Where Can Clyde Griffiths Go In Consumer Society?

Theodore Dreiser is one of the greatest writers in America in the 20th century. He is acknowledged as"the father of American Naturalism". An American Tragedy is his masterpiece as well as one of his most famous works. It describes the life and eventual downfall of an ambitious young man named Clyde Griffiths. Clyde is sentenced to death in the end. Is it his own fault only? Or is it because he is enticed by the outside world and driven by his uncontrolled and unfulfillable desire that cruelly he kills his sweetheart Roberta Alden? Through the book, Dreiser wants to tell us that Clyde Griffiths'downfall is not his own fault only. Clyde Griffiths lives in a consumer society. The fetishism flourishing at that time, the materialization of the relationships between people and the discrepancy in wealth between classes are among the factors which cause him to commit the crime. He is a victim of American consumer society.This thesis consists of seven chapters:Chapter 1 is a brief introduction to Theodore Dreiser and his literary achievements, especially his work An American Tragedy and the studies concerning consumer society.Chapter 2 is meant as a simple description of consumer society and also a brief introduction to two theories including French philosopher and social theorist Jean Baudrillard's views on consumption in consumer society and American social critic and economist Thorstein Veblen's views on conspicuous consumption in consumer society.Chapter 3 is an explication of two terms—needs and desire. It also discusses in consumer society what our needs and desire are. Chapter 4 discusses why Clyde Griffiths wants so much in consumer society with the theories explicated in the chapters above and falls the victim of it in the end.In Chapter 5,a comparison is made between Clyde Griffiths and Theodore Dreiser and also between Clyde Griffiths and Chester Gillette and a conclusion is made that they are all the victims of consumer society.Chapter 6 presents the importance of the book An American Tragedy.Chapter 7 is a conclusion of what has been discussed in the thesis.By analyzing the main character in this novel Clyde Griffiths, the theme of the novel is revealed: the tragedy of Clyde Griffiths is a tragedy of himself as well as a tragedy of America.