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       Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945)

       Theodore  Dreiser  was  an  old  man  when  he  joined  the
communist  Party  of  America. It  was  in  July  1945. His  whole  life
had  been  a  preparation  for  that  step  and  a  hard  life  it had
been,  too !
       He  was  born  in  the  family  of  a  strict  Catholic,  narrow --
minded  and  despotic. It  was  because  of  his  farther  that  he hated
religion  to  the  end  of  his  days. His  parents  were  not rich. When
16  years  of  age,  he  left  home   to  earn  his  living  in  Chicago,
which  at  that time  was  growing  into  a  big  city. All  seemed
wonderful  to  the  young  lad. He  managed  to  get a job,  but  it  paid
only  five  dollars  a  week,  besides  it  was  not what   he  wanted. He
was  eager  to  study. At  last   he  was admitted   to  the  University.
Yet  a  year  later  he  left  it  because  of  financial  difficulties. It
 was  in  those  days  that  he  began
 to  write  for  newspapers. But  it  was  not  so  easy  to  become  a
newsman. He  had  to call  at  the  offices  many  times  before  he got
some  work .
       In  1900  his  first  novel  “ Sister  Carrie ”  appeared  and  was
immediately  withdrawn  from  print  by  the  publisher. The  author  was
severly  attacked  by  critics. The  novel  was pronounced  “immoral”.
        Dreiser  could  not  long  get  over  the  failure  of  his  first
literary  attempt. Only  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  10  years  in 1911
he   published  his  “ Jennie  Gerhardt  ”  ,   also  the  life story  of
girl. This  book  likewise  received  a  hostile  reception due  to
alleged  immorality.  Dreiser  was  boycotted  by publishers.
    Three  of  his  works , ” The Financier  “  (1912),  “ The  Titan ”
(1914)  and  “ The  Stoic ”   ( which  was  published  only  after  the
wri ters  death  in  1947 ),  give  the  whole  life  story  of  an
American
capitalist,  showing  the  ways  in  which  the  wealth  of  big
capitalists  is  made.  “ The  Genius ”  (1915)  tells  of  the  fate  of
an  artist  in  the  bourgeois  world.
      He  described  his  visit  to  the  USSR  in  “ Dreiser  Looks  at
Russia ”  (1928) .
      Besides   the  works  mentioned  above,  Dreiser  also published
several  collections  of  short  stories.
      Dreiser  literary  work  occupies  an  important  place  in American
 critical  realism. His  novels  and  short  stories  give  a true  picture
  of  American  society  and  its  influence  upon  the life  of  the
people.
      “ The  Financier ”,  “ The  Titan ” ,  and  “ The  Stoic  ” compose
“ The  Trilogy  of  Desire ” .  Its  purpose  was  to  show  the  ways  and
 practices  of  American  big  business  at  the  turn of  the  20-th
century .
       Frank  Cowperwood  -  a  chief  character  of  all  the  three
novels  is  a  representative  of  a  big  business. “ The  Financier ”
gives  a  broad  panorama  of  American  social  life.  Cowperwood begins
his  career  by  titling  against  the  ruling  clique  in Philadelphia. He
 suffers  a  defeat  and  is  thrust  into  jail. Having served  his  term
he  continues  his  struggle  and  using  a  chance becomes  a  millionaire
 again,  goes  to  Chicago  and  looks  for  a greater  field  of
financial  activity. There  is  no  problem  of moral  or  conscience  for
him  when  there  is  a  chance  to  get money.
      “ The  Titan ”  portrays  Cowperwood   as  a  businessman  with  a
perfect  knowledge  of  all  ins  and  outs  of  financial world. He
artfully  bribes  all  high  officials  and  becomes  owner of   the
Chicago  tramway. Cowperwood   rolls  in  wealth  but  his appetites  are
insatiate.
        Cowperwood s  life  story  is  brought  to an end  in  the third
part  of  the  trilogy  -  “ The  Stoic ” . The  novel  remained
unfinished. The  action  is  laid  in  London  where  Cowperwood
is  engaged  in  the  construction  of  a  subway. Here  he  is different:
in  the  previous
 two  novels  the  writer  sympathized  with  his  hero,  portraying  him
as  a  man  of  wide - ranging  enterprise. In  the  “ Stoic ”,  Cowperwood
  is  a  typical  shark  of  capitalism.  He  is  an unprincipled  in
business  dealings  as  he  is  immoral  in  love affaires. In  the  last
years   of  his  life  the  bitter  truth  grows upon  him  that  the
chase  for  money  and  big  business  to  which  he  has  devoted  all
his  life  are empty  things. His disillusion  in  life  soon  brings  him
to  death.
      “ An American Tragedy ”  is  Dreiser”s   masterpiece. It  marks a
new  step  in  Dreiser”s  work.
        The  novel  speaks  of  the  fate  of  a  common  American, Clyde
Griffiths. His  parent”s  are  failures  in  life  and  make  their  living
 in  the  streets  of  Kansas  City,  singing   psalms. Clyde  is
tormented   by  the  poverty  and  his  fantasy  is set  astir  by  the
luxury. Sincerely  believing  that  wealth  alone  makes people  happy  he
determines  to  pave  his  way  to  fortune. He detests  hard  work,
prefers  to  make  money  in  an  easy  manner and  begins  his  life  as
a  bellboy  in  a  luxurious  hotel. His  way of  life  and  of  making
money   lead  him  to  a  crime.  Clyde  is arrested  and  put  to  death
on  the  electric  chair.
        Clyde  Griffiths”   fate  is  characteristic  of  the  world  in
which  he  was  brought  up.  Spiritually  backward,  with  no ideals  but
a  longing  to  get  success  in  the  world  that surrounds  him  for  he
sees  that  by  honest  labour  he  would never  become  rich  enough  to
enter  the  world  of  pleasure  and  luxury. He  sees  that  when  a  man
becomes  rich  nobody dares to  find  out  the  source  of  his  riches.
He  sincerely  hopes  that  his  marriage  to  Sondra  would  solve all
his  problems  and  cover  up  his  past. The  ammoralizing  effect  of
the  environment  leads  Clyde  to  a  tragedy,  which  is not  his
personal  tragedy,  but  the  one  of  an  average  American. Due  to  the
great  artistic  power  with  which  Dreiser presented  this  typical
case, “An  American  Tragedy ”  is in full  justice  regarded  as  one  of
the  best  books  in  American literature.
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