The Combined Application Of Realism And Naturalism

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Introduction The publication of An American Tragedy raised great stirring not only in American literary realm but also in the world. The book was widely acclaimed as the masterpiece of Dreiser and of modern American fiction .Though it is a long novel with simple plot –a young man kills his poor pregnant girlfriend in order to marry a rich girl and realize his yearning for social and economic distinction, Dreiser’s perfect skill exposed in his procession of characterization attracts many readers from his time and afterwards, even many critics’ attention. Many critics want to put Dreiser into category of realism or naturalism but in vain. After reading and making reference to some experts’ summary about the artistic technique of An American Tragedy, the author of this thesis will put forward her own view from a new angle. This paper will explore Dreiser’s combined application of naturalism and realism. The detailed analysis is to bring a special prospect to study Dreiser’s writing style and the greatness of his work I. Realistic characteristic in characterization The techniques Dreiser applied in characterization in An American Tragedy demonstrated his outstanding talent in the creation of his characters and also symbolized the beginning of a more mature period in his writing career. In this novel, the characters were influenced by all social and cultural factors. Dreiser studied his characters by putting them into a typical environment: the American society after industrialization, after the World War I. In this period, people’s value system changed with rapid development of industry and the increasingly widened gulf between the rich and poor. People may react differently to World War I .So Dreiser’s commitment in characterization may produce great significance in documentarily reporting the life in this period. Exploring the characters’ responses to a
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