An Analysis of the Formation of Sister Carrie's Self—Reliance

【前言】An Analysis of the Formation of Sister Carrie's Self—Reliance由文秘帮小编整理而成，但愿对你的学习工作带来帮助。At the age of 15， Dreiser moved to Chicago where he found work at many low-paying and unrewarding positions， such as washing dishes， clerking in a hardware store and tracing freight cars.His working life was interrupted when a former teacher off...

Living in a poor and intensely religious family， Dreiser had a very unhappy childhood. A world of jungle where "kill or to be killed" was the law can be found in Dreiser's fictions. （Weir， 1972： P65） In sister carrie， Dreiser expressed his naturalistic pursuit by expounding the purposelessness of life and attacking the conventional moral standards. Sister Carrie best embodies Dreiser's naturalistic belief that while men are controlled and conditioned by heredity， instinct and chance， few extraordinary and unsophisticated human beings refuse to accept their fate wordlessly and instead strive， unsuccessfully， to find meaning and purpose for their existence. Carrie is one of such， senses that she is merely a cipher in an uncaring world yet seeks to grasp the mysteries of life and thereby satisfies her desires for social status and material comfort.

Moreover， today， our country is developing quickly， too. Under the influence of this new situation， people's outlook of life and value begins to change fast. Through， this new situation， we seemly can see some things of the time of Sister Carrie. So， studying the self-reliance of Sister Carrie can help us avoid some errors and offer our youths some references in the way to succeed.

Chapter I. Introduction

A. Introduction of the Author

Herman Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute， Indiana， on August 27， 1871. He was the ninth of the 10 children in his family. Dreiser's childhood was spoiled by the failure of his successful father， John Paul， the manager of a cotton mil1. A series of unfortunate happenings sent the family into poverty. In 1864，the mill caught fire，and during the mill's rebuilding， a beam hit John Paul on the head， an injury from which he never fully recovered. After that， Dreiser's father became extremely religious and was easily cheated by his business partners.

At the age of 15， Dreiser moved to Chicago where he found work at many low-paying and unrewarding positions， such as washing dishes， clerking in a hardware store and tracing freight cars.His working life was interrupted when a former teacher offered to send him to Indiana University for a year.

Theodore Dreiser was the outstanding American practitioner of naturalism. He led a national literary movement that replaced a Victorian sense of propriety with the unflinching presentation of real-life subject matter.

B. Brief Introduction to the Background of the Novel

American naturalism is an important literary trend and it is influential to realism and also modernism.As a famous writer，Theodore Dreiser plays an important part in the naturalistic trend， and he made great contribution to the world's literary history. Dreiser touches upon a wide range of themes and experiences in Sister Carrie， from grinding poverty to upper-middle class comfort. The novel dwells on the moment as it is experienced； the characters are plunged into the narrative without the reader being told much， if any， of their histories. Their identities are constantly subject to change， reflecting the modern American experience that had been ushered in by the development capitalist economy.

This paper puts more emphases on the positive effects of four males， and under the influence of those four males， Sister Carrie forms the characteristic of self-reliance gradually.

Chapter Ⅱ. The Influence of the Outer World

A. The Hopeful Dream before the Real Life of Chicago

"When Caroline Meeber boarded the afternoon train for Chicago， her total outfit consist of small trunk， a cheap imitation alligator-skin satchel， a small lunch in a paper box， and a yellow leather snap purse， containing her ticket， a scrap of paper with her sister's address in Van Buren Street， and four dollars in money…" （Theodore Dreiser， 2008： P7）

All she longs for is material wealth which represents power. She is a symbol of money. She went to Chicago for finding a new life. Her reality， her passive， her ambitions and her strong willing of money come from the inherent character of human being.

