Character List

Clyde Griffiths The weak but rebellious central character who aspires to wealth, luxury, and beauty — and is electrocuted for murder. Elvira Griffiths Clyde’s mother, an evangelist who tries to save her son from the electric chair. Asa Griffiths Clyde’s father, a poor evangelist, who is less effective than Elvira. […]

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About An American Tragedy

An American Tragedy was published in December 1925, and issued in two volumes. Dreiser created a poignant yet powerful novel of youthful loneliness in industrial society and of the American mirage that beckons some of the young to disaster. For years Dreiser had been collecting news accounts about desperate young […]

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