AMBITION WITHOUT ETHICS IN THEODORE DREISER'S AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY
Keywords:
desire for social success. the conflict between ambition and morality, the influence of wealth and social status,victim of unethical ambition, moral weakness rather than pure evil, the consequences of unethical ambitionAbstract
Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, published in 1925, is one of the greatest works of American naturalist literature. The novel tells the tragic story of Clyde Griffiths, a young man whose overwhelming desire for wealth, social status, and success eventually leads him to commit a terrible crime. Through Clyde's experiences, Dreiser explores the dangers of ambition when it is not guided by moral values. The novel demonstrates that ambition itself is not evil. Instead, it becomes destructive when individuals ignore ethical principles in their pursuit of personal goals. Clyde's desire to escape poverty and become part of the wealthy upper class causes him to abandon honesty, responsibility, and compassion. As a result, his life ends in failure, suffering, and death.
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