It is possible to understand the genres of fiction without putting too much weight on literary merits. This weight is better left to scholars, academics, and critics. A simpler view and reading books will allow for a better if not a broader view of what elements a story encapsulates. The adventure novel and the tragic novel are examples worth examining. Often, new and hopeful authors confuse one with the other. To better understand them, a little comparative study is offered here.

For starters, both the adventure and the tragic novel contain protagonists who are entangled in a life-and-death situation. The difference is that in the adventure novel, the character is not tragic on account that he enters into situations of his own volition. Captain Ahab chooses to exact revenge on a white whale. Lemuel Gulliver chooses to go on a voyage. Jim Hawkins joins an island expedition. These characters choose to face the uncertainties of the world. Whatever form of encounters they found out there, they placed themselves in a life-and-death struggle that can be tragic to themselves, but adventurous to the reader. In other adventure novels, if the protagonist dies, it only happens after the evil they pursued or encountered has been eliminated. This is a trope common among superhero movies as well. If the evil is defeated and the protagonist survives, he is revered as a hero. Even if he lost an arm, eye or becomes debilitated, he is not tragic because it was his choosing.

We now consider Theodore Dreiser’s American Tragedy as a study for the tragic novel. We become involved in hoping that Clyde Griffiths would stop his questionable relationships with women. He bought expensive gifts for Hortense Briggs who was only after his money. He neglects Roberta Alden after making her pregnant and dreams of marrying Sondra Finchley instead. Failing to get an abortion for Roberta, he plots to kill her when she threatens to reveal their secret relationship. During his trial, the court and the jury are not sympathetic with his plea of innocence even if the boating incident with Roberta was “accidental.”

We understand that Clyde’s relationship with women is not perfect, and despite supporting characters warning him to be careful, Clyde cannot help himself. His motivation is torn between love and lust and it gets worse as he grows lonelier. His inconsistent testimonies incriminate him. He realizes the full extent of his actions when he is facing trial and is sentenced to death. His love affair with women drove him to his doom. Clyde unknowingly engineered his destruction. We root for him in the process especially at the jailhouse scenes and the weepy correspondence between him and his mother. We do not cheer for him, but we pity and love him.

The adventure and tragic novel may share some similarities, but the changes that develop in the major characters are what shape the events that lead to an adventure or a tragedy. Even if they overlap, the protagonist’s motivation and where it leads to will identify the story type.