One of the stranger aspects of An American Tragedy is that Clyde Griffiths, in every scene in the book he is featured, measures himself and his worth against every person in proximity. Clyde lacks confidence and fortitude, and his primal instinct is to know who can help or hurt him. It’s a disturbing trait and it gets more frightening the more it happens, and it happens all the time. Madness! I’m 25% done with An American Tragedy and Clyde’s personality is going to do him in; I know enough about the book without having read it, but I’m glad to be reading this now, for despite its flaws it is a terrifying novel.