英语本科毕业论文The Specific Reflection of American Dream on Carrie’s View of Love.doc

The Specific Reflection of American Dream on Carries View of Love . Introduction Theodore Dreiser is one of the most influential authors in the history of American literature. His first work Sister Carrie, which is published in 1900, is considered to be a banned book because it exposes the polarization of rich and poor and anomic. Nowadays, the work is full of the tendency of naturalism, which is considered to be a classical one. The book describes the heroine who steps to the lips of lust and desire. As for her, human beings are the same as animals and pests who are driven by desire, and unable to extricate from her plight. But only the word “desire” can not illustrate the motivation and driving force behind her in details. Therefore, my thesis would like to illustrate the process of being from a country girl to a famous star of Broadway and her view towards love and life. As for my part, her change is a specific reflection of American dream.Dreiser is born in 1871 and dies in 1945 during the period of Naturalism. He is the 12th child of the13 children, his parents being German immigrants. He is living in great poverty and misery, and being humiliated by the misbehavior of his brothers and sisters. Dreiser flees to Chicago at the age of 15, where he begins a series of menial jobs. Finally he gets a job on a newspaper and begins a career as a free-lance journalist and magazine editor. This helps him a lot for his future writing. He has ever visited Russia and has strong sympathies for communism for those people haunted by poverty. Then he joints the American Communist party before his death.He is the first outstanding author in the history of American literature during the 20th century. In 1930, Sinclair Lewis says that Theodore Dreiser can not receive others appreciation, instead, only hatred and envy. Compared with any American author, he develops a new style or a new method of his own, and takes his courage in both hands. In the field of American novels, he changes his writing style from gentle to loyalty, audacity and the passion of life. Many of American critics believe that Dreiser is loyal to life, dauntless and creative, who breaks the durance of traditional literary world, liberate American novels and bring a literary revolution. Just as H.L.Mencken has ever said, Dreisers change of writing style is the same as Vincis change on biology. However, Theodore Dreiser is also a disputed writer. Since the publication of his maiden work, Sister Carrie, the comments on him has never been stopped. Sister Carrie is a novel written by Theodore Dreiser, which symbolizes that naturalism attains maturity. It plays a very important role in American literature which is written during the period of American Naturalism. At that time, the spread of industrialization creats extremes of wealth and poverty. Farmers are still going westward, but frontiers are about to close, they have to depend on the transcontinental railway to transport their products. The spread of Darwins theory of evolution changes peoples ideology.Sister Carrie has been called the elite modern American novel. Through its characters and their story, it illustrates the effects of the changing economic structure on American culture. The articles main objective is to analyze how Dreisers Naturalistic styles to be exposed through the character Carrie Member in Sister Carrie. The novel seems to be the platform from which Dreiser explores his unconventional views of the genders. At the time of its publication, it is first rejected by publisher for its honesty in depictig American society, but enjoyed fame later on. In fact, it is so controversial; it almost misses being printed at all. The public dislikes the fact that Theodore Dreiser presents a side of life that proper Americans do not care to acknowledge. He writes about infidelity and prostitution as natural occurrences in the course of human relationships. Dreiser writes about his characters with pity, compassion, and a sense of awe. While the book appals Americans, the English appreciates it. William Heinemann publishes an English version of the book in 1901. While the book sell well in England. Sister Carrie don not enjoy much success in the United States. This is due to the blurred division line between good and bad in the plot. Although Dreisers moralizing narrator does assert that, despite the fame and the money she has amassed, Carrie will not be able to achieve peace of mind in her life, the apparent lack of poetic justice-the notion that immorality should pay in the end, even of only up to a point-is a concept the reading public are altogether unused to at the time. Carries Way to Success2.1 Carrie and Her SisterWhen Carrie just gets off the train, she finds the conditions totally change. And in this tempting, noisy, and strange city, she feels that the cruel reality is catching her hand, which is