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In an era of unprecedented consumerism and an enveloping desire for the elusive American Dream, how far can a poor man go to find Eden? Dresier tells us: very, very far—to the point of no return. To the point of utter delusion, insanity, and even murder. Yet what can compel a man to such a state? Is it his own innate evil, or is it the evil of society? Or both? Who is to decide; the Church, the people, or the legal system? Or maybe capitalism? Through an examination of morality akin to Crime and Punishment, Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy (1925) presents a protagonist who is willing to squander all morals to attain his goals, but is ultimately hindered by society and court. This protagonist is innately based on the factual account of Chester Gillette, a convicted murderer. In fact, one could argue whether Clyde Griffiths is a “protagonist” at all. In An American Tragedy, Dreiser uses the circumstances of youth culture, Twenties consumerism, and a corrupt legal system to morally acquit the prototype of the real Chester Gillette, a cold-blooded murderer who may not have been so cold-blooded at heart.
Born into a poor family of constantly traveling missionaries, and developing a dislike for religion, the romantic and idealistic Clyde longs to escape into a rich and colorful life. Paradise seems to await him as he employs himself in the “glorious institution” of Kansas City’s hotel business as a bellboy. Lured by the “consummation of luxury” (Dresier 49), Clyde quickly finds uses for the high tips he earned at the hotel—drinking, prostitution, and ultimately the courting of the flippant Hortense Briggs. Book One, a recollection of early life, ends with Clyde’s escape to Lycargus, Chicago after having been involved in a car accident that killed a child. In Book Two, Clyde uses his natural charm to employ himself into his rich uncle’s collar factory and merge into the highest society. Clyde begins to show affection for a poor girl, Roberta, working under him, and eventually gets her pregnant. Unable to extricate herself, Roberta faces humiliation and pleads Clyde to marry her. Madly in love with the rich Sondra Finchley and with the life her marriage will bring, Clyde refuses. When Clyde’s intended drowning of Roberta turns into an accident, Clyde is tried for first-degree murder, and is ultimately found guilty. Never truly repentant, but finding God, Clyde is electrocuted.
From the very beginning, we see the influence of the rising and early 1920’s. Within Clyde, who had had long “been haunted by the desire to make himself as attractive looking as any other well-dressed boy (Dreiser 65)”, Dreiser embodies the spirit of the Jazz Age consumerism and the vanity of youth culture. However, rather than condemning these youths, Dreiser views the rebels with consideration and a cool rationality. In several instances, Dreiser clearly shows that although Clyde at first “resolutely refused” to indulge in gambling and prostitution, the new life was “so sharp a change and relief from the dreary and repressed work in which he had been brought up (Dreiser 66)” that he could not resist. Meanwhile, Clyde’s job was inspired by Dreiser’s own encounter with a bellboy in Kansas City in early 1890 (Mencken, Dreiser 8).
In Clyde, there exists a constant battle between old age conservatism and the lure of youth culture. His behavior in response to the rigid conservative morals he grew up with adequately represents the “young people’s rejection of the social roles and mores that had dominated American lives since at least the 1890’s (Drowne 42). The older Griffiths’ obsession with religion, in turn, represents “a strong backlash among those Protestant Christians who clung to more traditional religious views (Drowne 20).” Clyde’s new drinking adventures with the company indicated the “daring behavior that flouted both the law of the land and parental disapproval (Drowne 42)” and his courtship of Hortense was a very accurate social observation. In fact, all of Clyde’s social behavior is consistent with the observations of Drowne and Huber; young people in the 1920’s were in a constant pressure to spend, for “new anything indicated one’s level of prosperity (Drowne 95)”. The new and exciting activity of dating was characterized by physical affection known as petting (Drowne 50), behavior that we see constantly between Clyde and Hortense. Dreiser’s female characters, especially the Trumbull sisters and Sondra, reflect the views of Emily Post on the “etiquette” of dinners, dating, letter-writing, and parties in 1922 (Post). The Lycurgus youth elite also engaged in casinos, golf, and tennis, characteristic to the Twenties (Drowne 162). Modern dating also did not exist prior to 1920. The assertion of the era in Book One only strengthens Dreiser’s argument for morality in Book Three, for social factors are the moving force of both the novel and Clyde’s fate.
Gospel of Wealth. Dreiser uses Clyde’s inability to resist the lure of wealth and pleasure to point an accusing finger at society. The consumerist society transforms a romantic individual into a hypocrite. We see Clyde’s morals perverted by society when, in order to buy a coat for Hortense, he denies his mother the money to help his deserted, pregnant sister. When Clyde moves to Lycurgus, he unassumingly inherits the ‘Gospel of Wealth’ ideology held by his rich uncle and cousin. The two Griffiths are at first reluctant to employ Clyde at his collar-making factory, for “neither could tolerate a socialistic theory relative to capitalistic exploitation (Dreiser 196).” Then, Dreiser outlines the basic principles of Carnegie, Rockerfeller, and others, in explaining the necessity of social castes for constant improvement of society. Some were “destined to rise”, while those who were not simply could not be helped. This same attitude of supremacy is later assumed by Clyde toward Roberta. He sees her poverty as a futile obstacle, and one that forever separates his fate from hers. Furthermore, her “situation” meant ruin for the social status he had been investing in, for such conduct was immoral. In 1920’s, Roberta was doomed, since the thought of abortion brought most, if not all, “liberal” doctors like Dr. Glenn in deep opposition. One can understand Roberta’s vehement pleas for marriage, for while “casual premarital sex could destroy a young woman’s reputation (Drowne 42).” Clyde was well integrated into the social elite, favored by the wealthy Sondra, and with high prospects of attaining the American Dream. Dreiser’s ultimate resolution of the conflict of morals and society asserts the triumph of social standards.
