德莱塞(1871—1945)是美国杰出的现代作家,《美国悲剧》是他的长篇小说。小说通过克莱德的死向人们展示了美国上层社会的冷酷以及政治的堕落,同时,也展示了在个人向上层社会靠拢时,所显示出的自私自利的性格。一直以来,对《美国悲剧》的研究层出不穷,不少学者运用各种理论对该部小说进行深入解读,如自然主义理论、现实主义理论等。笔者另辟蹊径,尝试从认知视角解读这部小说,希望能对读者有新的启发作用。 Dreiser (1871-1945) is a prominent American modern writer, and “American Tragedy” is his novel. Through the death of Clyde, the novel shows people the cruelty and political degeneration of the upper class in the United States. At the same time, it also shows the selfish character shown by individuals as they move closer to the upper class. All along, many studies have been carried out on the “American tragedy,” and many scholars use various theories to deeply study the novel, such as the theory of naturalism and the theory of realism. The author goes on to find another way to try to interpret the novel from a cognitive perspective, hoping to give readers a new inspiration.