not the bright and happy world, but a world full of entertainments and refreshment. Compared with her, her sister goes to work every day and experiences the hardship of life. She feels lost when Drouet melts gradually from her life. And she feels solitary when he totally disappears from her life. Though she stays with her sister, she feels lonelier. It seems as if she is patched into the sea that is surf and merciless.Carrie does not stay too long at her sisters, but through her careful observation, she finds that her elder sister lives a humble life, accumulates money by hard-working, and even obtains extra income from renting houses. Her brother-in-law gets up early on the second morning when she reaches Chicago. However, her elder sister gets up much earlier in order to prepare breakfast for her husband. Carrie is eager to get a job for living, but she gets up around 8 oclock in the morning. On contract, her elder sister gets up earlier. When money is mentioned, Carrie earns money for shopping in commercial centre, for nice clothes, and for the pleasure in the cinema. And her elder sister makes money for accumulation. All in all, she is greatly different from her elder sister who toils and sacrifices herself for her husband and family. Her elder sisters life to her is monotonous and water-like. However, she is attracted by an alien man, especially by his beautiful clothes. And he is the man who is the object Carrie desires to pursuit. At last, she leaves only a note to her sister and moves out of her sisters house, because the space there is not roomy, and the life there is meaningless. She personally is believes that she could find happiness and interesting events elsewhere.In Carries inner world, she is just like the ordinary people. Intuition, desire and the awakenings are constantly fighting. And to Carrie, intuition and desire are the winners. She is totally in obedience of her desire. Through her whole life she is pursuing her American Dream. She devotes all she can do to help herself realize her dream. Indeed she is supported by her inner desire. And she gets to her destination finally.2.2 Carrie and Charles DrouetThe first time when Carrie encounters Drouet, she finds that she is so poor compared with Hurstwoods whose appearance gives her a very deep expression. And when they met the second time, Drouet also finds that Carrie has few new clothes and he buys some for her. And from then on Drouet begins to get Carries heart.After the night snack, both of them feels enthusiasm in their heats, Drouet loves Carrie which can see from his eyes. The delicious night snack and the luxurious life all of these make Carrie stop to be careful; she listens to every word of Drouets. And she becomes the Sacrifice of the Metropolis.When Carrie begins to live together with Drouet, all the things, new clothes, house, car make her a little content. If see from some of the social classes Carrier has lived very comfortable life. In the poor peoples eyes Carrie is the queen. Where Carrie lives is the most beautiful place, no one can find another place can exceed hers. She gets away the difficulties in the past. But new difficulties have to appear in her heart. When she looks at the mirror she sees a more beautiful Carrie. But when she hears the evaluations from the outer she finds a worse Carrie. Maybe she can overcome the difficulties given by hard life, but if someone lets her wear the poor, old clothes again, she cannot bear. She likes the luxurious life; she wont let the poor clothes to match her beautiful face. She has used to the rich life. She concerns with the way of the other rich women, she learns to be like them.Seeing from Drouets personal character, he is nearly perfect, and he thinks every way to make Carrie happy, he spends more money on Carrie and takes her to travel. But Carrie in fact she dosenot love Drouet only, because when they live together she finds that she is cleverer than Drouet, she begins to find that there are many demerits in him, and just at this time comes and she finds that she find a man better than Drouet in every aspect. Drouet dose not have the demeanor that Hurstwood has. So she has made some decision in her heart. Because Drouet cannot help Carrie to realize her dream, she must find another man who is available. And then she meets Hurstwood, but finally she deserts him too.2.3 Carrie And HurstwoodFor Hurstwood has a higher social status than salesman, Drouet, and treat Carrie affably, so Hurstwood is the best object for Carrie to work off her desire. And that night when Carrie sits in her room, she feels her body hot. She feels glad for she lays her passion on Hurstwood, and vice versa. Carrie is excitedly expecting next meeting with Hurstwood on Sunday night. In fact, she has placed herself in a desperate situation. She loves man so much; his influence on her causes her to deem that she is in love with him. Carrie is conquered by his demeanor and nice clothing. She