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An American Tragedy Study Guide

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by Theodore Dreiser
About 118 pages (35,348 words)
An American Tragedy Summary

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Book 1, Chapter 11 Summary

As Clyde thinks back on his sexual encounter, he knows that he should feel immoral and degraded as his parents had taught. Instead, he feels a kind of fascination and "vulgar charm." He justifies sex by thinking that he can now afford it. He begins to think that his actions will be okay if he has just one girl and spends his money only on her. In return, she'll be grateful for his gifts and allow him to gratify himself.

Clyde starts spending time at Ratterer's house, a home without much parental supervision and where people come and go freely. Ratterer's house is an opportunity for Clyde to get over his shyness. Here, he begins testing and expanding his social skills, while observing Ratterer, his sister and her friends.

Ratterer's sister, Louise, is.....

This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 522 words. This study guide contains 35,348 words (approx. 118 pages at 300 words per page).

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An American Tragedy from BookRags and Gale's For Students Series. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.



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