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摘 要

西奥多·德莱赛被公认为美国自然主义的杰出作家之一，也是美国现代小说的开创者。他的作品，《美国悲剧》描写了19世纪20年代美国的现实，再现了真实的美国社会。本文主要探究克莱德悲剧的原因以及对作品中其他人物的影响。原因分为社会原因和个人原因两个方面。社会原因从美国梦，社会关系层面来探讨美国悲剧的发生。个人原因则是从道德，以及金钱的追求以及对上帝的信仰来分析。探讨不同人物的后果以及这些后果所体现出来的伤害。从不同人物的命运结果来探讨如何避免类似悲剧的发生。通过对《美国悲剧》的探究，作者提倡在今天高速发展的世界树立正确的金钱观，树立更好的人际关系，以及提高我们的道德素质。

关键词：《美国悲剧》；西奥多·德莱赛；克莱德；悲剧；

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

3. The Manifestation of Clyde’s Tragedy 3

3.1 The Consistent Degeneration 3

3.2 The Loss of Everything 4

3.3 The Tragedy of Other Characters 4

4. The Causes for Clyde’s Tragedy 5

4.1 American Dream 5

4.2 Social Relationships 6

4.3 Monopoly 7

4.4 Personal Reasons 8

5. Ways to Prevent the Tragedy 9

6. Conclusion 10

Works Cited 12

1. Introduction

Theodore Dreiser is universally regarded as a leading American Naturalist writer in American literary area. Although some critics considered his writing style as clumsy without good organization of structure, he is generally recognized as a pioneer in Naturalism and Realism who brings new ideas and changes in American literature.

Dreiser insists on representing life honestly and portraying the realest life from different stratum of society. He described his characters as victims of fate and social forces.

Many of his works have come into screenplays, and are popular around the world. His work Sister Carrie is a novel about a beautiful girl from the countryside being rich lonely at last who lost her original kindness, purity and moral value. The novel describes a tragedy of a countryside girl. This novel is a tragedy partly while An American Tragedy is a tragedy totally. Dreiser based An American Tragedy on the Chester Gillette murder case which was put on trial in 1906. This novel is a demonstration of American society in 1920s. It is a story about poor Clyde who went to destruction at last. In An American Tragedy, Clyde Griffiths was raised by poor and devoutly religious parents who forced him to participate in their street missionary work. Even Clyde was poor, but his heart was full of great American Dream. He wanted to step into upper class and enjoy luxurious material life. He was served as bellboy at a hotel. And then he fled to Kansas City to ask his uncle’s Samuel Griffiths who was a rich man as his father’s brother after Clyde hit a girl and caused her death. He worked in his uncle’s factory and made a woman worker pregnant. Meanwhile he fell into love with a rich lady who can bring him money and power if they get married. Clyde planed to murder the poor woman worker Roberta and Roberta drowned to death accidently. During the inquest of Clyde, the politics made use of their power to reach their aims by hook and crook. Finally, Clyde was sentenced to death.

Dreiser thought, it was the society of America rather than the criminal that resulted in the tragic murder case. At that time, there were many young people, especially those from the countryside or the poor family with low status, dreaming of being rich and stepping into the upper class in order to achieve respect. This dream itself is ridiculous.

2. Literature Review

Theodore Dreiser is a pioneer of American Modern novel, and he is also a representative of American Naturalism. He is a controversial figure in American literary history. His works are powerful in their portrayal of the changing American life, and he himself showed a new way of presenting reality especially in the reading of An American Tragedy. It is very worthwhile to make an in-deepth exploration into the novel. An American Tragedy has so far attracted many critics from various perspectives both at home and abroad. Among them, many critics are on analyzing the fate of Clyde and the causes of the tragedy of different characters. And some critics are mainly on analyzing the Naturalism applied in An American Tragedy.

