Success and failure in selected novels of Theodore Dreiser

Abstract

Developing Social Competencies through Interaction in English Lessons Abstract With the recent introduction of the Framework Education Programme into schools in the Czech Republic, a great attention is now paid to new concepts: Cross-curricular Subjects and Key Competencies. These also include training in social skills, which should help the students to develop their personalities and to learn to cooperate with others. This work focuses on four related areas of Social Competencies, namely becoming acquainted with people, building positive relationships, social communication and cooperation. It aims to provide theoretical background and analyze possible ways of developing these competencies within English lessons at the second stage of basic education or lower secondary education, and also to offer sample activities. The questionnaire survey in the practical part explores the students' perception of Personal and Social Competencies in their current instruction, searches for their preferences and compares their viewpoint with that of the teachers.

Diplomová práce Success and Failure in Selected Novels of Theodore Dreiser analyzuje vybrané romány Theodora Dreisera s přihlédnutím k motivu vzestupu a pádu. Dále se tato práce věnuje otázce jak se Dreiserova životní zkušenost odráží v jeho díle. Srovnávány jsou romány Sister Carrie, Jennie Gerhardt, The "Genius", An American Tragedy, and The Trilogy of Desire (The Financier, The Titan, The Stoic) s autobiografiemi Dawn a Newspaper Days. Práce odhaluje skutečné předlohy románových postav, zkoumá jejich vzestupy a pády, a zkoumá Dreiserův pohled na svět, zejména jeho sociální postoje. Dochází k závěru, že Dreiser skrze své postavy, vykreslené jako Nietzschovsky sobecká a atavistická stvoření, zpochybňoval tradiční americkou literární koncepci, tradiční morálku i principy demokracie.