Problem with the courts. Driven to nearly insanity by Roberta’s insistence on marriage, Clyde truly saw no other option but murder. His situation was not very different from that of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment; he had to choose between his own future and the future of someone whom he considered below himself. No matter how far he may have been from a truly cold-blooded murderer, all circumstances of the event, however accidental, pointed to his guilt. The conduct of the prosecution toward his ‘crime’ reveals several problems with the legal system. From the very beginning, the District Attorney Mason is steadfastly backed by an unrelenting public opinion that, associating Clyde with his rich uncle, immediately came to defense of the poor against the wealthy (without truly considering the evidence at hand). Thus the prosecution had used local prejudice to influence jury opinion (Pizer). Clyde’s right to a fair trial was violated; Mason’s assistant planted two of Roberta’s hairs into the camera that Clyde allegedly used to strike her. Furthermore, both Mason and defense attorney Belknap view the trial as an opportunity to gain fame and victory in the next political elections (Dreiser 638). Thus, according to Sally Day Tripp, “the men who direct the proceedings are adversaries focused more on victory and political prizes than on truth (Algeo).” In an effort to thwart his opponent, Mason’s exploitation of Roberta’s letters was “an appeal to local biases inflamed by the killing of a pregnant girl by her “city seducer” lover (Pizer)”. Rather than introducing the letters in chronological order of events, as in Gillette’s trial, Dreiser deliberately uses them to conclude the prosecution’s case (Algeo). Although this alteration of the sequence of events may be regarded as purposeful exaggeration, Dreiser makes a valid thematic point regarding the violation of due process in the court. The trial indeed took place at a time when the “legal system was determined less by facts than by perceptions (Davies),” a long time before the first real series of legal protections via the Warren court. Apart from legal setbacks, social determinism of the era played a key role in our antihero’s fate.
Despite the defense’s efforts, Clyde’s rich uncle, as well as that of Gillette, wanted little to do with the trial for the sake of preserving reputation. Firstly, “the easiest and safest defense (Dreiser 655)” of insanity was denied to Clyde by the Griffiths. When Clyde’s lawyers appeal for a change of venue due to the fact the trial was taking place near Roberta’s hometown, the conservative judge refused them (Pizer). Because of the social requirements of the Griffithses, who have payed for his defense, Clyde could not be granted a diminished sentence. Furthermore, the lack of relatives on the stand made Clyde appear to be “a pariah, one who had been from the first a drifter and a waster and now was purposefully being avoided by all who knew him (Dreiser 667).” Chester Gillette’s wealthy relatives have also abandoned him, almost assuring his guilt (Brandon). Long after he had been convicted, and not having won the appeal, Clyde realized that his “desire for more—more—that intense desire he had felt there in Lycurgus (Dreiser 864)” determined his fate from the very beginning. But just how constructive was this realization? How accurate?
While Book One and a portion of Book Two was an investigation into the Twenties culture, the remaining part of An American Tragedy is a remarkable interpretation of nonfictional reportage. Because Dreiser most likely encountered articles concerning the Gillette murder while editing magazines in New York City (Brandon), the similarity between the fictional and real court proceedings, crime circumstances (such as the terribly incriminating hair evidence), and letters from the drowned girl is staggering. Roberta’s letters to Clyde coincide nearly word for word to Brown’s letters to Chester (Letters Bring Tears, The Washington Post). Even the dates of Dreiser’s fictional news articles and factual ones from 1906 correspond nearly exactly. Dreiser’s setting mirrors exactly the setting of Gillette’s alleged crime, indicating a realistic view. Clyde and Chester both used the alias Carl Graham to conceal their identities, and left a straw hat on the water (Girl Murder Victim, The Washington Post). Clyde’s actions following Roberta’s death exactly mirror the observed behavior of suspect Chester Gillette. Just as Clyde did not receive a fair trial by today’s standards, the prosecution employed unfair methods. Gillette’s documents were obtained without a search warrant and the fetus was brought in from the autopsy for emotional appeal (Brandon). In other accounts, Dreiser was not so precise. For instance, while Dreiser idealized Clyde’s romantic motivation for murder, thus creating a note of empathy for Clyde, Gillette was not influenced by love for “another woman.” In fact, the newspapers fabricated the story of Gillette “killing Miss Poor so he could have Miss Rich (Brandon).” Because Dreiser took his “data” from newspapers rather than official court proceedings, his depictions may be biased by the “yellow journalism” that was so common in that era. While the real Gillette claimed that the girl had committed suicide, Dreiser’s hero could not bring himself to so debase Roberta, being the “moral coward” he was.
However, it is precisely Dreiser’s sentimentalized view of this tragic hero that effectively communicates the author’s message. Dreiser tells us plainly that the world runs on money and social status. One needs to read only a little of Clyde’s hypocritical monologue to see how it perverts values. Had he not embellished Clyde’s confusion in regard to his own innocence, his mental instability, and unyielding love for Sondra, the reader might have indeed seen him as a merciless murderer, just as the prosecution had. The reader of 1925 saw Clyde as a symbol of the suffocating pressure to conform to the norms of the Jazz Age society, a trend more applicable to the youths of the era. A young men may have read Clyde’s confession and message at the end of the novel, infused with moral awakening, and realized the danger of the American Dream. A young woman may have refrained from making Roberta’s mistake. A traditionalist may have decided to be easier on his rebellious youths; nothing would stop these flappers! The workingman may have read, and seen a doom for capitalism; the rich man may have read, aghast at the ever-hungry claws of poverty. A lawmaker may have read, and agitated for change. The sensible modern reader reads, and sees a society devoid of morals and opportunity. He breathes a sigh of relief; had Dreiser lived in the modern decade, An American Tragedy would not be nearly as tragic!