Researchers abroad spoke highly of the Realism applied in the novel. Some of researchers studied the novel mainly from the Naturalism. And some paid attention to the writing style of journalistic method. There are also some researchers taking interest in the characterization in the novel. Diao Ruofei, Du Lei and Lv Hua read the novel with an aesthetic criticism and they thought: American Tragedy is a work of reality. It describes a real society during that time in America. When Clyde had been a famous character in the literary area, American had been undergoing a sharp change in a lot of areas like economy and politics. People’s mind had changed towards money and American Dream. When Zhang Hongyan, Dai Hongxia and Huyun read the novel, they paid attention to tragedy stereotype. They studied the character Clyde based on the criticism thesis of Frei’s stereotype. The stereotype of Clyde was born from Greek Tragedy which mainly was a tragedy of fate. And they also found the stereotype from Shakespeare’s works. They thought that the tragedy of Clyde could be a tragedy of his own life as well as a tragedy of American society. While some other researchers focused on the Naturalism in Theodore Dreiser novel. There were other people devoting themselves to the causes of occurrence of tragedy in Clyde’s life. Cao Xueqing made a research on the American Dream in American Dream. He regarded the distorted American Dream as one of the main causes of Clyde’s tragedy.

However, no one exactly tells how to prevent such tragedy occurring again. In my opinion, since the problem existed, we should do our best to prevent this similar tragedy happening again. In some cases, we may not prevent such similar tragedy, however, we can minimize the chance of occurrence of such tragedy in today’s world.

3. The Manifestation of Clyde’s Tragedy

3.1 The Consistent Degeneration

Clyde was born in a poor family and was forced to participate in their street missionary work. At his childhood, all the things were his family’s praise to God. In this environment, he should be loyal to God. But he didn’t. In this way, other people had an effect on Clyde. Each one wanted to be a member of a group and aspired to be accepted by others, it was natural to make relationships with others. However, at Clyde’s childhood, he can’t get such accept.” On more than one occasion, before he had been taken on the street in this fashion, other boys had called to him and made fun of his father.” Such experience made Clyde wanted to be accept and the only way was to get beautiful clothes first. It was also his first step to destruction. He wanted more money and then betrayed his flash and dignity to please consumers for tips. After he made some friends and met a brothel. Continually he had deviated on his way to enjoyed luxurious material life filled with wine and women. Happy time is not long. He stroke a girl caused her to death when he drove a car. Instead of confessing his crime, he fled away. The corruption in his virtue also implied his degeneration. The story ends with Clyde’s death because he was charged with murdering Robert that was his lover. He caused three deaths in his life. The first was the little girl and the second was Robert. The last cause was Clyde himself. Each death indicated Clyde’s degeneration and this degeneration was consistent.

What’s more, Clyde refused to give money to his mother who wanted to help Clyde’s sister that was abandoned by a puppy and pregnant. It was not only a tragedy to his mother and his sister but a tragedy to Clyde himself. Such behavior showed Clyde’s coldness and selfishness. He fled away after the little girl was stroke dead. It is also not the tragedy to the little girl but also Clyde himself, because it showed that Clyde was weak in virtue. The same to Robert murder, even the legality made a fuss and pulled the string, Clyde had surrendered to the vile spirit. It is he that calls down calamity upon himself. Eventually he lost his life and no one could make sure whether he could step into paradise.

3.2 The Loss of Everything

Clyde wanted to get money and to be rich in that society. In the end, he got nothing and even lost his own life. At the beginning, he felt disgusted of his family and wanted another life when he was a small boy. “He was one of those interesting individuals who looked upon himself as a thing apart -never quite wholly and indissolubly merged with the family of which he was a member”. “And yet the world was so full of so many things to do-many people were so happy and so successful. What was he to do.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2005: 98 )He watched tall buildings and handsome automobiles, he felt ashamed of himself. However, when he was interrogated in the prison, he missed his mother and his mother’s God. All these were too late, he was sentenced to death. He will lose her. And whether he loved Robert or not, he can’t meet her, she was drowned to death with his baby. What broke his heart was that Sondra has never sent a message to him except one card without address. It was this girl that directly caused him plan to murder Robert. Clyde lost both of these two girls as well as wealth. Eventually he lost his life. The things Clyde had owned were all gone in the wind. What’s more, in some people’s heat who were still alive, Clyde was just a murder, there was nothing else in their mind even Clyde had left more or less happiness.

