American Tragedy Outline
An American Tragedy
Introduction: Desired by many, yet achieved by a few, the American dream has played a prominent role in almost every person’s life. Driven by the idea of the American dream, most fail to realize the damage they create on their journey to achieve this goal.
Thesis: Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy captures Clyde Griffith’s undertaking in pursuit of his ultimate American dream: to be a successful and wealthy man and to rise above his family’s cruel state of poverty, leading him to commit immoral actions and derecognize right from wrong in order to reach this dream.
Topic Sentence #1: Raised in an evangelist family of six, Clyde is taught and expected to practice life by the Bible, and follow in the footsteps of his parents. Clyde’s father, Asa Griffiths, and his mother, Elvira …show more content…
While taking a ride in a stolen vehicle, Clyde along with his co workers hit a young girl on the road and decide to drive away only to have the car overturned and causing major injuries to Sparser and Laura Sipe, while the others manage to run away. During his escape from town to town, Clyde obtains a chain of miscellaneous jobs, leading him to come into contact with his uncle in Lycurgus, New York. Samuel Griffiths, Clyde’s uncle in Lycurgus, owns a shirt collar factory, and offers Clyde a chance to better himself by working for him in New York. Clyde agrees and to this life changing opportunity, and travels to New York, where he is discouraged to have relations with certain people as a result of his family name. Ignoring these warnings, Clyde starts to spend more time with Roberta Alden, a farm girl who now works at the collar factory. While amusing himself with Roberta, Clyde is going after Sondra Finchley, the daughter of another factory owner who solely reciprocates Clyde’s feelings to make Gilbert, Clyde’s cousin,
Introduction: Desired by many, yet achieved by a few, the American dream has played a prominent role in almost every person’s life. Driven by the idea of the American dream, most fail to realize the damage they create on their journey to achieve this goal.
Thesis: Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy captures Clyde Griffith’s undertaking in pursuit of his ultimate American dream: to be a successful and wealthy man and to rise above his family’s cruel state of poverty, leading him to commit immoral actions and derecognize right from wrong in order to reach this dream.
Topic Sentence #1: Raised in an evangelist family of six, Clyde is taught and expected to practice life by the Bible, and follow in the footsteps of his parents. Clyde’s father, Asa Griffiths, and his mother, Elvira …show more content…
While taking a ride in a stolen vehicle, Clyde along with his co workers hit a young girl on the road and decide to drive away only to have the car overturned and causing major injuries to Sparser and Laura Sipe, while the others manage to run away. During his escape from town to town, Clyde obtains a chain of miscellaneous jobs, leading him to come into contact with his uncle in Lycurgus, New York. Samuel Griffiths, Clyde’s uncle in Lycurgus, owns a shirt collar factory, and offers Clyde a chance to better himself by working for him in New York. Clyde agrees and to this life changing opportunity, and travels to New York, where he is discouraged to have relations with certain people as a result of his family name. Ignoring these warnings, Clyde starts to spend more time with Roberta Alden, a farm girl who now works at the collar factory. While amusing himself with Roberta, Clyde is going after Sondra Finchley, the daughter of another factory owner who solely reciprocates Clyde’s feelings to make Gilbert, Clyde’s cousin,