An American Tragedy is a critique of the American dream; the idea that if you work hard you'll make it rich, and that's the end goal. It also gives the lie to Pope's oft quoted "where ignorance is bliss tis folly to be wise." Ignorance is what drives this tragedy as much as greed and poverty, and if a little more wisdom had been in evidence the tragic conclusion would not so inexorably have been reached.

What Agee goes to pains to point out is that there has to be some kind of morality or guiding principle to our lives. That's not necessarily religion - which is at times portrayed as rather unintentionally inimical by the narrowness it imposes on Clyde and his siblings - but certainly something more than merely social position and lucre.

As the novel progresses, we're invited to question whether "darker fears or better impulses" are truly more dominant in guiding us towards living a "good" life (whatever that means).

This is an imperfect book. One major downside, for example, is how all of the working men seem to do is chase skirts while all the working women seem to do is dream of seducing (relatively) well-off men.

Often the language is plodding, without much in the way of flourishes or linguistic gymnastics. At times, the plot feels plodding too, but it ultimately suits the novel - how else to really make the reader feel how bogged down protagonist Clyde becomes in his (often self-inflicted) woes. This is unvarnished realism that dwells and ponders and delays and omits snappy conclusions. Agee is no great stylist, but in some ways this complements the rather earth-bound story of a man who wishes for the cloths of heaven but is provided only dirt and rags by virtue of his humble birth.