The Disillusion of American Dream in Sister Carrie

張晴

【Abstract】Dreiser is a generally acknowledged writer as one of Americans literary naturalists. In Sister Carrie， the author skillfully used the naturalistic writing style which incisively and vividly showed the society environment at that time. The paper states the process that how the American dream in Sister Carrie disillusioned gradually.

【Key words】American Dream； Sister Carrie； Sister Carrie

Dreiser was the first prominent writer in the American literature history in 20th century， and was also the pioneer of American modern fictions， enjoying equal popularity with Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. His works closed to peoples life and was filled with passion. So there is no doubt that his life experience would directly or indirectly affect his works. And you can find these artistic images in his following works.

Sister Carrie was Dreisers first representative work and was published in 1900. It is about a young woman who flees rural life for big city and struggles with poverty. She has complex relationships with men， and prostitution. The novel also shows the process of young women are growing gradually independent and awakening in a changing society.

Americans believed that they could get a better life in America if they worked hard and struggled persistently rather than rely on specific social class and others help. This was the so-called American dream which known by the whole world as one of the ideal spirits. They paid more attention to practical benefits and rarely considering whether their behavior was “sin” or not. Due to the development of citys industrial， the market offered a wide range of business choices and employment opportunity. A large number of rural labors crowded into the bustling metropolis， hoping to get rid of poverty. Sister Carrie was one of these numerous dream followers. Carrie left her hometown to look for opportunities in Chicago. She was a typical life style at that time. As Dreiser had written in his book：

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.

Sister Carrie chose the second road. It was so difficult to live a rich life and to edge herself into the upper class with her own efforts. Later， she lost her job and became Drouets mistress. After she lived with Drouet for a period of time， Carrie met Drouets friend named George W. Hurstwood. Carrie felt he was more attractive and more responsibility than the salesman. She became Hurstwoods mistress as well. At this time， she was once again lower her moral standard. When she knew Hurstwood was married， she had to be very sad. While Hurstwoods wife found they lived together， Carrie and Hurstwood eloped from Chicago to New York. At first， they lived happily and sham married. But what followed was Carries American dream disillusioned again. In New York， her neighborhood Mrs. Vances luxury lifestyle made Carrie again did not satisfy the current situation of her own lifestyle. She would also like to wear pretty clothes and live in luxury house and have a comfortable life. However， Hurstwoods business and finance were continuously suffered attack and finally became parasites at home. Although she loved Hurstwood， as soon as he failed to satisfy her material needs， she decisively abandoned him.

Now， Carrie began to realize her dream by her own strength. She was fighting independently and performed on Broadway Stage which depended on her outstanding appearance and moving song. She entered the high-class. Here we can say that her American dream was realized on material level. Nevertheless， she felt unprecedented emptiness and loneliness that she had never had before. Thedream that she had pursued in the past became insignificant.

But Carrie was a new woman image. In the late 19th century and early 20th century， women were still in a subsidiary position because it was a man-centered society. At that time， the western countries were in the first feminist movement. Women began to struggle for their liberation. Generally speaking， the “new women” refers to two kinds of women， one is working young lady， and another is middle-class girl and young woman who are uneasy to traditional female fate. Carrie was the first kind of women. Although her moral standard was declined step by step， at that time， she dared to pursuit individual emancipation and grasped opportunity positively. Compared with her sister， Mrs. Vince and Hurstwoods wife and daughter， Carrie was the real representative of “new women”.

American dream claims all men are equal and all of them have opportunity to realize their dreams with their own struggles. With the development of society， therefore， the American dream gradually lost its original meaning and shifted into a dream to pursue money and interests by hook or by crook. In the end， those successful people were disappointed after the dream realized. Carrie reached her goal by her beauty， flesh and spirit. So we say her American dream was superficial and disillusioned.

References：

[1]Dreiser，Theodore.Sister Carrie[M].Boston：Houghton Mifflin Company，1959.

[2]仇多紅，宗蔚.從嘉莉妹妹看扭曲的美國夢[J].宿州學院學報，2008（10）.