Sister Carrie :: essays research papers

I think it is very difficult to determine the exact piece of Dreisers "Sister Carrie", and his original intention. I would theorise, "as many eyes, so many opinions", so no wonder on that point are divergent approaches and interpretations towards the novel which is influenced non just by the proofreaders reading or personal experience, but also by their particular philosophy of life as well as knowledge about the historical background. "Sister Carrie" can be read as a novel of desire, seduction, or the critique of capitalism and consumerism. Its emphatically not the plot or characters which are dominant elements of it. The taste and the literary value of Dreisers novel is shaped and created by its setting and the creators tone. Chicago and New York have almost as entire and important role in the novel as the characters. They do not just form the simple environment for the novel, but they influence its character and a very strong impression. Chicago s character is pleasing of much "positive", it is a city of promise, luck, rise (Carrie). We can say that in Chicago, Hurtswood means something. New York s character is different. Its a city of lies, fall, impersonal isolation of "walled city where surviving is much more difficult than in Chicago. In New York, Hurstwood means nothing. The setting creates different expectations to people. During the reading of "Sister Carrie", I was interested in searching and telling the different kinds of desire. Generally we can say that Dreiser deals with the desire of wealth, social status, existent things which are represented by money. Within this generalization, we can find and key many other faces and forms of lust and longing. Carrie, as an ambitious and strong char embodies the social values of the consumer culture. All she longs for is a material wealth, which represents power. She can be seen as a symbol of money. But Carrie lives in a globe of prices. Her labo r costs $4.50 board $4 a week political machine fare $.60 cheap lunch $.10 etc. She imitates everything perfectly and thats wherefore she is becoming what people want her to become. Her desires come from other peoples desires. It is exactly Drouet, who introduces her to the land of wealth, to materialism. He gives her money, flat even "name when she enters the world of theater. She plays her role according to Drouets desires once acts as his mistress or "wife".