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The analysis of tragedy
Issues in American Tragedy
Issues in American Tragedy
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The novel, American Tragedy, was written by Theodore Dreiser in 1925. Dreiser presents the story in omniscient, third-person point of view. It is the story of a young man, Clyde Griffiths who is born into poverty, and soon after begins to seek success and wealth. The society that is illustrated in An American Tragedy appears extremely materialistic. It is clear that many of the aspects that are important in this society, are material wealth and social status. Since Clyde does not want to follow and no longer believes in his parents’ religious values, the main and only reason he stays in Kansas City is to try to earn a great amount of money. Which, according to Clyde, will make him successful in life. His materialistic values are apparent from
...n American Literature. By Henry Louis. Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 387-452. Print.
No, the “English Tragedy” does not relate to the Queen, that is the first fact that should be established. Instead, it is about English, the language itself. George Orwell warned readers of the negative consequences stemming from the degrading quality of English in both 1984 and his essay “Politics and the English Language”. In both pieces of writing, Orwell is able to demonstrate the effects that language can have on the thoughts of those who speak it. In 1984, he is able to emphasize how the lack of language can limit thought, and ultimately society. In “Politics and the English Language”, Orwell demonstrates how bad English will, “construct your sentences for you” (Orwell, 6) and make the language into a meaningless jumble. Although Orwell wrote in the earlier part of the 1900s, the bad English that he wrote about is still relevant today. Dying metaphors, meaningless words, and pretentious diction are still used in writing by the mainstream media despite the warnings of Orwell.
American Literature has been said to be timeless and relatable with its use of “American values and the American Dream of material success.” American Literature reflects the differences between the upper and lower class. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman contribute to the meaning of American literature, with the incorporation of the American dream and female characters. In the desperate chase for the American dream, one can become corrupted and egocentric. The aspects of the novel The Great Gatsby and the play Death of a Salesman demonstrate the slow emotional and social downfall of the protagonists Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman with reference to the American dream and female characters such as Daisy Buchanan and Linda Loman. Both protagonists illustrate the notion of individual sacrifice in order to pursue the American dream.
I read these three literary works the traditional way by reading them out of the anthology and also doing some research online. I read a few online summaries as well.
The American Dream seems almost non-existent to those who haven’t already achieved it. Every character in the novel has moments of feeling happy and endures a moment where they believe that they are about to achieve their dreams. Naturally everyone dreams of being a better person, having better things and in 1920’s America, the scheme of getting rich is quick. However, each character had their dreams crushed in the novel mainly because of social and economic situations and their dream of happiness becomes a ‘dead dream’ leading them back to their ‘shallow lives’ or no life at all.
Brands, H. W.. American Stories: A History of the United States. 2nd ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.
In the essay "Tragedy and the Common Man," the author Arthur Miller puts forward a very strong argument in the favor of a common man’s suitability for being the hero of a tragedy. And this argument was based on some common points like, such plays can influence us greatly for they contain various elements like the fear of displacement, the tragedy of the difference between who we are and who we wish to be in this world. “Among us today this fear is strong, and perhaps stronger, than it ever was. In fact, it is the common man who knows this fears the best.” According to Miller a common layman is well aware of fear and understands it well hence qualifies for the tragedy. A man’s quest for morality which is moreover a subjective matter, the point of concern over here is the extent to which he would go to reach that point of morality.
“American Crisis.” The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill 2009. Print
Although a strict society composed of high morality and disciplinary laws may be necessary for safety, it causes internal conflicts within the individuals. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller a theocracy in Salem rules and guides the citizens into doing what is “right”, but eventually backfires due to issues of reputation and jealousy. Society has a lot of influence on the citizens, and with a bad reputation, it is nearly impossible to live in a Puritan society. Salem’s strict Puritanical social structure causes personal struggles for the individuals involved in the events of The Crucible, and then eventually these personal struggles affect the society overall.
Arthur Miller states in his essay, "Tragedy and the Common Man," " . . . we are often held to be below tragedy--or tragedy below us . . . (tragedy is) fit only for the highly placed . . . and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied." However, Miller believes " . . . the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (1021). It is this belief that causes Miller to use a common man, Willie Loman, as the subject of his tragedy, Death of a Salesman. Miller redefines the tragic hero to fit a more modern age, and the product of this redefinition is Willie.
An audience will have no trouble ascertaining whether they are viewing a comedy or a tragedy when viewing a well written drama. Some audience members might be surprised as to how fine the line is between these two genres. According to Roberts and Zweig, when sharing Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, it would contain these key elements, a reversal of situation, a recognition by the protagonist and finally the scene of suffering (1304-1305). These elements were to produce the key components of tragedy through, “fear and Pity” an audience member would experience powerful emotions that would provide a cathartic experience (1303). In contrast a comedy, according to Roberts and Zweig, has a climax where the height of catastrophe is taking place and then the denouement which highlights how the “order is reestablished” (1533). Roberts and Zweig explain how the more chaotic the climax is the funnier the comedy (1533). These same chaotic, misunderstandings and bad behavior can be found in a tragedy. The difference is in a tragedy when the climax is reached the decisions made by the protagonist do not lead to a resolution, rather the result is almost always fatal. The misconceptions that occur throughout the play are met with fear and pity instead of humor and hope. A good writer could perhaps turn his work from a comedy into a tragedy by allowing his characters to make different
The purpose of this essay is to examine how the two modernist writers depict America in the 1920’s in a state of moral decay and the pursuit for material wealth gradually replaces the purity of conventional moral ideals and beliefs in their ways by comparing and contrasting the two novels.
Life, it can be beautiful, happy, or sad. Life can be any emotion that you can think of. An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser, puts us through all these emotions in showing us the extremes in happiness, sadness, anger, and many other emotions to show us what real life is like. To do this most accurately, Dreiser bases his two-book story on a true-life tale about a man and what his rage did to his life.
The idea of the American Dream is achievable although most often is hard to accomplish and everyone’s own interpretations and expectations make it a near impossible task. Social class and status is also emphasized through the barrier that exists between East Egg and West Egg which symbolise “old money” and “new money” effectively, and the corruption of morals as witnessed and expressed by the narration of Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald shows that for all the lavishness of society there is ultimately unfulfilled dreams, corruption and separation, and in the case of Gatsby a tragic end to a tragic hero of the lower class. “Show me a hero and I 'll write you a tragedy” F. Scott Fitzgerald
Theodore Dreiser is a female fanatic. Many of his novels focus on women in the 1900’s and their roles in society along with the taboos they hold and the morals they break. His obsession with the opposite sex and femininity stems from the women he was surrounded by while growing up as well as those he developed a romantic or sexual relationship with. Many of Dreiser’s sources of inspiration came from his own life, so it is no surprise that many of his female characters are based off of the important females in his life. The lives of these women and the way they interacted with Dreiser would lead him to create astounding