Skip to main content

American Tragedy 85%

Clyde's trial.  His defense team decides to present him as a moral and physical coward.  He won't do the right thing by Roberta--at least not at first.  He saves himself when she falls in the water, fearful  she might pull him down.

Dreiser very cynical regarding the trial.  Clyde is rehearsed thoroughly and lies fairly convincingly. He says, for example, that he didn't plan for what happened.  Technically correct.  It all happened in a  different way than he had planned, but he did plan on killing her.  The prosecutor wants to make a political name for himself.  Sondra's family heads way out of the area.  Sondra becomes Miss X so that her name is not besmirched in the press. Clyde's uncle pays for the lawyers, but he stays completely away as well.

So many problems with Clyde's story:  Two hats (one floating in the water; one for his escape . . . leaving her luggage and bringing his own . . . lying about owning a camera . . . going to an ugly part of the lake, but secluded . . . hiding the tripod . . . false names, etc.)  He will certainly be convicted.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tess of the D'Urbervilles, continued 2/3rds

"To all humankind, Tess was only a passing thought. Even to friends, she was only a frequently passing thought." Angel Clare is a good character. He's "enlightened," in so many ways, but when Tess's confesses her "crime," he reverts to ancestral form . . . Tess's "confession" comes earlier than I expected, right after Angel reveals that he has had a bad moment with a woman. Tess points out the similarity in their transgressions, though his is the only true transgression, expecting forgiveness. She doesn't get it. She returns to her mother . . . realizes she can't stay with her. Thoughts to suicide. Unhappiness that divorce is not possible. Departs. Tragic in that the two, if Angel could just see clearly, would indeed be a great couple, each adding to the other.  Nature as a definite force involved in the tragedy.  It's not neutral--when things go bad, the very skies mock Tess. Tess as unaware of the power of her bea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin . . . finished

 Follows Sadie and Sam (Mazer) from childhood to mid-thirties when both are feeling old and a bit out of it in the gaming world.  Characters are well-rounded, develop throughout the novel in interesting way.  Plot is involved but sensible.  Not a single, "Oh, come on!" moment.  The book could have been faster paced. Odd, since the main topic is video games which are not for their speed of engagement and Gabrielle Zevin clearly knows her video games. Recommended by Michael Connelly in an interview.  He also has Bosch pick up the book in his novel, Resurrection Walk, as Bosch tails a possible witness to a crime as she moves through a bookstore. Sadie and Sam do not get together at the end, which is good.   Marx killed by homophobic nutcase who really wants to kill Sam, but Sam isn't there. Marx is father of Sadie's child. 
Post a Comment
Read more