Sister carrie

By Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) Contents

Background Plot Characters Theme

It is a novel wrote by Theodore Dreiser about a young country girl who moves to the big city Chicago where she starts realizing her own American Dream, first as a mistress to men, and later becomes a famous actress. It has been called the \"greatest of all American urban novels\". Background

The novel reflected the American experience guided by the developing capitalist economy.

In the process of this development, thousands of rural Americans rushed to the cities to find jobs and to build themselves new lives and identities. Sister Carrie captures the excitement of that experience. Plot

Carrie, a rural girl, came to Chicago with a longing for the life of a big city. But her sister's shabby house disappointed her. The unemployment and illness shattered her dream. So when the salesman Drouet appeared. She became his mistress. Then she met Hurstwood, the manager of the hotel. They fell in love. Carrie saw the consistency between dream and reality.

However, the luxurious life didn't last long. Hurstwood divorced his wife and he became a pauper. They had to go to New York. After that, they lived in poverty.

By chance, Carrie got a job at the opera house. Her beauty and natural voice made she became popular and rich. After that, she left Hurstwood and lived a splendid life alone. Hurstwood became a beggar and finally committed suicide. Characters

Caroline Meeber (Carrie):

Innocent and simple: easy to move by heterosexual ,complaisance and sweet words. Diligence: find expression in her work

Romantic: reflected in her indulging in the fantasy of living and affection Vainglorious: a woman with strong vanity and desire for material independent: was wishful to get respected job by her hand. Charles H.Drouet: :

A charming, flashy salesman with a strong appetite for romance.

Although he is warm-hearted, he never takes any of his romantic affairs seriously. George W. Hurstwood:

A well-to-do, sophisticated man.

Despite the success of his career, he is deeply estranged from his wife and children. He is tired of the unchanging life and yearns for new stimulation. Theme

it mainly analyzes the character to depict a real American social life in the late 10’s, especially those of poor people’s lives from struggling, fighting to failing for their so-called “American Dreams”. At last, the article points out the most important resource resulting in the tragedies: the American social system.