An Authors Agenda During World War 1 English Literature Essays

An Authors Agenda During World War 1 English Literature Essays An Authors Agenda During World War 1 English Literature Essay An Authors Agenda During World War 1 English Literature Essay During World War I, Dreiser, being German American, was censured due to his nationality. Dreiser s work and presence were unwelcome in many occasions. During this clip, Dreiser developed a captivation with Dr. Sigmund Freud s work, which led him to go about haunted with detecting what made liquidators tick. At this point Dreiser was desperately contemplating the footing for a novel about a liquidator, a novel he would call An American Tragedy. Dreiser wrote An American Tragedy to convey to acquire inside the tegument of a liquidator, to convey to illume the effects when one as an person has been driven insane seeking to populate up to the criterions society has set for us and commits a offense. Dreiser spent old ages seeking to convey this book to life, but the characters he used neer seemed to come to life. He continued his hunt for a so called American offense, a slaying that served as a metaphor for an unwellness that plagues society. Finally, Dreiser found the perfect slaying. He based his novel on the slaying of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette. Dreiser found something particular about Gillette s instance, non merely did it suit all of his specifications, but Dreiser besides felt a deeper connexion to Gillette. He saw his immature ego in Gillette, immature and in the metropolis, making anything possible to travel up. The intent of this novel is to function as a reminder to immature grownups now, non to allow yourself be consumed by this unwellness brought on us by society, and to be careful what you wish for because you neer know, someday you might acquire it. 4. Discussion Populating in America, one grows up with a mentality that everybody, irrespective of the fortunes you were brought into, can accomplish all the success desirable. Theodore Dreiser uses this doctrine to his advantage. Dreiser is able to open the reader s eyes and turn out that no affair how hard you work, how much you want it, or how much you think you deserve it, the rough world is the bulk of Americans neer reach what they consider success. In the novel An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser uses word picture and prefiguration to convey his impossible dream subject. Theodore Dreiser uses word picture to convey his impossible dream subject. When the supporter, Clyde Griffiths was a kid, he neer seemed to be content of who he was or what he had, he ever seemed outa topographic point ( 5 ) . When he and his parents were out on the streets distributing God s word, he ever complained and believed he and his parents looked foolish and less than normal ( 7 ) . Griffiths neer took into consideration all the difficult work that went into seeking to do a life. Griffiths was ever ashamed of his life style, and embarrassed that this was the manner his parents made a life, he believed his life should non be like this ( 7 ) . He ever compared his life to others and dreamed of things his low parents were incapable of giving him even in his wildest dreams. This outlook caused Griffiths to turn up ever desiring more than he could hold, ever desiring the best out at that place even if he knew he could nt hold it. Turning up, and eventually populating in t he metropolis where Griffith s aspirations of illustriousness could eventually be achieved, he one time and for all felt at place. He took a occupation as a bellboy at a fancy hotel, and from here on he became haunted with seeking to travel up to the high ranks of society. Griffiths shortly begins his relationships with the two adult females that will finally take to his ruin. When Griffiths finds out Roberta is pregnant, he sees his life faux pas off, and he knows that life with Sondra will be much better, so he does the unthinkable, putting to deaths Roberta. For a adult male to kill the adult female transporting his kid must intend there was something awfully incorrect with that adult male, and at that place was. Griffiths was so caught up with his compulsion to the good life that he failed to recognize that he already had it. Griffith s compulsion was so complex that it non merely had the power to eventually give Griffiths everything he wanted, it besides had the power to take a way everything he s been working hard on accomplishing. Theodore Dreiser besides uses boding to convey his impossible dream subject. At the start of the narrative, Griffiths was portrayed as this hapless male child making anything possible to gain his topographic point in the high society. This dream Griffiths had led him to develop his compulsion and get down his backbreaking trek to the top. On one of his darks out with his freshly found friends, the driver of the auto hit a small miss ( 139 ) and everyone indoors flees the scene. This event sparks a sense of boding in the readers mind, and unleashes a ton of inquiry: Will he acquire off with it? , Will it go on once more? with this incident, Dreiser is able to do it clear that Griffiths compulsion is non a healthy one at all, for a adult male to fly the scene of an guiltless miss ran over, is a awful thing to make. It finally shows the readers that Griffiths is willing to put on the line everything he has to accomplish his high place in society. Later in life, when Roberta te lls Griffiths that she is pregnant ( 386 ) , the reader know that Griffiths will non let this to put him back from his dreams. Automatically, one begins to believe, will he make the same thing he did to the small miss? and to the reader s discouragement, our anticipations are right. When Clyde comes across the newspaper article inadvertent dual calamity at base on balls lake ( 456 ) the reader automatically assumes the worst: Clyde is be aftering a awful thing. Throughout the novel, the reader is able to in a manner predict Griffith s hereafter. His compulsion to what he ca nt hold is perilously present, and the reader knows Griffiths is willing to put on the line anything and everything to accomplish his dreams. 5. Decision In decision, Theodore Dreiser s An American Tragedy, to the full exemplifies his subject of sometimes dreams are impossible to accomplish. Because of its position, content, word picture, and its ability to capture an audience, An American Tragedy clearly exemplifies a high virtue for its literary facets. An American Tragedy symbolizes an unwellness that plagues our society today, that everyone will accomplish success no affair the obstructions put in their way. The world is that there are fortunes out at that place that will automatically stop your journey to success, and Dreiser does an outstanding occupation of conveying them to visible radiation. It is because of this consequence wholly good as its captivating content, which leaves readers unwilling to put the fresh down, that makes An American Tragedy a perfect campaigner for a work of literary virtue, stand foring literature at its best.