A Freudian Psychoanalytic Interpretation Of The Protagonist Clyde In An American Tragedy

Theodore Dreiser was one of the most important American writers in the twentieth century. He, together with Whitman and Mark Twain, represented the achievement of American literature in the world.An American Tragedy was recognized as the masterpiece of Dreiser. In the novel, Dreiser portrayed a protagonist, Clyde Griffiths, an American youth. His life tragedy was vividly depicted in the twentieth century. The novel began with Clyde, a son of poor priest, following his parents to preach at the age of twelve, and then he pursued the sexuality and material so that he fell down gradually and became a victim of values and philosophy of life existing in the monopoly capital society. He wanted a higher position in society through Sondra, a daughter of a wealthy family; therefore, he killed his previous lover, Roberta, and was executed when he was only twenty-three.An American Tragedy made Dreiser come to be famous as an outstanding literary figure in America. More and more researchers at home and abroad have studied Dreiser’s life experience and his works from various perspectives. At present, the studies on An American Tragedy mainly focused on naturalism and determinism in the novel, and criticism of American social and political life and law and so on.The thesis is composed of six chapters. In the first chapter, the main content is the introduction of the writer, the general idea of the novel, the background of the creation of the novel and the literature review. In chapter two, the main content is the introduction of the theory used in the thesis, that is, Freud’s personality structure-id, ego and superego. In chapter three, the main content is the analysis of the Clyde’s id and the embodiment of his id. In chapter four, the main content is the analysis of the conflicts among Clyde’s id, ego and superego and the reason for the conflicts. In chapter five, the main content is Clyde’s self-defense on an unfavorable condition. The chapter six is the conclusion. This thesis analyzed the Clyde’s personality with Freud’s psychoanalysis theory, analyzing Clyde’s tragic fate from the perspective of psychology. Through the analysis of Clyde’s tragedy, we can understand the novel more deeply and comprehensively. In the meantime, the analysis has a practical significance for us when we think about the values of man’s existence and the meaning of the life.