The autobiography is one of the first depictions of the american dream

2.2 The collapse of the American Dream in "An American Tragedy"
The theme of the "American dream" was transformed into the theme of the "American tragedy". An American Tragedy is the title of Theodore Dreiser's most famous novel. Dreiser called a book of his articles published in the 1930s "Tragic America".
In fiction, authors often use realities to create local, national, and historical color. The novel "An American Tragedy" describes the life of the American people at the beginning of the 20th century, and with the help of realities, Dreiser displays the spirit of the era. The author managed to realistically demonstrate class antagonism and the negative aspects of the ostentatious well-being of the United States.
Dreiser's novel is based on the story of the murder in 1906 by Chester Gillett of his beloved Grace Brown. The process in this case was widely publicized at the time, and the novel "An American Tragedy" used documents published in newspapers of that time.
An American Tragedy stands out among Dreiser's novels for its depth and comprehensive coverage of the phenomenon of American life. Dreiser believed that American reality, with seeming prosperity, is tragic and terrible, in his opinion, the task of realistic writers is to describe all aspects of American life: not only sports, Hollywood life, the creation of trusts and corporations, the emergence of new cars, but also the negative aspects of American life.
The main problem of the whole work is the conflict between the soul of Clyde, brought up in difficult conditions of poverty and strict religiosity, and the American rich society, in which people like him do not belong. The conflict is in Clyde's spiritual outburst and his rejection by the rich world, in his desire to live a happy life and end it in the electric chair.
Dreiser emphasized the social nature of the novel: “It was an exceptionally true story about that. what life does to the personality and how the personality is powerless against it”
Like many other representatives of the young generation of America at the beginning of the twentieth century, Clyde chooses the path that, in his opinion, will ultimately lead to an improvement in his financial situation, as well as his social position in society. However, at the same time, he remains indifferent to the financial situation of his loved ones, all he thinks about is the pleasures that he can buy for the money he has earned. “Most of all, Clyde is concerned with the idea of how to keep for himself the lion's share of the money that he earned. From the time he first began working, it had been such a routine that Clyde had to invest most of his earnings - at least three-quarters - into the common household. However, he had been tormented for too long by the desire to look as good as any smart and well-dressed youth, and now that a happy opportunity presented itself, he could not resist the temptation to first of all dress well - and quickly.
Clyde is afraid that his mother will be waiting for financial assistance from him, even when it comes to money for his older sister Estha, who was in a very difficult situation. “And yet he could not suppress his involuntary annoyance. So recently he began to earn decently - and now the mother demands even more and more. Already ten dollars a week! There is always something wrong with them, thought Clyde, they always need something, and there is no guarantee that there will not be new demands later. Clyde always finds an excuse for his thoughts, although he often feels remorse for this. But he is helped to get rid of them by the dream that he will soon be able to achieve on his own what he could not dream of before. Especially in him this desire is warmed up by the world of wealth that surrounds him. First it was the Green Davidson Hotel in Kansas City, where Clyde began working as a messenger, and then the high society environment he found in Lycurgus.
The final completeness of the theme of the "American dream" - the myth of America as the promised land, where any shoe shiner can become a millionaire - was received precisely in the novel "An American Tragedy". The dream turned into an illusion, true humanity turned out to be incompatible with bourgeois standards of happiness.
The theme of American illusions is fully conveyed in the images of Clyde's parents. It is in their house that two dozen sayings and texts stigmatizing vices hang on the wall. Upon learning of Clyde's misdeed in Kansas City, his mother conjures him to remember the aphorism: “Wine is a deceiver; to drink is to fall into madness; whoever succumbs to deceit is not wise,” he asks not to succumb to the devil’s temptation. However, dreams destroy Clyde, destroy the human personality, but the meaning of the novel was wider - American society is responsible for the dissemination and maintenance of these destructive illusions.
For Dreiser, the issue of Clyde's responsibility and guilt is extremely important. The jury, which found Clyde guilty, did not even think about what exactly made him a murderer. Before the elections, the judge needed a high-profile trial so much, where he could show off in front of the voters. That is why prosecutor Mason betrayed him sensationalism, played on the emotions of the crowd, read the intimate letters of the deceased, forgetting about her good name and professional honor. The mystery of the court, at the whim of which a criminal can be both acquitted and convicted, the accidental death sentence of Clyde - these are the questions, answering which, Dreiser writes a socio-psychological chronicle of a typical American crime.
America, having deceived the hero of the novel, sends him to the electric chair, although he acted according to the formula for success. The path from the American Dream to the American Tragedy, explored by Dreiser, is the main artistic discovery of the writer's entire work. Documentary history of Clyde is confirmed by dozens of similar cases taken by Dreiser from newspapers and court chronicles. They ensure the moral reliability of the writer's investigation, give him the right to reckless criticism of the state foundations of America, all its institutions - from the family to the court.
In his novel, Dreiser showed the tragedy of the "American dream", the impossibility of its implementation by moral means. Against the backdrop of literature preaching pragmatic values, the philosophy of success, and militant individualism, Dreiser was the first to question the possibility of realizing those social and moral ideals of success and prosperity that make up the content of the bourgeois "American dream".