by Alfred Kazin
First published 1955
Alfred Kazin turns his critical lens on Theodore Dreiser, one of America's most controversial novelists. Kazin explores how Dreiser's ungainly prose and relentless naturalism carved out new territory in American fiction. He traces Dreiser's development from his early newspaper days through the scandal of Sister Carrie to his later ambitious novels. Kazin argues that Dreiser's apparent literary clumsiness masks a deeper understanding of American society and its discontents. The critic examines how Dreiser's immigrant background and working-class origins shaped his vision of American capitalism and social mobility. Kazin shows how novels like An American Tragedy transformed crude social observation into powerful fiction that captured the moral confusion of modern America.
Genres: biography, literary-criticism, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, criticism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, social-commentary
Setting: America
Period: 20th Century
Paperback · Indiana University Press