“Ambition” & “Aspiration” in The Financier and the Titan by Dreiser

Synopsis The concepts of ambition and aspiration adopted by Theodore Dreiser, as one of the pioneers of Naturalism in American literature are the core of this study. In his writings Dreiser refers to ambition as a strong desire to collect money and fortune, whereas aspiration indicates an animal desire for women. In his Trilogy of Desire, Dreiser introduces a pattern that differs from what he was in reality. He was brought up as poor and unable to do anything to himself, his family or his society. On the contrary, Dreiser presents the hero of his trilogy, Mr. Frank Cowperwood, as one of the men who are qualified to become popular, wealthy and powerful. Dreiser depends in this trilogy on Mr. Cowperwood who embodies the character of Mr. Charles Yerkes. Mr. Yerkes was a famous and successful American businessman and politician at that time. The first novel, The Financier (1912), witnesses Cowperwood’s great progress in business and his political and social success. Since he was a young child Cowperwood was a master among his brothers and his school colleagues. He was fascinated with money, economics and trade, the matter that his father’s job as a bank manager increased.