B. Primary Knowledge of the Hard Life

In Chicago， Carrie lives with her sister at first， whose family belongs to working class. Then hopefully and expectedly， she begins to find a job in this city. She indeed hopes to find out a job to satisfy her desire to lead a better life. However， when she walks from one door to another， from morning till night， turning here and there， seeing one company after another， she starts to realize that the real life isn't simple. Meanwhile， she suffers a big frustration. Finally， she is lucky enough to be employed at a shoe's factory， but the income and terrible working condition make her former courage and hope gradually fade away. She can't pay rent and purchase clothes for the winter.

Now， Carrie first feel that her aim is too far to achieve it .She hates the hard work， bad condition and tiny salary. She isn't willingly to spend her life in a boring way that she has to get up early， stay at factory all day， do the dull and heavy work， and become a typical housewife just like her sister. The cruel reality mercilessly breaks her dream of getting rich by decent way. She suffers the strike both reality and spirit. Maybe， she could never forget that these days that a day's hard work even can't satisfy her basic demand to keep her exist in this world. At this moment， the harsh outer environment makes Sister Carrie stat to think of her future.

C. Cinderella in Reality

Sister Carrie suffers from poverty， sickness and detestation of her brother-in-law， Hanson， because of which she doesn't want to stay at her sister' home any more. Everyday， she wandered through every street to seek another job， or escape the uncomfortable atmosphere. Sometimes， she borrowed some money from her sister Minnie. Nevertheless， after using up this money， she didn't known how to live the next day. When such days have continued four days， there is a turning point.

However， still that sentence； there is no free lunch in the world. Many people know this sentence， but few people can understand it completely， so does Carrie. After accepting the help of Drouet， Carrie's life didn't belong to herself any more .From then on， she became his mistress. Just like the first sentence of the beginning of the novel， when a girl leaves her home at eighteen， she does one of two things. Either she falls into saving hands and becomes better， or she rapidly assumes the cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes worse. （Theodore Dreiser， 2008： P8） But， as for Carrie's future， we couldn't judge it simply according to her present situation. Because one's characteristic is changing with the social situation.

Moreover， Drouet make Sister Carrie find her own highlights and gave her encouragement in chasing the artistic talent. Whatever the situation is， Drouet seems always liked by surrounding people. To Carrie who is fresh in society， Drouet the people who is so great can care about her make her feel that she have fallen in love with him. Though she didn't known what is love， she indeed had a strong admiration for him. And she believed that this feeling will be forever. However， she is wrong once again. She hoped that Drouet can marry her.

Nowadays， as the development of our country， more and more youths look forward to the life of cosmopolis. Some of them want to enrich their experience， some intend to continue their study， and most of them want to lead a more comfortable life. In their mind， there are many opportunities in cosmopolis. They always hold their lovely dream and enter the big city. However， they are too na？ve to know that except opportunities， there are full of competitions， Therefore， when they arrive in their dreamland in reality and begin to realize their dream， they find that all of things are very difficult. They begin to complain the society， even few of then lose their way in chasing their dream. Finally， these people go far from their dream.

D. The Bankruptcy of the Dream of Cinderella

When Sister Carrie is worrying about whether Drouet will marry her or not， a more important person intrudes her life. He is Hurstwood， a manager of Fitzgerald and Moy's. He was an interesting character after his kind. He was shrewd and clever in many little things， and capable of creating a good impression. （Theodore Dreiser， 2008： P34） He is in his prime when he met Sister Carrie. Hurstwood had been pointed out as a very successful and well-known man about town. His managerial position was imposing. Hurstwood lived in a three-story affair near Lincoln Park on the North Side with his wife and two children. He had a horse and a trap. Though he lacked financial control， he led a comfortable life and was welcomed by the upper class， who was no less than a tycoon.

Maybe many people think that Sister Carrie's success is influenced the environment， or you will say that if there is no Hurstwood's financial decline， Sister Carrie will not to find a job， thus， she cannot succeed. Yes， I agree with this idea also. But， I want to say is that things are always like this， it is precisely because of these things on Carrie make her understands the rule of the life and the rue of happiness. It isn't relying on others， but on her. It is also because deceived once again， Carrie start to form a characteristic of self-reliance. So disadvantages are not always the bad thing， sometimes， they can make us become stronger and stronger， and let us understand the complex thing more clearly. Therefore， if we encounter the disadvantages next time， please don't complain them blindly， we should analyze them carefully， and I believe that we can get something from them which will be helpful for our latter life. When Carrie becomes more self-reliant， things also become easier seemingly.