It was Clyde’s tragedy that he lost everything. His dream of beautiful future was broken up.

3.3 The Tragedy of Other Characters

Robert was a daughter of a farmer and in the same social class as Clyde. She worked with Clyde together with Clyde and was attracted by his sweet words. Clyde lured Roberta to have sex with him while he never thought of marrying her. In the end, Roberta became pregnant, which became the direct cause of the tragedy. Due to his selfishness, when Roberta was pregnant, he refused to go with her. He asks her to go to the doctor for help. The doctor refused to help her. And Robert becomes more and more hopeless when days were past after days. She asked Clyde to marry her. Clyde wanted to be rich and do not want to live in poor life. At last, to disengage himself from Roberta, he even planned to kill her. Although he did not carry on his plan at the critical moment, he did not give a hand to Roberta in the accident when Roberta was in critical danger and needed help. It was his very coldness and selfishness that caused Roberta"s tragedy.

4. The Causes for Clyde’s Tragedy

4.1 American Dream

An American Tragedy re-shows a history that American society ruined the youth people. In American society at that time, the individualism, money worship and American Dream were very prevalent in America. “The American Dream was based on the assumption that each person, no matter what his origins are, could succeed in life in the sole basic of his or her own skill and effort. It describes an attitude of the hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of the human wishes and desire.” (David, 1900: 35)

The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through work. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.” (David, 2009: 80)

The American Dream itself promotes the chance to make a profit in that society. It tells people that everyone is equal and everyone could be successful.

However, such idea has changed a lot over time. American Dream advocated that everyone could be successful if he worked hard. Nowadays, it seems that American Dream advocates everyone could achieve success while the success is the equivalent of wealth.

With the invention of electric and steam engine, 19^th and 20^th centuries have welcomed an industrialization world. The industrialization began to erode the American dream, replacing it with a philosophy of “get rich quick”. Everyone wants to be rich. And at that time, the number of family with refrigerator and car surpasses any other countries. Such prosperity has promoted more and more people to make money regardless of means in thought of being rich and living better. Such idea is a reflection of the American Dream.

With the changed American Dream, people have developed a habit of consumption aiming to loss themselves in the luxury and prosperous society. People want to be in super class and enjoy the luxury life while Luxury needs money. And the American Dream promoted people to become rich and better and acknowledged that everyone could make a profit because all of them were equal. In An American Tragedy, the ambitious but ill-educated and immature Clyde Griffiths who was pure and kind at young was raised by poor and devoutly religious parents who forced him to participate in their street missionary work, and on reaching young adulthood took low-status jobs as a soda jerk and then as bellboy at a top Kansas City hotel. There, his more sophisticated colleagues introduced him to alcohol and prostitutes. Those colleagues were all in pursuit of money and happiness. Under the effect of the American Dream, they aimed to make money even betray their flesh. Such pursuit had an impact on Clyde. Clyde enjoyed his new lifestyle and became infatuated with the mercenary Hortense Briggs. Hortense Briggs made a pretense of affection to Clyde. She was not fond of him while she tried to please him, because all she wanted was Clyde’s money. “She looked rather solemnly at the floor, thinking mainly of the little inexperienced dunce Clyde was -so raw and green. Also of money she had seen him take out of his pocket-plainly quite a sum.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2005: 124) Everything in her mind was money. It implied the first step of degeneration for Clyde as well as his tragedy due to the American Dream. The woman who wanted to get money was the implication of the American Dream.

It is American Dream that is a real tragedy in the character Clyde’s life. The society advocated that everyone could make a file while it sentenced Clyde to death. Clyde was a synonym for the sacrifice of American Dream.

