Theodore Dreiser published his first novel, Sister Carrie, in 1900. His most famous work, An American Tragedy, was printed in 1925.
Reading criticism on Theodore Dreiser’s novels, one can get the impression that Dreiser’s style is atrocious and chaotic. “It is questionable whether he ever wrote a single sentence capable of giving pleasure to itself” (qtd. in Allen 81). Stoll quotes critics that maintain that Theodore Dreiser was never able to obtain a technique of narrative writing. They argue that his writings are poor or that he writes without structure and that his style influences his novels’ quality in a bad way (cf. Stoll 4-12). “Dreiser’s writing inevitably suffered from his poor taste, inadequate attention to the niceties of diction and an ear insufficiently attuned to style and tone” (qtd. in Flanagan 289).
However, these critics are not completely true. The following paper will show that Dreiser’s writing is not entirely bad and that his diction was not completely arbitrary. Therefore, the novels Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy will be analyzed with respect to imagery, symbolism, and some rhetorical devices.
Table of Contents
1. Short Introduction on Dreiser’s Style
2. Imagery, Symbolism, and Rhetorical Devices
3. Imagery, Symbolism, and Rhetorical Devices in Sister Carrie
3.1. Imagery and Symbolism
3.1.1. Water and Sea
3.1.2. Animals
3.1.3. Fairytales
3.1.4. Physics
3.1.5. Theater
3.2. Rhetorical Devices
3.2.1. Anaphoras
3.2.2. Alliterations
3.2.3. Catalogues
4. Imagery, Symbolism, and Rhetorical Devices in An American Tragedy
4.1. Imagery and Symbolism
4.1.1. Water and Lake
4.1.2. Animals
4.1.3. Fairytales
4.1.5. Physics and Chemistry
4.2. Rhetorical Devices
4.2.1. Repetition
4.2.2. Alliterations
4.2.3. Catalogues
5. Short Comparative Analysis of Imagery, Symbolism, and Rhetorical Devices in Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy
6. Bibliography
Primary Literature
Secondary Literature
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This paper investigates the literary style of Theodore Dreiser by analyzing the use of imagery, symbolism, and rhetorical devices in his novels "Sister Carrie" and "An American Tragedy". It aims to challenge critical perspectives that dismiss Dreiser’s prose as chaotic or poor, demonstrating instead that his deliberate use of these techniques serves to structure his narratives and emphasize thematic elements.
- Comparative analysis of imagery patterns (water, animals, fairytales).
- Examination of rhetorical figures such as anaphoras, repetitions, and catalogues.
- Evaluation of how physical and chemical symbols represent attraction and human behavior.
- Investigation of the symbolic evolution from "Sister Carrie" to "An American Tragedy".
- Defense of Dreiser’s deliberate narrative structure and technical stylistic choices.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1.1. Water and Sea
“The largest and most obvious group of images in Sister Carrie is that clustering around the sea” (qtd. in Phillips 572). The image is first used when Carrie rushes into a “great sea of life” (qtd. in Sister Carrie1 8) and when she feels “alone, a lone figure in a tossing thoughtless sea” (SC 10) in the new, big city Chicago. At the end of the second chapter, Dreiser makes use of another sea image when he describes the difference between the poor and the rich people living in Chicago as “gulf” (SC 16). One of the most important words in this context is the word “drift” which is utilized several times by Dreiser, for example, when Carrie thinks about returning home to her family: “Carrie saw the drift” (SC 69). When Hurstwood and Carrie talk about her unsettled feelings, Dreiser also uses the image of water: “The little shopgirl was getting into deep water. She was letting her few supports float away from her” (SC 117). Right at the beginning of chapter 30, the city of New York is described as an “ocean” which “was already full of whales” and in which a “small fish” like Hurstwood cannot survive (SC 281). The word “tide” is also important in this context, for example, when Carrie’s helplessness is explained: “She felt the flow of the tide of effort and interest – felt her own helplessness without quite realizing the wisp on the tide that was” (SC 25).
