摘 要

《嘉莉妹妹》是美国杰出作家西奥多•德莱塞的作品，这是一部以欲望为主题的小说。嘉莉命运的变化导致她逐渐迷失自己，沦为社会的牺牲品；她强烈的欲望使她永远不知道满足；资本主义的侵蚀使她不得不去大城市谋求更好的生活；而两个情人的影响更使她的道德观变得扭曲。本文根据女主人公嘉莉命运的变化，着重分析了嘉莉悲剧的具体原因，揭示了美国资本主义制度的残酷，进一步阐述了社会发展和人类命运之间的关系。

关键词： 《嘉莉妹妹》；欲望；悲剧；原因分析

Contents

1. Introduction ...………………………………………………………………………1

2. Demonstration …………………………………………………...………………….1

2.1 A brief introduction to the novel ………………………………………………..1

2.2 The changes in Carrie’s destiny ……………………………………………….....2

2.2.1 As a working woman ………………………………………………………….2

2.2.2 As a mistress ………………………………………………………………...2

2.2.3 As an actress ……………………………………………………………........3

2.3 The analysis of the causes of the tragedy of Carrie ……………………………….4

2.3.1 Internal factors …………………………………..……………………………4

2.3.1.1 Carrie’s changed character ………………………………………………...4

2.3.1.2 Carrie’s strong desire ……………………………………………………...4

2.3.2 External factors……………………………..…………………………………5

2.3.2.1 Social environment………………………………………………………...5

2.3.2.2 Family education…………………………………………………………..6

2.3.2.3 Two lovers’ influence……………………………………………………...7

2.4 Enlightenment….…………………………………………………………………8

3. Conclusion ………………….………………………………………….…………...9

Works Cited…………………………………………………………….………….…10

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….11

An Analysis of the Causes of Carrie’s Tragedy in Sister Carrie

1. Introduction

Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) is a pioneer and representative writer of American modern novels. He and Hemingway and Faulkner are ranked as the only three great novelists in America after the First World War. The novel Sister Carrie, one of his representative works, broke the Victorian conservative ideology and opened a new world of faithfulness and boldness. It brought a revolution to American literature at that time and is unique in the history of American literature.

Since the publication of Sister Carrie in 1900, scholars have continued to further their literary studies about it. The domestic research on Sister Carrie has developed to a more mature stage. It mainly explores Carrie's tragic roots, female role interpretation, fate transformation and feminism. Foreign literary workers also analyzed Carrie's desires and tragedies from different perspectives, such as capitalist social background, Carrie's setbacks in her marriage and her struggles.

This article will analyze the specific causes of Carrie's tragedy based on the fate of the heroine Carrie, and try to reveal the cruelty of the American capitalist system and further elaborate the relationship between social development and human destiny.

2. Demonstration

2.1 A brief introduction to the novel

Sister Carrie describes the experiences of the rural girl Carrie in making a living in two metropolises: Chicago and New York. Her family was poor, but she had longed for a rich life in the city and came to live in Chicago. In order to escape poverty, she sold her virginity and became the mistress of Drouet, a salesman. Later, as a result of greater desires, she again became the mistress of the hotel manager Hurstwood. After escaping with Hurstwood to New York, due to an occasional chance, she became a popular actress with her beauty and voice, and pushed into the upper class of the bourgeoisie, realizing her dreams. In this story, the author, represented by Carrie, profoundly exposes the corruption and hypocrisy of the American capitalist morality, revealing that there can be no real happiness in the money-centered American capitalist society.

2.2 The changes in Carrie’s destiny