4.2 Social Relationships

Our human beings live in groups since ancient times. At the beginning of history, people live in group. It is human’s nature to live in relationships. The difference between human beings and animals is that people always live and work in some relationships. “Based on its reality, the nature of human is rather a totality of relationships than the intrinsic abstract.” (Milton, 2002: 208) Clyde had served as a bellboy in Kansas City Hotel, but Clyde"s life was changed when the driver of a stolen car in which he was traveling runs over and kills a young child. Clyde fled Kansas City, and while working as bellboy at an exclusive club in Chicago. He came across his wealthy uncle Samuel Griffiths, the owner of a shirt-collar factory in the fictional Lycurgus, New York. Clyde wanted to step into the super-class social circle and asks for his uncle’s help. He wanted to get a job to afford his living. Samuel, the factory owner was feeling guilt for neglecting his poor relations, offering to help Clyde if he would come to Lycurgus. When Clyde did so, he gives him first a menial.

He stayed at the lowest class in the factory and met a woman worker. Even it was made clear to Clyde that as a member of Griffiths, he should not consort with the working people in Lycurgus, and especially with the women under his supervision. As he was not taken up socially by the Griffiths" set, he suffered loneliness. In this position, he was attracted to Roberta Alden, a poor and innocent farm girl working in his department, who fell in love with him. Clyde initially enjoyed the clandestine relationship, he ultimately persuaded her to have sex with him rather than lost him, and made her pregnant. And Clyde got a job due to his honorable relationships with Griffiths and had such an unacceptable relationship with worker Robert. These two relationships were opposed as the relationship with Robert making nothing worth to him and even caused disasters.

Clyde"s engaging manner made him popular among the young smart set and provided him with opportunities to develop a relationship with Sondra who was a rich lady. The relationship between him and Sondra made himself see the beautiful future of money and power. With the help of his uncle’s relationship, Clyde had a chance to approach Robert and seduced her. Such relationship provided a hint for Clyde’s tragedy. And the relationship with Sondra made Clyde comes to murder Robert in order to destroy the relationship when the pregnant Roberta expected him to marry her. These three relationships finally result in Clyde’s tragedy.

4.3 Monopoly

During that time, American has a prosperous economy. Politics have an effect on economy, while economy influence politics. Due to the developed economy, American brings about monopoly. “A monopoly (from Greek monos μόνος(alone or single) polein πωλεῖν(to sell)) exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity(this contrasts with a monopsony which relates to a single entity’s control of a market to purchase a good or service, and with obigopoly which consists of a few entities dominating an industry.”(Marx and Engels, 2005: 128) Monopoly sometimes controls the politics because politics need money to operate the society. And politics shows a respect to it. In American Tragedy, when Clyde was first found and arrested, Kraut has showed respect to him. And might he not after all be a youth of very powerful connections? “The conversations he had listened to thus far had indicated that this youth was certainly identified with one of the best families in Lycurgus .And in consequence he was now moved a slight of courtesy.”(Theodore Dreiser, Chapter VIII) The different attitude before and later implied that Kraut in deed respect the rich even though he is a politician. Monopoly in that world means who owns a sum of money which can affect politics. When Clyde was in the process of interrogation, some judges thought that Samuel Griffiths intended to give no help to Clyde. The Griffiths had moved to other cities in order to defend their honor. Such behavior caused the attorney and sheriff of Catataqui County made a fuss in Clyde’s murder for their own benefit in election. The sheriff even made feigned evidence that he binds Robert’s hair into the camera. Such behavior was harmful to Clyde and caused Clyde’s terror in the court. Thus there happened a series of disadvantages which caused Clyde’s tragedy.

4.4 Personal Reasons

Even the society had ruined Clyde mostly. But Clyde also should be blamed for his selfishness, conformity and weakness in virtue. There are also a lot of people who are out of mud without being sullied. Clyde made several friends at first, and they showed him what they think real living life was all about-fine food, fine clothes, wine, whiskey and women. Without restraining himself, Clyde followed them and visited a brothel. Eventually, Clyde met Hortense Briggs. Clyde had changed himself and lost his purity. He made the choice to follow the group while his morality had been abandoned. He chose to live in a luxuries life and enjoyed the material world with Hortense Briggs. During that time, Clyde’s mother asked Clyde for money to help his sister who had been found and pregnant. Clyde preferred to buy an expensive coat for Hortense Briggs rather than helped his sister.

