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英美文学课程论文论文题目:A Girls American Dream-Hardship, Success and Tragedy 一个女孩的美国梦-艰辛,成功与悲剧完成日期:2011年 5月 23日A Girls American Dream-Hardship, Success and Tragedy AbstractSister Carrie is Theodore Dreisers first novel and has been regarded as his most prominent masterpiece. It is this book opens the gate of rural novel in American. It tells the story of a countryside girl, Carrie goes to Chicago to seek for her American dream. Defeated by the reality and to survive, she becomes mistress of two men. Finally she takes an opportunity to be an actress and becomes famous. In the This paper is going to analysis one of the themesAmerican dream. For Carrie, the way to success is full of hardship, her success is at the cost of herself, she lost herself because of pursuing material life.Key words: Carrie, Hardship, Success, Tragedy, Material一个女孩的美国梦-艰辛,成功与悲剧内容摘要 嘉莉妹妹是美国作家西奥多德莱塞的处女作,是他所有作品中最著名的一部,也是这本书叩开了美国农村小说题材的大门。这部小说讲述一个农村女孩嘉莉去芝加哥找寻美国梦的故事。因为被现实挫败,为了生存嘉利不得不先后沦为两个男人的情妇,最后她抓住机会成为一名著名的演员。这篇论文主要分析此书众多主题中的一个-美国梦。对于嘉莉来讲,通往成功的道路充满着艰辛,她的成功是以牺牲自我为代价的,在追求物质生活的过程中她迷失了自我。关键词: 嘉莉 艰辛 成功 悲剧 精神空白Contents 1. Introduction .1 1.1 Information of the author Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser . .2 1.2 Summary of Sister Carrie.2 1.3 Criticisms of Sister Carrie.22. The theme.2 2.1 What is America dream.3 2.2 Hardship in Carriers life.3 2.3 Carriers success 4 2.4 Carriers tragedy.42.4.1 The sacrifice of love4 2.4.2 Carries spiritual blankness.53. Conclusion.5 1. Introduction1.1 Information of the author -Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (August 27, 1871 December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist. He pioneered the naturalist school and was regarded as the most prominent author of the modern American novel, together with Hemingway and William Faulkner. Coming from the bottom of the society, Dreiser is the first one to describe the real American citizen life. He is called pioneer of American contemporary fiction and is thought to be the great master of American realism.Dreiser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, to Sarah and John Paul Dreiser, a strict Catholic family and was the twelfth of thirteen children From 1889 to 1890, Theodore attended Indiana University before dropping out. Within several years, he was writing for the newspaper. His first novel, Sister Carrie (1900) has since acquired a considerable reputation which has been called the greatest of all American urban novels. His second novel, Jennie Gerhardt, was published in 1911. Many of Dreisers subsequent novels dealt with social inequality. His first commercial success was An American Tragedy (1925).Though primarily known as a novelist, Dreiser published his first collection of short stories, Free and Other Stories in 1918. Another story, My Brother Paul, was a brief biography of his older brother, Paul Dresser, who was a famous songwriter in the 1890s. This story was the basis for the 1942 romantic movie, My Gal Sal.1.2 Summary of Sister CarrieSister Carrie (1900) is a novel written by Theodore Dreiser mainly talks about Carrie, the girl who is beautiful but timid, young, innocent, clever and vain and who is reluctant to leave her families and hometown, but filled with the dreams about the luxurious life in metropolis. She intends to make a living in Chicago alone, get together with her sister and then seek for new life. To survive, she successively becomes the lover of Drouet and Woodhurst, and at last takes the opportunities to become a famous actress. Dissatisfied with life in her rural Wisconsin home, Carrie Meeber takes the train to Chicago, where her older sister Minnie, and her husband Sven Hanson have agreed to take her in. On the train, Carrie comes across Charles Drouet, a traveling salesman and they exchange contact information. Carrie lives with her sister and has to pay 4 dollors a week. She then takes a job running a machine in a shoe factory. But unfortunately an illness costs her job. Deep in hopelessness and despair, she wonders in the street to hunt for another job. Once again she encounters with Charles Drouet who shows great kindness and sympathy to her. The lonely Sister Carrie is overwhelmed by Mr. Drouets and moves to a house rented by Drouet. She becomes kept women. Later on, Drouet introduces Carrie to George Hurstwood, the manager of Fitzgerald and Moys - a respectable bar that Drouet describes as a way-up, swell place Hurstwood, unhappy with and distant from his social-climbing wife and children, instantly becomes infatuated with Carries youth and beauty, and before long they start an affair, communicating and meeting secretly in the city. Being finding that Hurstwood can provide her more comfortable life, driving by her vanity, Carrie elopes with Hurstwood, who steals large amounts of money from the club. They settle down in New York and start new life. However, life is always out of control and expectation, Hurstwood is deceived by his business partner and goes bankrupt.Carrie regards Hurstwood as a burden and leaves