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 question of the artistry of Dreiser in presenting this message in the context of a novel and the aesthetic requirements of that form.
Charles Shapiro writes of An American Tragedy that
As Dreiser's most important work, it has met with the most critical attention. It is a work that, even today, challenges and offends many contemporary critics. Donald Adams . . . regards the novel with horror as the representative of all that went wrong with the naturalist...