E. The Final Success of Sister Carrie

When Carrie realized that she couldn't trust others who will bring her comfortable life any more， she began to practice her thoughts. Soon， she got a job in a theater depending on the experience of actress. At the same time， she encountered an important person who is helpful for her final success. He is Ehm who is a thoughtful educated youth. The appearance of Ehm mad Sister Carrie's outlook of life takes place an enormous change. Facing the material world， Ehm has an unconventional atmosphere. And he holds a kind of extraordinary insight in observing the things. He told Carrie that the world is full of desirable status； unfortunately， it is no use for us to long for the things which cannot be gotten. （Theodore Dreiser， 2008： P253） He makes Carrie become more confident to her own life and her artistic talent. Ehm makes Carrie get away from the material world. From then on， in Carrie's life there is not only chasing the wealth and fame simply， but pursuing the more meaningful spiritual life. With help of Ehm， Sister Carrie forms the character of self-reliance finally. And she becomes a famous actress.

Chapter Ⅲ. The Contrast

Between Carrie's self-reliance and Hurstwood's Depravation

In Hurstwood we see an illustration of the opposite life in which all dreams finally must be abandoned. Hurstwood， like Carrie， has his own dreams at first； but unlike her， he doesn't realize the truth of the success. He faced the reality negatively， rather than to take measures to solve the problem positively. When he failed in business， he has had try to change his life through his efforts. However， his attempt to change didn't last long time， then， he gave up his efforts and let the reality progress more badly. When he used up all of his money， he had to ask for money from Carrie， he knew his life would be end soon. So， we can see this tragedy scene that "Hurstwood laid down his fifteen cents and crept off with weary steps to his allotted room. It was a dingy affair-wooden， dusty， and hard. A small gas-jet furnished sufficient light for so rueful a corner. " （Theodore Dreiser， 2008： P305） His fate is doomed.

Everyone should insist on himself； never imitate or try to rely on others. From Carrie's changes， everyone can find easily out that though she ever encountered many difficulties， was cheated again and again， and doubted whether her dream could come true， she never gave up her dream and stop pursuing the better life. What's more is that she always can understand or conclude some things from the harsh reality， even though what she got is insignificant. But the tiny experience makes her become more self-reliant gradually， and finally she controls her life.

Conclusion

From this story we get that Carrie loves money status and luxury. At the same time Carrie is a seeker and a lover. She cannot be satisfied. Her reality， her passive， her ambitions and her strong willing of money come from the inherent character of human being； she was influenced by the society environment. She has no contro1， no freedom of wil1. She is a slave to her heredity and to her environment. Their world is a naturalistic one， the environment around them is a tremendous thing and man is a wisp in the wind of social forces， in the vain hope of struggling against the environment. Their successes and failures have no moral value；This marks Sister Carrie as a departure from the conventional literature of the period. So， Dreiser touches upon a wide range of themes and experiences in Sister Carrie， from grinding poverty to upper-middle class comfort. Through its characters and their story it illustrates the effects of the changing economic structure from the description of the environment in American culture. Dreiser succeeds in presenting reality.

Nevertheless， Sister Carrie forms the character of self-reliance under the harsh social environment. She improves her knowledge to the reality depending on her efforts. Her experience of success gives us a reference for our chasing better life latter.

Nowadays， our country is developing quickly. And a lot of new thoughts come crowding in our life， which we can not recognize them rightly. And to our youths， because of lacking of experience， we will face many difficulties. Therefore， this novel about Carrie's self-reliance and her final success will be helpful for us to solve the problems which are encountered us in our way to succeed.

Bibliography

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