Wondering about my guitar

My guitar is an inexpensive Hawthorne Walden model HO221TB orchestra model. I knew so little about guitars when I bought it, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money at the time. Now I wonder if this guitar is hard to play on, or is it just me that's such a slow learner. It seems I have the most difficulty getting a clean sounding chord, as if my fingers are too fat. But then you men play too and your fingers are probably bigger than mine. My fingernails are super short.
Any thoughts?

Can you post a video of what it is you are struggling to do?

It is easier to identify the problem with video. :)

A really quick suggestion for starters, maybe you've already tried it... instead of trying to play a chord where you are getting dirty notes, just fret one note at a time, and pluck just the single string... do they play cleanly?

Kind of hard to pinpoint what you're specific problem is without seeing you play. It could be the guitar, or it could be that you are just in the learning process still.

What Slipin is suggesting is a good way to tell if any of your frets are messed up and causing the problem. If every note sounds clear individually, they should all sound clear when played at the same time. When learning a chord, start by placing one finger at a time until it rings clear, then add another note and continue until the full chord is ringing. If you reach a note that sounds bad, look around and see if one of your other fingers have slipped and is not muting that string.

Also try shifting your fingers around and make sure you are playing right up against the fret. On top of the fret and too far back will make it sound dead.

Thanks for your input, guys. I understand the problem now - I've been so intent practicing smooth speedy chord changes, that I've become sloppy with how I set my fingers down. Time to slow down and work on basics again.