An American Tragedy Essay & Criticism

An American Tragedy Critical Overview

At every moment from the publication of An American Tragedy to the present, the novel has had both staunch supporters and vocal detractors. Consistently, supporters have noted the importance of the novel's themes and the power of the story, while detractors have criticized the philosophy that underlies the story and the author's prose style.

praised this one. Stuart Sherman was a critic of the New Humanism school, which held that society brings out the best in people and helps them curb animal instincts. This philosophy was contrary to that of Dreiser and the naturalists. In spite of this philosophical opposition and his harsh criticism of Dreiser's earlier work, Sherman lauded An American Tragedy for its effective presentation of a worthy theme. Most of Dreiser's fellow writers, who were faithful in defending him from critics throughout his career, also praised An American Tragedy. H. G. Wells dubbed it "one of...
(read more)