is witnessing that Hurstwood, who is gentle and polite begins to show all his love to her.As the growth of Hurstwoods love on Carrie, he deserts his family with no any care on it. Every morning when he is enjoying his breakfast with his wife and children, what he thinks about is his own private affairs, and is far from what he and his wife are interested in. He always low his head reading newspaper. Maybe the childrens topic is too shallow to attract him from reading newspaper. And there is a huge gap between his wife and him. Now Carrie comes into his life, so he feels pleased with hopes to be together with her. At last, he elopes with Carrie. In New York, Hurstwood steps to failure gradually. H pays off most of money he steals. Hurstwoods business breaks and stays at home with no job. He becomes slack, when Hurstwood has no more than a cent with him, Carrie starts her business as an actress at Broadway. And one day, Carrie moves out of the apartment in which she lives with Hustwood. The rich Hurstwood had ever been Carries ideal lover, but when he suffers poverty, he has no differences with the other poor workers in the factory. Living with Hrustwood cant make her content; she thinks Hurstwood cant compare with the other workers of the factory. Because in the end, Hurstwood has to live with the help of Carrie, which make Carrie leave this man ,but she doesnt go to another man, Instead she begins to make her own fortune, and becomes a successful actress and climbs to the peak of her fortune. Although she succeeds in the end, she finds that she is, in some way, wrong, she dose many immoral thong to others. She is a successful woman, but she feels lonely and depressed.2.4 Carrie and Mrs.VanceDuring the second year of Carrie residence in New York with Hurstwood, the flat across the hall from her becomes vacant and it moves a pretty young woman through whom Carries achievements can be evaluated. The woman, Mrs. Vance, is a beautiful brunette of perhaps twenty-three married to a wealthy man a few years younger than Hurstwood. Through Mrs. Vances marriage to an elder, wealthy man, Dreiser acknowledges that the easiest way for a nineteenth-century woman to get ahead is to attach herself to the right man. This is something that Mrs. Vance has apparently been quite willing to do. She is described as a woman who loved” dressiness, jollity metropolitan life, crowds, theatres and gentlemen companions”Like Carrie, Mrs. Vance leaves home when she is young. But unlike Carrie, whose flight from home emanates from a curiosity about life, Mrs. Vances departure is engendered by a “runaway match” with a young student. She seems to have resolved that a young student is incapable of keeping her in an appropriate style: hence the marriage “turned out badly”. The present keeper of her “honor” is Mr. William B. Vance, “the secretary of a large tobacco company whose general office was in New York”. Because Mrs. Vance owes “his seemingly comfortable matrimonial state much more to his money than to his good looks”, Dreiser implies that Mrs. Vance sought and accepted an attachment largely for status and financial security.Mrs. Vance represents the female stereotype that is governed by a desire for the conspicuous display of wealth that her husband can provide. Carrie of tern observes that Mrs. Vance is impeccably groomed, and that she delights in flaunting the visible manifestations of what money and position can do. For Carrie Mrs. Vance has clearly “married well”. But it is just as clear to the reader that Dreiser disapproves of Mrs. Vances vulgar displays of wealth, displays which have merely been provided bt ger attachment to her husband.Nonetheless, Mrs. Vances sophistication and finery prompt Carries recognition of herself as poor. She recognizes the advantages of Mrs. Vances socio-cultural choice. Although Carrie appreciates that the “bargain” Mrs. Vance has made is a profitable one, she cannot and does not make the same compromise. Carrie has never been drawn primarily by sexual or material temptation. In fact, Carries true seducer is experience it self. By contrast, Mrs. Vance superficial sophistication is an illustration of the notion that she has accepted the gender requirements of her time. She is Dreisers portrait of the woman who recognizes that the only away she can get ahead is to accept and manipulate prescribed gender dictates, and it is against Mrs. Vance that we are urged to estimate Carrie. Carrie is true to herself and her individuality and as such is unwilling to barter herself in exchange for prestige.At no time does Carrie surrender to the giant gender machine in which she must operate: not Dreisers mechanistic determinism but the machinery of a cultural system in which men are the wheels and women the cogs. Instead, Dreiser offers Carrie the opportunity to discover a versatile medium through which she might re-invent herself as woman and transcend the gender stereotypes of her culture: actin