Martin Dressler: The Story of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser is a novel that accurately shows the progress of the United States over the of this period. Progress was in the air and ideas were germinating. The citizen of Martin's day desired the next big thing. The robber baron of this period has both similarities and differences with Martin. Martin tried hard to succeed, but he did it the right way. Also important was Martin's desire to benefit from the latest technological advances. Millhauser accurately represents the turmoil of the business world at that time. Martin lived in a period of economic prosperity. Businesses were booming. However, one of the major problems of the time was the formation of monopolies. Some of these businessmen or “Robber Barons” include John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Jay Gould (Enotes). Robber barons often got rich by exploiting workers. Conversely, Martin managed to achieve success without exploitation of workers. Martin even offered his dear friend Emmeline a job. Martin's “desire to closely monitor the operation of the new restaurant led him one day to offer her the position of cashier, which she accepted with passion” (Millhauser 128). Martin wanted to keep a close eye on his business and he knew he could trust Emmeline. The robber barons had similar goals to Martin; however, they went about it in different ways to achieve this. Martin was an exemplary model of a self-taught man. Martin's career began as a hunter and he never regressed. He continued to rise through the ranks of the hotel industry before briefly participating in the construction of canteens. Martin was not willing to work in a field for which he was not suited. Martin “felt, e...... middle of paper... how big it is. Martin Dressler was a character who was very similar to the people of his time. His dreams, ambitions, and hopes were all exemplary traits of the American citizen of the early 1900s. Martin was so absorbed in technological innovations that he didn't know exactly what he wanted. Steven Millhauser did an exceptional job portraying the American businessman of the time, while also connecting the novel to many of the iconic objects and technological advancements of the time. Works Cited Millhauser, Steven. Martin Dressler: the story of an American dreamer. New York: Vintage, 1997. Print. “Economics and Business – What is a Robber Baron?” : History Fact Finder. » ENotes - Literature study guides, lesson plans and more. Internet. September 19. 2011. .