FREE ESSAY ON DREISER'S "SISTER CARRIE"

DREISER'S "SISTER CARRIE"

I think it is very difficult to define the exact character of Dreiser's "Sister Carrie",
and his original intention. I would say, "as many eyes, so many opinions", so no wonder
there are different approaches and interpretations towards the novel which is influenced
not just by the reader's 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. It's definitely not the plot or characters which are dominant
elements of it. The taste and the literary value of Dreiser's novel is shaped and created
by its setting and the author's tone. Chicago and New York have almost as organic 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 kind of more "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. It's 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 revealing the
different kinds of desire.
Generally we can say that Dreiser deals with the desire of wealth, social status,
material things which are represented by money. Within this generalization, we can find
and identify many other faces and forms of lust and longing. Carrie, as an ambitious and
strong woman 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 world of prices. Her labor costs $4.50; board $4 a week; car fare $.60; cheap
lunch $.10; etc. She imitates everything perfectly and that's why she is becoming what
people want her to become. Her desires come from other people's desires. It is exactly
Drouet, who introduces her to the world of wealth, to materialism. He gives her money,
flat even "name when she enters the world of theater. She plays her role according to
Drouet's desires - once acts as his mistress or "wife". She plays a kind of role for him
and by imitating whatever the "drummer" desires in women, she becomes merely a reflection
of "masculine" desire. It seems to me that she is never allowed to express any desire of
her own - except for her desire for consumption (admiring and buying clothes). I think in
her relationship with other people, she feels bigger pleasure fro being desired than for
feeling desire of her own. 
The question is wheter Dreiser's attitude towards women is negative or positive? Are his
women just objects or active characters? Or does Dreiser reinforce the conventional
belief that the essence of a woman is just a performance of a role? I think we can also
talk about a kind of "prostitution" as for the female characters, namely Carrie and
Julia. Carrie sells herself for $20, and she is paid far more for her body than she is
for her labor. Julia also demands money which makes her marriage also as a form of
prostitution. Is sex in this world, consumption society, a woman's most marketable
product? Do these women have or even can they have their own faces?
Hurstwood's desire is to possess, to possess a quiet and peaceful life with exciting
"episodes". He views marriage as a contract that gives him a right to control both women
without questions. He thinks he has the absolute power to make decisions. Does Dreiser
want to stress that power is a natural and singular masculine right?
Dreiser's attitude towards his characters is pretty confusing. He tries to manipulate his
readers and throughout the novel, he makes comments judgements on the characters and
their actions. Definitely, he feels more sympathy towards his male characters. His
opinion on women is not "pleasant", he is putting them to a position of creatures who are
naturally imitative, who love performance, clothing, so not ones who could follow their
own decisions. 
The author's voice makes the tone of the novel which is very important and dominant in
Dreiser's "Sister Carrie". This is also a typical trait of naturalism, where the author
is taking back his control over the characters and their actions. 
I think, "Sister Carrie" represents a naturalistic type of novel. The characters and
their actions are determined, and they do not have much free will. Many actions take
place by accident, by chance which is not of course "spiritual fate" but still forms
different kinds of determinism. Carrie's fate is determined by her gender, by her
environment - cities where she lives - and people, who she is surrounded by. 
Although Carrie does not leave a very "sweet taste" in the readers' mouth, I like her. I
am not saying that her reactions would represent a woman with high moral qualities, but
as for the society, it was not her choice. I think, it was the only way to live and
survive.
I like Dreiser's images of seasons, weather, theater, newspaper. I like his comments,
observations, and language.
It was really a very enjoyable and exciting reading.