Sister Carrie (1900) by Theodore Dreiser was instrumental in influencing Wright's writing style. It was Dreiser's first novel, and some critics call it his best. This book did not receive the level of popularity that An American Tragedy would later enjoy, and its distribution was even suppressed until 1912 because of its female character's defiance of conventional sexual morality. The book tells the story of a young, small-town girl who runs away to New York and both uses and is used by men on her way to becoming a successful actress. This novel is said to have been the first masterpiece of the American naturalistic movement and is credited with being the model for subsequent American writers of realism.

Kingsblood Royal (1947) by Sinclair Lewis is a portrait of a successful white man who discovers that he is part black. Neil Kingsblood is...