Documentary Style and Symbolic Imagery in Dreiser’s An American Tragedy
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Abstract
The influence of Theodore Dreiser on American naturalism is widely recognized, despite his prose often being criticized for excessive detail and stylistic awkwardness. This study argues that these features can be understood not simply as flaws but as part of a deliberate strategy that reinforces the novel’s naturalistic portrayal of human behavior as shaped by social, environmental, and psychological forces. Close reading of An American Tragedy shows that Dreiser’s style is inseparable from his deterministic vision. Patterns such as mirrored events, parallel character trajectories, recurring symbolic objects, and color imagery work together to represent Clyde Griffiths’ fragmented consciousness and the tension between external pressures and internal conflict. The analysis also examines the novel’s documentary-like narrative form, highlighting the integration of legal, inner, moral, and journalistic discourses. Natural imagery, material objects, and recurring color motifs are treated as part of a broader symbolic pattern that develops across the narrative. These elements collectively suggest a structured pattern of organization through which Clyde’s aspirations, hopes, fears, and social constraints are expressed. In light of these findings, the article shows that stylistic features in the novel function as formal elements that contribute to the representation of naturalistic determinism at the linguistic, structural, and symbolic levels.
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