Summary of the "American tragedy"it is not difficult to retell, since the work differs in a simple plot. Nevertheless, the depth of the author’s observations on the life of contemporary society at the same time makes retelling of this kind a daunting 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.
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 needs, he had to constantly work in order to somehow make ends meet and feed his family. Difficult life circumstances, constant need and 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 the dirty work. Nevertheless, he managed to study at the university for a year, where he became seriously interested in literature. In the 1890s, he works as a reporter in a number of newspapers, which largely 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 way of life. In the same vein, the famous “Desire Trilogy” was written, in which he described the cultural and financial life of America.
Произведение состоит из трех книг, каждая из which is devoted to a certain stage in the life of its protagonist Clyde Griffiths, a young, ambitious, ambitious, but indecisive and timid person who dreams of breaking out into people and getting rich. The summary of the “American tragedy” should begin with a description of his life in his hometown, of which he is dissatisfied. The young man wanted to make a career by any means and for this he is ready for temporary inconvenience and modest work. So, at first he gets a job at a pharmacy, and then becomes a lower employee in one of the hotels.
Здесь он с головой погружается в новую жизнь.He makes friends with whom the hero has fun in his spare time, having fun in nightclubs and restaurants. The young man earns good money, gets into an affair with the girls, in a word, indulges in everything that was forbidden at home and what he so dreamed about. The book “The American Tragedy” quite accurately reproduces the Puritan life of his family, in many respects resembling the conditions in which the writer himself grew up. However, excessive passion for new life ended in tragedy. During one of the regular pleasure walk, the car in which he was with his friends knocked the girl to death, and this forced Clyde to look for another refuge.
Summary of the "American tragedy"reflects the features of the plot of the work itself: conciseness of the narration, simple language, detailed reproduction of the realities of contemporary society. The next book is probably the culmination of the work. Clyde moves to his uncle, who takes 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. in every way oppresses his cousin, unflattering about him, does not consider him capable of making a successful career. However, his uncle sympathizes with his nephew and makes him the head of a workshop where young girls work. One of them, Robert Alden, was liked by the protagonist, and the young people began to meet. However, the situation changed after Clyde found himself in the “golden youth” society thanks to his acquaintance with the daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur Sondra Finchley.
Perhaps no work describes sodetailed and truthful life in the United States of the 1920s as the “American tragedy”. The novel in great detail 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 main character: she is rich, young, beautiful, spoiled. Being a proud and narcissistic girl, she initially decided to use Clyde to annoy one of her hapless boyfriends, but gradually 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 of marrying her and becoming a full member of the very highest secular society to which he was so eager. But the situation was complicated by the fact that his former lover was pregnant and demanded to marry her, threatening publicity, which would have deprived him of the chances of breaking out into people.
An accurate psychological sketch of the charactersdifferent "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.
The description of the trial of the protagonist endsThe last part of the novel "American Tragedy." Theodore Dreiser reproduced in detail the judicial process, based on the chronicles and documents of his time, which is why his narration is characterized by terrible veracity and authenticity. The reader learns that Clyde, after long hesitations, did not dare to kill Robert, however an occasional newspaper article about how the boat overturned during a river walk of one young couple, as a result of which the woman died, and the man disappeared, prompted him to think the same to do with a girl. On the lake, however, he could not decide completely and only accidentally pushed her into the water. However, Clyde was exactly to blame for the fact that he could not get a girl and made her die. He hoped that the circumstances of this case would remain secret, but the local investigator Mason, who was very active and ambitious, was very ambitious, seeking his appointment as a district judge, very energetically led the investigation and ensured that the young man was exposed and sentenced to death.
"American tragedy", the analysis of which isThe subject of this review is interesting with reliable and truthful images of the actors. The main character is ambitious beyond measure and clearly overestimated his strength, 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 quite obvious that the young man does not possess enough intelligence or ability to make his way into life through personal merit and talent. Clyde is the most ordinary American, he is not stupid, he is 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 the critical moment he falls into punk and is lost. So, the novel “The American Tragedy”, the main character of which was the victim of his own ambitious aspirations, showed the flip side of the so-called golden dream of generations of the time.
The remaining actors also turned out verytruthful and reliable, as the author himself often came across in his life representatives of various classes and professions, which was reflected in his work. He derived typical images of wealthy successful manufacturers and entrepreneurs, representatives of the “golden youth”, ordinary workers and poor employees. The novel “The American Tragedy”, reviews of which are generally very positive, reproduced in artistic form the picture of the society of the second decade of the 20th century. The latter circumstance is noted by users as an undoubted merit of the work, but at the same time it is stipulated that there is not a single hero in it that could be called unconditionally positive, which could be experienced and sympathized. Many people call it a lack of novel.
The work "American tragedy", the film versionwhich is a noticeable phenomenon in cinema, with the apparent simplicity of the plot is a complex socio-psychological drama that, unfortunately, was not always taken into account by the creators of films. The first film was shot in 1931. The script was originally written by the 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 won several Oscars. So, one of the most famous works in our day remains the "American tragedy." The novel is still relevant due to the careful analysis of human nature.
