The main character Clyde Griffiths in Theodore Dreiser’s novel «An American Tragedy
Дипломная работа - Иностранные языки
Другие дипломы по предмету Иностранные языки
He must not even think such a thing. It was wrong - wrong - terribly wrong. And yet, supposing, - by accident, of course - such as thing as this did occur? That would be the end, then, wouldn't it, of all his troubles in connection with Roberta? No more terror as to her - no more fear and heartache even as to Sondra. A noiseless, pathless, quarrel less solution of all his present difficulties, and only joy before him forever. Just an accidental, unpremeditated drowning - and then the glorious future would be his! So he decided to plan a murder because there was no other way out for him. He took her to the lake at Big Bittern to kill her. In the boat as the moment was approaching be acted strange and Roberta, noticing it, suddenly rose and attempted to approach him. And then, as she drew near him, seeking to take his hands in hers and the camera from him in order to put in the boat, he flinging out at her, but not even with any intension to do other than free himself of her. And then he, stirred by her sharp scream, rising and reaching half to assist or recapture her and half to apologize for unintended blow - yet in so doing completely capsizing the boat - himself and Roberta being as instantly thrown into the water.
Clyde was a good swimmer but he did not help Roberta to get out of the water…That is how the crime happened…. This case was investigated by a district layer Mason and by investigator Burleigh. Once Clyde was captured for the murder of Roberta Alden, the case earns a national audience: And then out of the north woods a crime sensation of the first magnitude, with all of those intriguingly colorful, and yet morally and spiritually atrocious, elements - love, romance, wealth, poverty, death. And at once picturesque accounts of where and how Clyde had lived in Lycurgus, with whom he had been connected, how he had managed to conceal his relations with one girl while obviously planning to elope with another - being wired for and published by that type of editor so quick to sense the national news value of crimes such as this. When they arrested Clyde, he denied everything, they knew that he was lying but they did not have enough evidence to prove it. …Mason were personally re-measuring the wounds upon Roberta's face and head, Burleigh slyly threading two of her hairs in between the door and the lens of the camera. Mason immediately accepted them as a conclusive evidence of Clyde's guilt…as for Mason, he kept bearing in mind the fact that, in view of his own approaching nomination in the coming November election, this murder is a good opportunity to be elected to the local judgeship. And according to the spirits of public opinion, which were bitterly and vigorously anti-Clyde, a quick trial will seem fair and logical to everyone in this local word. So it was profitable for both Mason and Burleigh to get Clyde in jail as quickly as possible.jury consisted of twelve men who came from the same background as Roberta Alden had. They were very strict in their beliefs; they could not judge Clyde as fairly as it was possible. Everyone was convinced of his guilt. But when he tried to appeal against the court's decision, his request had been refused. And soon he was electrocuted… There was a system - a horrible routine system - as long since he had come to feel it to be so. It was iron. It moved automatically like a machine without the aid or the hearts of men. These guards! They with their letters, their inquiries, their pleasant and yet really hollow words, their trips to do little favors, or to take the men in and out of the yard or to their baths - they were iron, too - mere machines, automatons, pushing and pushing and yet restraining and restraining one - within these walls, as ready to kill as to favor in case of opposition - but pushing, pushing, pushing - always toward that little door over there, from which there was no escape - no escape - just on and on - until at last they would push him through it never to return. Never to return!
I think Clyde did not deserve that kind of death; it would be more humane to set him in jail for life, but not to expose him a death penalty. Clyde died unsure of the extent of his own guilt and of the line between truth and untruth, reality and fantasy. But Mason reached everything he wanted; he did not care of Clyde at all, he just wanted to be promoted.
Unfortunately, this problem exists even nowadays. Poor people who are innocent suffer due to rich people who are guilty but have a lot of money and connections… It shows that our society hasnt changed, and money will continue destroying people and take main part in peoples lives…
Conclusion
American Tragedy is an intriguing, frighteningly realistic journey into the mind of a murderer. It is a biography of its era. And, it is also historical fiction. But what makes this novel a classic? While society has changed dramatically since 1925, Dreiser's novel, which shows the futility of The American Dream and the tragedies that trying to live it can cause, accurately summarizes social mores of this and any time period. Dreiser depicts a crime motivated by the pursuit of the American dream, which, in the end, reveals itself to be only an illusion.final chapter called Souvenir, begins with the same five words as the first chapter - Dusk, of a summer night - and presents a scene like the one in the first chapter: the Asa Griffiths family walking along a street, preparing to sing and spread the Gospel. One may conclude from this structural scheme that the themes of the novel, such as the pursuit of materialism, apply to the entire country and that the outcome of the novel will repeat itself from one generation of Americans to the next, as the final chapter suggests when it echoes the first chapter-this time with Estas son, Russell.will happen to him? Will he become another Clyde?book showed me how obsession of becoming rich can destroy humans soul. Writing this project I have read the novel An American tragedy, used many critical articles and definitely improved my English skills. I would like to advise young people to read this book. I am sure, they wont be disappointed. People, stop feeding yourself that money, high society, luxury and status can make you happy. There is something more…
Bibliography
1. Theodore Dreiser An American Tragedy, Irving Howe, 1964.
. Bucco, Martin. Cliffs Notes: An American Tragedy. Edited by Gary Carey and James L. Roberts. Lincoln, Nebraska: Cliffs Notes, 1974.
. Day, Martin S. History of American Literature from 1910 to Present. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1971.
.
.
.
.
8.