An American Tragedy is the story of Clyde Griffiths, a young man raised by penniless religious fanatics. Clyde falls into a life of crime, flees his hometown, and becomes a foreman in the factory of his wealthy uncle. His uncle, though, does not permit him access to rarified social circles. Isolated and forbidden from interacting with the workers, Clyde begins clandestine romances with a poor worker and with a bored socialite. Eventually he murders the pregnant worker in an attempt to join high society, but he is caught and executed.
Theodore Dreiser was a part of the naturalist movement His works depicted real life subjects in a harsh and gritty manner Many of his novels were controversial and considered amoral Dreiser grew up in a poor working class family in Terre Haute Indiana An American Tragedy his most commercially successful novel tells the story of young man searching for success and fame An American Tragedy is told from a naturalistic and deterministic point of view Determinism deals with an individuals fate being
Early in the year 1692 in the small Massachusetts village of Salem a collection of girls fell ill falling victim to hallucinations and seizures In extremely religious Puritan New England frightening or surprising occurrences were often attributed to the devil or his cohorts The unfathomable sickness spurred fears of witchcraft and it was not long before the girls and then many other residents of Salem began to accuse other villagers of consorting with devils and casting spells Old grudges and j