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【Abstract】With rich and believable details and meticulous psychological portrait， from an angle of an omniscient narrator， Theodore Dreiser in his An American Tragedy relentlessly repudiated the decayed American social moral and practices in which success was determined by wealth and status. Dreiser profoundly pointed out that the whole American society that created， nurtured and eventually destroyed Clyde Griffiths was responsible for the formation of his world outlook of extreme egoism and accountable for the crime he committed. This paper is going to analyze this novel from the perspective of moral significance.
【Key Words】 An American Tragedy； Society； Moral significance
1. Introduction of Dreiser and An American Tragedy
Dreiser was one of the principal American writers at the turn of the twentieth century. His works incisively put forward the American social problems and brought forth great influence on America and western Europe.
The time background on which Dreiser’s works based was the period of an astonishingly rapid economic growth. Lured by the “American dream”， people crowded into metropolises， ran crazily after money and pleasure. Meanwhile， the social practice of seeking wealth by hook or by crook was in fashion， and in society prevailed demagogic remarks as “America is in its prime time”， “Everyone has a chance of making fortune”， “The children who polish shoes in streets can be millions as long as they know the knack of how to”. （Qian Qing， 1995， 19） But almost all of their dreams vanished like soap bubbles. What Dreiser revealed in his works was the chasm between the wonderful ideal and the vile reality.
2. Moral Significance--A Reflection of Chronic and Stubborn Social Problems
The sharp contrast between rich and poor which was the most serious problem in American society was one of the aspects that Dreiser revealed and criticized in his An American Tragedy in American capitalist society.
In Lycurgus， the sons of daughters of the wealthy factory owners led and idle life of eating， drinking and being merry day after day. Clyde took the car driven by Sandra， followed her into her sumptuous house， and was dazzled and infatuated by the magnificent furnishings and striking ostentation and extravagance. Where as the factory girls were busy with the endless work， with poor payment. The sharp contrast impelled Clyde to make the determination that he must free himself from Roberta and pursue Sondra with all his might. When Clyde arrived in Lycurgus， “He was so irritated and depressed by the poverty and social angularity and crudeness of it”. （P187） Clyde was more anxious now to break off from poverty and strive for wealth. Mason was a typical bureaucratic politician. He paid no heed to the numerous cases from murdering to stealing for years. Until the approaching of the election， Mason was not at all irritated by his mediocre political achievement. When the particular case of Clyde was put on his desk， Mason was “immediately impressed with the fact that the probable publicity attendant on such as case as this appeared to be might be just what he needed to receive a watering political prestige and might perhaps solve the problem of his future.” （P504） Thus acting out of character he seized the case. He spared no pains investigating the case， which as he clearly knew would establish “his legal and political and social fame the country over.” （P577）
Furthermore， the members of the jury were selected and decided by Mason. It was not hard to see the so-called “investigating”， “trying”， “defending” were just dirty tricks. Under this judicial system， the prosecutor was able to control the court decision. Though Belnap and Japhson， Democratics and the defense councils of Clyde， did their utmost to appeal for Clyde， they falsified the details of the event， covered up the facts， and wrote false confession， not for the dignity of laws， but for currying favor with Clyde’s uncle， and for “the fact that some reducing opposition to Mason might not be a miss.”（P590-591） And one of the key characters involved in this case Sondra was not at all pestered by the event， for Mason and Belnap and Jephson were “over-awed by the wealth of the Finchleys and the Griffiths， loath to part with Sondra’s name” （P577） From the beginning to the end of the trial， Sondra was vaguely mentioned as a mysterious “Miss X”. This unmasked from another aspect the American judicial system. Seen from the surface， the whole procedures from investigating， putting forward the suit， testifying， pleading to court decision and execution seemed perfectly impartial and democratic. But behind the public procedures hided countless dealings， schemes and tricks. Dreiser vividly proved this proposition by presenting concrete plots and characters in this novel.
3. Conclusion
An ordinary youth in American society， Clyde was of wide representativeness. The general meaning of the image of Clyde and the cruelty of capitalism represented profoundly revealed the corruption of this capitalist social system， and its mental and moral crisis. Fundamentally speaking， it was the social system that corrupted Clyde Griffiths， it was society that was responsible for the crime Clyde committed. Dreiser reproduced in the epilogue the same street scene “Dusk， of a summer night”， （P881） which echoed the opening of the story indicated that the tragedy was reoccurring generation after generation. It illustrated the severity and profundity of Clyde’s tragedy. In retrospect， Clyde’s tragedy was， as the title of the novel suggested， an American tragedy.
【Reference】
[1]Qian Qing， Highlights of American Literature [M]. Vol. II. Beijing ：Business Publishing House， 1995.