him. As a result of chance, she becomes a star as an actress. She becomes rich and gets into the upper class of society and realizes all her fantasy dreams. However, does the so-called upper-class social life, gives her anything at all? She feels that life is empty with no true meaning. In the loneliness and desolation, the dream of sitting in a rocking chair in a TV drama is not the end of happiness.1.3 Criticisms of Sister CarrieCommon praise among reviews was for the novels realistic depiction of the human condition. A 1901 review in the Academy said that Sister Carrie was “absolutely free from the slightest trace of sentimentality or pettiness, and dominated everywhere by a serious and strenuous desire for truth”. The London Express claimed that this realism is what makes the book appealing: “It is a cruel, merciless story, intensely clever in its realism, and one that will remain impressed in the memory of the reader for many a long day” The novel has also been praised for its accurate depiction of the protests in New York and the city life in Chicago.There was a fair amount of negative response to the novel as well, arising largely from the books sexual content, which made Sister Carrie, in the words of the Omaha Daily Bee in 1900, “not a book to be put into the hands of every reader indiscriminately”. Another review in Life criticized Carries success, and warned “Such girls, however, as imagine that they can follow in her footsteps will probably end their days on the Island or in the gutter” The book was also criticized for never mentioning the name of God.Theodore Dreiser encountered both criticism and praise of his unique literary style. While some viewed his work as grammatically and syntactically inaccurate, others found his detailed storytelling intriguing. An avid supporter and friend, H.L. Mencken referred to Dreiser as “a man of large originality, of profound feeling, and of unshakable courage”. Mencken believed that Dreisers raw, honest portrayal of Carries life should be seen as a courageous attempt to give the reader a realistic view of the life of women in the nineteenth century.2. The Theme: A girls American dream-Hardship, Success and TragedyIn Sister Carrier, Dreise touches on wide ranges of the themeAmerican dream, competition, identity, materialism and poverty. Among them, the theme of American dream is the most important one. Each of the character in Sister Carrier has an American dream and the novel is centered on Carriers dream and developed through her life experience.2.1 What is the American dream?The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights including Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.The background of this book is set in the year of 1900 in Chicago. It seemed a triumphant moment when the United States catapulted to the top of the worlds industrial producers by the end of the nineteenth century. The bitter legacy of the Civil War seemed to have subsided as the country got down to the business of technological advancement, manufacturing efficiency, transportation revolution, and wealth creation.So it is a chance for Americas to change their life, especially for young people who have great expectations for their future. In this book, Carrier is a girl with American dream, though comes from rural place. She wants to change her life, she pursues money and high social status, she becomes independent and success finally.2.2 Hardship in Carriers life Carrie, a poor country girl, arrives in Chicago, filled with the expectations of acquiring the finer things in life. The dazzling lights of metropolis light up her desirer and dream, but she doesnt know lies, fake, wickedness and hypocrisy are covered by the lights. The more expectations you are longing for the future, the wider gap between the ideal and reality you will find. The author describes Carries hardship especially the early days in Chicago. When Carrie arrives in Chicago, she finds that her sister-in-law indifferent and she must pay 4 dollars a week as the house rent. It sounds ridiculous for they are close relatives. The hard job-hunting experience of Carrie reflects her hardship apparently and is similar to the severe employment situations in modern society. Each time she applies for a job, the question“Do you have working experience?”is asked. Many times she enters in an office, the words“Sorry, we dont need employees in the moment ”is heard. In such a big city with fast development, the young girl can not find a job to support herself, to fulfill her personal values. Some quoted sentence like “So severe a defeat told sadly upon her nerves. Her feet carried her mechanically forward, every foot of her progress being satisfactory portion of a flight which she gladly made. Block after block passed byHer feet began to tire upon the broad stone flagging It was not so much the particular rebuff which she had just experienced, but the whole abashing trend of the day. She wandered on, feeling a certain safety and relief in mingling with the crowd ” can show us the difficulties Carrie