Theodore Dreiser: An American Tragedy Self and identity as the materialization of the American Dream

This thesis work is going to deal with the basic motif of Theodore Dreiser' s greatest novel, An American Tragedy, the rise and fall of the main character, Clyde Griffiths, while he is seeking the illusory American Dream. In my thesis I intend to prove that in Clyde's case the realization of the Dream manifests itself in his struggle for "self- definition" (Bloom 32), which, according to the author, is bound to fail. In Dreiser's view fate is strongly determined by social and environmental constraints and that is why for Clyde, however hard he tries, it is impossible to build up his individual self. His constant fight to be part of the American Dream is doomed to failure.