[2]Theodore Dreiser. An American Tragedy [M]. New York： The New American Library. Inc.， 2002.
[3]Scheider， Robert W.. An Introduction to English and American Literature [M]. Vol. IV. Sichuan： Chengdu Science and Technology Publishing House， 1994.
【Key Words】 An American Tragedy； Society； Moral significance
1. Introduction of Dreiser and An American Tragedy
Dreiser was one of the principal American writers at the turn of the twentieth century. His works incisively put forward the American social problems and brought forth great influence on America and western Europe.
The time background on which Dreiser’s works based was the period of an astonishingly rapid economic growth. Lured by the “American dream”， people crowded into metropolises， ran crazily after money and pleasure. Meanwhile， the social practice of seeking wealth by hook or by crook was in fashion， and in society prevailed demagogic remarks as “America is in its prime time”， “Everyone has a chance of making fortune”， “The children who polish shoes in streets can be millions as long as they know the knack of how to”. （Qian Qing， 1995， 19） But almost all of their dreams vanished like soap bubbles. What Dreiser revealed in his works was the chasm between the wonderful ideal and the vile reality.
2. Moral Significance--A Reflection of Chronic and Stubborn Social Problems
The sharp contrast between rich and poor which was the most serious problem in American society was one of the aspects that Dreiser revealed and criticized in his An American Tragedy in American capitalist society.
In Lycurgus， the sons of daughters of the wealthy factory owners led and idle life of eating， drinking and being merry day after day. Clyde took the car driven by Sandra， followed her into her sumptuous house， and was dazzled and infatuated by the magnificent furnishings and striking ostentation and extravagance. Where as the factory girls were busy with the endless work， with poor payment. The sharp contrast impelled Clyde to make the determination that he must free himself from Roberta and pursue Sondra with all his might. When Clyde arrived in Lycurgus， “He was so irritated and depressed by the poverty and social angularity and crudeness of it”. （P187） Clyde was more anxious now to break off from poverty and strive for wealth. Mason was a typical bureaucratic politician. He paid no heed to the numerous cases from murdering to stealing for years. Until the approaching of the election， Mason was not at all irritated by his mediocre political achievement. When the particular case of Clyde was put on his desk， Mason was “immediately impressed with the fact that the probable publicity attendant on such as case as this appeared to be might be just what he needed to receive a watering political prestige and might perhaps solve the problem of his future.” （P504） Thus acting out of character he seized the case. He spared no pains investigating the case， which as he clearly knew would establish “his legal and political and social fame the country over.” （P577）
Furthermore， the members of the jury were selected and decided by Mason. It was not hard to see the so-called “investigating”， “trying”， “defending” were just dirty tricks. Under this judicial system， the prosecutor was able to control the court decision. Though Belnap and Japhson， Democratics and the defense councils of Clyde， did their utmost to appeal for Clyde， they falsified the details of the event， covered up the facts， and wrote false confession， not for the dignity of laws， but for currying favor with Clyde’s uncle， and for “the fact that some reducing opposition to Mason might not be a miss.”（P590-591） And one of the key characters involved in this case Sondra was not at all pestered by the event， for Mason and Belnap and Jephson were “over-awed by the wealth of the Finchleys and the Griffiths， loath to part with Sondra’s name” （P577） From the beginning to the end of the trial， Sondra was vaguely mentioned as a mysterious “Miss X”. This unmasked from another aspect the American judicial system. Seen from the surface， the whole procedures from investigating， putting forward the suit， testifying， pleading to court decision and execution seemed perfectly impartial and democratic. But behind the public procedures hided countless dealings， schemes and tricks. Dreiser vividly proved this proposition by presenting concrete plots and characters in this novel.
3. Conclusion
An ordinary youth in American society， Clyde was of wide representativeness. The general meaning of the image of Clyde and the cruelty of capitalism represented profoundly revealed the corruption of this capitalist social system， and its mental and moral crisis. Fundamentally speaking， it was the social system that corrupted Clyde Griffiths， it was society that was responsible for the crime Clyde committed. Dreiser reproduced in the epilogue the same street scene “Dusk， of a summer night”， （P881） which echoed the opening of the story indicated that the tragedy was reoccurring generation after generation. It illustrated the severity and profundity of Clyde’s tragedy. In retrospect， Clyde’s tragedy was， as the title of the novel suggested， an American tragedy.
【Reference】
[1]Qian Qing， Highlights of American Literature [M]. Vol. II. Beijing ：Business Publishing House， 1995.
[2]Theodore Dreiser. An American Tragedy [M]. New York： The New American Library. Inc.， 2002.
[3]Scheider， Robert W.. An Introduction to English and American Literature [M]. Vol. IV. Sichuan： Chengdu Science and Technology Publishing House， 1994.