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After each one of his mistakes, Clyde would ask for forgiveness from God, his friends, and his family, but when he asks for forgiveness and a second chance from God while on death row, Clyde finally realizes that his opportunity in Lycurgus was his final chance. Clyde's plea for help from God reveals that if people squander their opportunities because of reckless errors, others will eventually not offer them new chances to make the same mistake.

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After Clyde dies on death row, Clyde's mother recognizes that Clyde's shortcomings stemmed from his strict upbringing, so she allows Esta's son to have more freedom. Clyde's mother's new liberalism proves that a person must be able to look back at their past mistakes to prevent future reoccurrences.

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When he was younger, Clyde detested his father and mother's focus on religion, now that he's nearing the end of his life, he has recognized the value of having something to believe in to guide him morally. Clyde's new found interest in faith helps to show that terrible, traumatic experiences in life allow for a person to develop their principles and mature.

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After years of second chances and running from consequences, Clyde finally confronts the ultimate punishment: his death. Clyde's premature demise reveal to the reader that although one may be able to avoid penalties for their transgressions, in the future, they will eventually face the consequences for their actions.

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Dreiser perfectly characterized Clyde as a young man, obsessed with class and beauty, but lacking the maturity to see past the luster. Due to his shortsightedness, Clyde constantly got into trouble trying to chase elegance which helps to reveal how class and allure does not grantee morality and ethics.

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Dreiser's characterization of Clyde foreshadowed what would happen to Clyde as he worked in hotels and, later, at his uncle's factory. Clyde did not seem to "grow up" morally because of his fixation on status instead of ethics. Clyde's weak moral capability shows how  striving for success with a lack of basic morals often results in injury to the person and others around he or she.

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The bird, which first appeared when he visited the lakes for the first time and came up with the murderous plan, symbolizes the darkness within Clyde. His fear and disgust for the bird helps to prove that when a person adulterates a plan to achieving a desired goal with immorality, the person often begins to unconsciously fear himself or herself.

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Throughout the novel, Clyde has a preoccupation with class, and his new move to Lycurgus provides him with the status that he has always longed for. However, his new status leads him to believe that he can get and do whatever he wants without consequences which helps to show that when people believe that they are invincible, they often ignore basic ethics and morals to get what they want.

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Even though Clyde originally sought to improve his social standings in Lycurgus, he became distracted with another attractive girl and accidentally got her pregnant. Roberta's pregnancy threatened his ability to increase he status because of Roberta's lowly status. Clyde's conflict with Roberta helps to show how losing track of one's goals can lead to the introduction of distractions that inhibit the person's ability to achieve their original goal.

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The newspaper article planted the idea of drowning Roberta and staging it to look like an accident. Most people reading the article would have never thought of mimicking the event, but due to Clyde's moral weakness, he saw the article as a possible solution to his problem with Roberta. Clyde's sinister interpretation of the newspaper article reveals how a lack of a moral compass can make one easily susceptible to heinous ideas and actions.

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As Clyde became more desperate to find a solution for Roberta's pregnancy, he came across the idea to murder her. At first he adamantly rejected the idea, but soon enough his moral cowardice overcame him and he began to plan to kill Roberta. Clyde's sinister place shows that when a morally weak person encounters a difficult decision, they are more likely to choose the option that benefits himself or herself regardless if it is ethical.

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Clyde's mother refuses to believe that Clyde could commit such an act because she had raised him to be a righteous, holy man, but she ignores that he had committed immoral acts before. Her disbelief at his murder charge helps to show how a person's relationship another often prevents him or her from seeing unsavory character traits in his or her loved ones.

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In real life, people often realize how little they know their friends, but for Clyde, his lack of knowledge of Roberta is the result of his preoccupation with other topics such as wealth and status. Clyde lack of attention to Roberta helps to reveal that people often do not realize his or her transgressions until after they face harsh consequences.

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Clyde's incapability to follow basic morals and ethics shows through his constant running and his fear of facing consequences. The quote below helps to show how this character trait ultimately lead to Clyde demise which reveals that a lack of consequences in a person's life leads that person to feel invincible when even when they are at their most vulnerable.

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Mason's statement refers to when Clyde committed a hit and run that killed a young girl. Since Clyde never faced jail time for his crime, he never understood the gravity of his offense which prevented him from seeing the gravity of his plan to kill Robert. Clyde's insensitivity proves that a life without repercussions causes the person to continue to commit unethical acts due to their inability to discern right from wrong

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Clyde constantly tried to become a part of Lycurgus's high society, but his lack of wealth prevented him from doing so. The obvious solution to the conflict would be to become more affluent by working harder at his uncle's factory, but Clyde's preoccupation with girls distracted him. Clyde's lack of direction proves that a failure to accurately determine the stem of a problem can lead a person to not only fail to solve their predicament, but to also lose track and start to create other problems.

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Throughout the novel, Clyde constantly wished for a his life to be completely different than the one he has. To achieve his wish, he strived to build a new life only to realize that his new life includes crime and immorality. Clyde's regressions helps to reveal that aiming for unattainable desires often leads to one's disillusionment.

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In the book, Clyde fixates on beauty and youth which causes him to get into relationships that create problems for him and prevent him from achieving his original aspirations. Clyde's disruptions show how a person's failure to set and correctly follow the steps towards a goal often results in he or she getting distracted which leads to him or her losing their dream and even losing their true self.

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Throughout the novel, Clyde fixated on wealth and luxury which often lead him to commit egregious acts to obtain affluence, but soon enough he would be caught but would run from the consequences to get a second chance. After avoiding punishment for so long, Clyde comes to believe that he could get away with anything which helped to show how lack of discipline and excessive allowance of second chances results the offender having a lack of ethics.

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In real life, people often question why they can not get away with the same actions as a sibling, coworker, or friend, but for Clyde, this thought process lead to his demise. Clyde often strived to do what his friends were doing and, as a result, ignored the morality of his actions, which reveals that pressure to conform often reduces one's ability to see right from wrong.