For Dreiser, in his early novels, the sea symbolized the modern life in the city. In his first novel, he uses this image to illustrate the life in the big cities Chicago and New York, which is mostly very turbulent. Life is a sea and one must be a very good swimmer to survive.
Summary of Chapters
1. Short Introduction on Dreiser’s Style: This chapter introduces the author and addresses critical arguments claiming his style is poor and structureless, setting the stage for the stylistic analysis.
2. Imagery, Symbolism, and Rhetorical Devices: This section provides essential definitions for literary terms such as imagery, symbolism, and rhetorical figures to establish the methodology for the upcoming analysis.
3. Imagery, Symbolism, and Rhetorical Devices in Sister Carrie: This chapter examines how Dreiser utilizes specific image clusters like water, animals, and fairytales alongside rhetorical devices to characterize his first novel.
4. Imagery, Symbolism, and Rhetorical Devices in An American Tragedy: This chapter mirrors the analysis performed in the previous section, applying the same thematic framework to Dreiser’s later major work.
5. Short Comparative Analysis of Imagery, Symbolism, and Rhetorical Devices in Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy: This section concludes the study by comparing the usage of symbols and stylistic devices across both novels, ultimately refuting claims about Dreiser's lack of authorial control.
6. Bibliography: This section lists the primary and secondary literature used for this academic analysis.
Keywords
Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie, An American Tragedy, Literary Analysis, Imagery, Symbolism, Rhetorical Devices, Comparative Literature, Anaphora, Catalogue, Metaphor, Narrative Style, Urban Life, Symbol, Figurative Language
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this academic paper?
The paper focuses on identifying and analyzing the recurring use of imagery, symbols, and specific rhetorical devices in Theodore Dreiser’s novels "Sister Carrie" and "An American Tragedy" to prove his stylistic competence.
What are the primary thematic fields covered in the text?
The core themes include the representation of modern urban life through water/sea imagery, the use of fairytales to illustrate illusions, and the application of animal metaphors to describe survival and character behavior.
What is the primary objective of this research?
The objective is to disprove the critical consensus that Dreiser’s writing was atrocious and chaotic by uncovering a structured and deliberate use of literary techniques in his major works.
Which scientific methods are employed in this analysis?
The author uses a comparative literary analysis approach, identifying and categorizing recurring image patterns and rhetorical figures in both novels and contrasting their functions within the narratives.
What content is addressed in the main body of the work?
The main body systematically analyzes imagery (water, animals, physics, theater) and rhetorical devices (anaphora, alliteration, catalogues) in both "Sister Carrie" and "An American Tragedy" separately, followed by a concluding comparative chapter.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Theodore Dreiser, Imagery, Symbolism, Rhetorical Devices, Narrative Style, and Comparative Literary Analysis.
How does the symbolism of water differ between the two novels?
In "Sister Carrie", the sea represents the turbulence of modern city life, whereas in "An American Tragedy", water is more specifically associated with the protagonist Clyde’s guilt and his moral downfall.
How does Dreiser utilize the "Aladdin" fairytale motif in "An American Tragedy"?
Dreiser uses the Aladdin motif to represent Clyde’s poverty and his dream of social and financial ascent, ultimately showing how these illusions lead to his destruction rather than success.
Why does the author consider Dreiser's use of "catalogues" an intentional technique?
The author argues that Dreiser uses these long accumulations of nouns and adjectives to reflect the complexity and overwhelming nature of the characters' environments and their experiences in the city.
What conclusion does the author draw regarding Dreiser's literary legacy?
The author concludes that because there are clear, intentional conformities in Dreiser's stylistic choices across his major works, the long-standing critical claim that he lacks an individual, structured style must be rejected.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2009, Imagery, Symbolism, and Rhetorical Devices in "Sister Carrie" and "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/127331