This selfishness also appeared when Clyde met Robert when he fled to Kanasas and get a job in Kanasas factory due to his uncle’s help after he stolen a rich man’s car and stroke a little girl who was dead immediately in that accident. Clyde fled to Kanasas. He fell in love with Robert and made him pregnant. Meanwhile a rich woman Sondra had a good opinion of him. He didn’t want to get married to Robert and he wanted to get rid of her in order to own Sondra as well as wealth and honor. He was so selfish and his weakness in virtue made Clyde plan to murder Robert the genii of his darkest and weakest side was speaking. “And it said: would you escape from the demands of Robert that but now and unto his hour have prepared unescapable to you.”(Theodore Dreiser, 2005: 178) And at last, an accident made his evil thought come true. He refused to help Robert when she fell in water. The result was that Clyde is sentenced to death. He himself partly caused his tragedy because of his selfishness and conformity as well as weakness in his virtue.

5. Ways to Prevent the Tragedy

It is true that in today’s society money is important and necessary. Everyone makes money by themselves which is a way that people can make living. However, no one can make money by hook and crook. In our daily life, we shouldn’t transgress morality. Clyde’s tragedy is not only due to the society and environment which has a great impact on his life but also his own morality. Thus, on the one hand, we should observe the code of morality and accept moral education. On the other hand, the society should propaganda correct moral education. Clyde’s society propagates the belief that everyone can make a fortune, however it makes a backfire which pronounces a sentence of death on Clyde.

And, in today’s world, our society needs to build a harmonious and equal relationship between people. In Clyde’s society, the lopsided development influenced Clyde’s tragedy to a great extent. The abnormal relationship between people has a great influence on Clyde as well as the relations between people and money. The judges make false evidence in order to achieve their own aims which strike a deadly blow on Clyde’s trial. People have been divided into the rich and the poor. People respect the rich while teasing the poor. The poor gradually lose their self-respect and do something violating the society. Due to such phenomenon, our society in today’s world should give people a harmony and equal environment which needs the government to have self-supervision.

It is far more than the government has made contributions and we own has built a correct view to making money. We need respect others and have a correct money concept. It is in our deep heart that respect and love exists which other people need. We can’t judge a person by his money only and make money in correct way rather than merely accepting others’ help or get something without any labor.

6. Conclusion

An American Tragedy succeeded in spreading a real American society in 1920s out. American Dream and the injustice in law as well as different relationships based on money and power were full of the society. Such phenomenon had distorted people’s hearts and minds. Clyde’s tragedy was due to different reasons both from the society and himself while Roberta’s tragedy was mainly the sacrifice of Clyde’s dream of money and power. In today’s world, money and power played an important role in people’s life. Due to the monopoly in economy and then the injustice in law, people who were rich make use of politics to protect their reputation. And they made friends with politician, these politicians were served for rich, the minority. This phenomenon revealed a gap between the rich and the poor. People are not under the protection of just law. And such gap makes the poor dream of stepping into upper class. The poor want more caution and protection because of lack of money and food even the house. Clyde’s Tragedy was mainly due to the injustice of society. They wanted to own a better relationship with the rich in the society while they were detested by the rich. They wanted to make a profit and became rich due to the American Dream advocated equality everywhere and anyone can get rich.

There are many reasons resulted the sentence of Clyde. In the study of An American Tragedy, Clyde lost himself in that competitive world and abandoned his morality. It was not only him self resulted his tragedy but the society. The American Dream, monopoly and the distorted relationships between people connecting with money and benefits had a great influence on Clyde’s life as well as other characters in An American Tragedy.

In today’s world, money is indispensable. However, everyone should attain it in correct ways and have a correct concept about money. And our government should create a harmonious and equal environment for us. What’s more, we should respect others especially those who are poor. No one should be teased just because they have no money.

Works Cited

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[3] James Adams. The Epic of America. USA: Simon Publications, 2001.

[4] Kamp David. “Rethinking the American Dream.” Vanity Fair. 2009:58.

[5] Milton Friedman. “Monopoly and the Social Responsibility of Business and Labor” Capitalism and Freedom. 1960: 208.

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