnant after being seduced by him, through a shipwreck plot. Afterwards, Clyde flees and evades justice. The third volume mainly depicts how Clyde is arrested, tried, and convicted after the incident, withing the scandal of the two American parties and judicial institutions exploiting the case of Clyde for political gain. In the final verdict, Clyde is sentenced to the electric chair. At the end of the novel, a pastor appears, telling the story of how Clyde seeks spiritual salvation before his death. The content of the novel is not novel, but in the hands of a writer as compassionate and tragic as Dreiser, it becomes a masterpiece.