An American Tragedy (1925) by Theodore Dreiser is a powerful critique of the American Dream. The novel follows Clyde Griffiths, an ambitious young man born to poor, devout missionary parents. Determined to escape poverty, Clyde secures a position at his wealthy uncle's collar factory, where he seduces Roberta Alden, a modest factory worker. When he falls in love with Sondra Finchley, a wealthy socialite who represents everything he desires, Roberta's pregnancy becomes an obstacle. Clyde lures her to a lake, where she drowns under ambiguous circumstances. Convicted of murder and executed in the electric chair, Clyde's fate exposes the corrupting influence of materialism and class obsession in American society.
