An American Tragedy & Literary Controversy
This is an excerpt from the paper...
This study will discuss the novel, An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser, focusing on the literary controversy which was initiated upon Dreiser's publication of the book in 1925. The study will interpret and analyze the novel in the context of this controversy, and will also consider the social realities of the time in which it was published and which it describes fictionally. The basic argument of the study will be that Dreiser's novel is powerful both in its message and in its artistry, with a few exceptions. The book has its heart in the right place with respect to its critique of the destructive materialistic nature of American society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In addition, the structure of the novel is complex and subtle, fulfilling the technical aspects of a successful novel. The characterizations are for the most part moving and meaningful as individuals and as victims of the capitalistic machine. If the book has shortcomings, it is in the author's inability to create believable dialogue and accessible narrative. However, in the context of the overall power of the novel, in both its art and its political and socioeconomic messages, these shortcomings can be forgiven Dreiser. The controversy accompanying Dreiser's novel are actually twofold, although most critics deal with them together. First, there is the question of the message of Dreiser with respect to his critique of American society at the turn of the century. Second, there is the
. . .
much traffic.
Such prose leaves the reader's mind twisted in knots and too often dulled to the meaning or image which the author is so awkwardly trying to express. One of the major reasons for this failure of clarity, aside from the simple fact that Dreiser is not an accomplished or gifted writer of prose, is the profound seriousness of Dreiser as a man. The novel is essentially humorless, a failure of much naturalism which Dreiser took to an extreme. In defending his work against critics, the author displayed his awareness of his shortcomings in typically solemn fashion:
On thinking back over the books I have written, I can only say: Ladies and gentlemen, this has been my vision of life. . . . You may not like my vision, ladies and gentlemen, but it is the only one I have seen and felt, therefore it is the only one I can give you.
Passing from the shortcomings of Dreiser's prose to the power of his message, we find a critique of the American social, economic and political system which has stood the test of time and been proven essentially accurate. It is a failure of the moral vision of critics such as Donald Adams to criticize Dreiser for having written an amoral book when the novel is nothing but a moral critique of soc
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Donald Adams, Theodore Dreiser, English Dreiser's, Clyde Dreiser, Irving Howe, Dreiser Adams, FO Matthiesen, american society, Tragedy Dreiser's, American Dream, Jersey Prentice-Hall, critics donald, donald adams, theodore dreiser, american tragedy, critics donald adams, amoral immoral, cliffs jersey prentice-hall, dreiser edited, edited john, ladies gentlemen, john lydenberg, nature american society, dreiser edited john, edited john lydenberg,
Approximate Word count = 1823
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
More Essays on An American Tragedy & Literary Controversy
|
Customer Service
to Over
32,000 Professionally Written Papers!!!