meets. Being refused for several times, Carrie loses hope and feels despair. She wants to escape and return home. Survival is so difficult that she get confused and lost. Later, she finds a job operating machine in a shoe-making factory, with the salary of 4.5 dollars a week, of which 4 should be paid as the house rent. Whats worse, the working conditions are very badit was a place rather dingily lighted, the place smelled of the oil of the machines and the new leather, not the slightest provision had been made for the comfort of the employees. Carrie doesnt satisfy with the job, but she has no other choice but to accept and endures. Lost of the job is the turning point in Carriers life, the turning point of her final success and tragedy. To survive, she had to rely on someone and was attracted by the consideration and manner of the men who are much older than her. The feeling of the past 200 years is much the same with the feeling in modern times.On the surface, writer is describing Carries miserable suffering, telling readers that life is always very hard for women. However, to explore the deep meaning, Carrie is just a representative of the people from working-class who are oppressed by the capitalist. Dreiser shows sympathy to them and reveals the social contradictions.2.3 Carriers success Carries success is driven by dream and money. She is a girl with inborn intelligence and good taste which is the basic for her success. On one hand, she is a girl with great ambition, which is different from her sister who has been used to live a peaceful life. She wants to change her destiny, she desires for money and luxurious things, she is eager to climb into the high social class. No matter how pimping you are, dream is important and essential to future success because dream or ambition has the power to drive you forward. On the other hand, Carriers success is mostly driven by her vanity and lust for money. It is through money that all the characters determine their success.For Carrier, success is random and unture, which is based on chance instead of effort. She meets Drouet by chance and then introduced to Hurstwood through him, also through no effort of her own. She is rewarded by the opportunity to own fine things and ultimately, achieved material wealth of her own through her skill as an actress. She has reached her summit through manipulation, through luck, and for her willingness to engage in immoral sexual liaisons to climb the social ladder. Although Carrier has his wealth and social position, she is not a truly successful woman.2.4 Carriers tragedyAll in all, Carriers life is a tragedy. For her American dream, she lost herself. She sacrifices her youth, beauty, virginity and love. Finally, she becomes a winner in the world of wealth and fame, but a loser in spiritual world.2.4.1 The sacrifice of loveCarrie is a pure and kind girl and could originally have better life and get the perfect love in her heart, but her effort for life made her lose that true love in her heart and subject her to blankness and loneliness. Did she ever love the Drouet who gives her material enjoyment? No. She lives with him just because the money she could get from him is more than her weekly salary which is 4 dollars. She sells her conscience to exchange for the richness in material, but she doesnt regret. Her story is made the social background of that time. Otherwise, her future would be uncertain. Did she ever love the former manager Hurstwood who loses all his reputation? Maybe yes. But what is more is that she makes a dirty trade with her beauty. She was eager for a good marriage, but the Hurstwood, who eloped with her with the money, doesnt truly love her. Between them, love is too far to reach.To the regret, after Carrie opened the door of destiny with hope, she goes through it with confidence and then goes to open another door; she bets with her youth but only got loneliness. Society created such sadness for Carrie but she copied such sadness and made herself walk to the abysm of life step by step. Everyone wants to own gorgeous life, the peace of life, true love and become famous in a night, but real life cant offer us whatever we want. Love must be given up for life. For Carrie, love is nothing more than a trade! 2.4.2 Carries spiritual blanknessThough the novel doesnt make much description about Carries spiritual blankness after she became rich in material, this seems to be the finishing touch of main idea. More money will not make spirit full. Why doesnt Carrie feel happy while enjoying rich material life? Why does Carrie still feel unhappy with these conditions in hand? Why does she feel lonely at last? What should be the final goal of life toward happiness? Dealing with the relationship between the material and spiritual is of vital importance, which determines the direction and value of life It is right to pursue for material life, but it is not everything. In fact, it is never wrong to pursue for high standard and high class life. To live happily and mean
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