Based on a real-life story, An American Tragedy takes us into the life of Clyde Griffiths ?an apathetic man, totally lacking in character. Brought up in poverty, he murders his pregnant girlfriend to marry a woman who will bring him into the world of riches and social recognition he has always yearned for. This is the classic depiction of the harsh realities of American life, the dark side of the American Dream, and one man's doomed pursuit of love and success, it is a portrayal of one of the darker phases of the American character, it demands attention.