Capitalism And The Sister Carrie Novel English Literature Essay
Theodor Dreiser wrote his fresh “ Sister Carrie ” in 1900. This fresh became a really successful introduction of him. Besides he laid down all the major subjects that were besides reflected in his following novels.
“ Sister Carrie ” was called the typical American novel. The chief characters and their narratives illustrated the influence that the alterations in the economic state of affairs in the state made upon American society and civilization. Caroline Meeber is one of the 1000s of work forces and adult females who were seeking for any occupation in difficult economic state of affairs caused by the economic roar. She is introduced into a novel in an unusual manner. She has no history and we know nil about her former life.
Capitalism influenced the American society. And one of the manifestations of this influence was the strong accent on the conspicuous ingestion. Theodor Dreiser pays attending to every item: he exhaustively enumerates everything Carrie has with her on her reaching. He besides emphasizes that everything is unreal, that fact would play an of import function in her formation as a personality. The reader ‘s first feeling of Carrie is formed by her ownerships, because her ideas, purposes and ideals are yet unknown. Dreiser ends his description with the exact amount of money Carrie carries with her. From now on the accent of the money job will be one of the chief characteristics of the novel. As we know subsequently one of the Carrie ‘s bosom ‘s desires is to roll up money and stuff places, because she strongly believes that it is the lone possible manner to happiness. That s why Drouet attracts her so much. He seems to be rich, elegant and hence happy. This image created by Carrie ‘s head promises her stuff pleasances, nice vesture, affluent life and many other desirable things. This is the first clip when Carrie manifests her consumer ‘s outlook that governs her dealingss with other people and her attitude towards them.
The difficult economic state of affairs in the USA made the occupation search an ordeal for many people. Besides this state of affairs reveals the capitalist values of the society. Employers do non handle people as personalities but look at everyone as a trade good, judging whether a adult male or a adult female corresponds to the cost. Furthermore the capitalist character of economic system manipulates consumers and their desires. Carrie is a graphic illustration. She wants beautiful things urgently, although she has no money to purchase everything she wants. She is invariably frustrated by the inability to purchase things that are necessary for life. And that awful poorness makes her suffering.
So she is attracted by Drouet who seems to hold no jobs that do non allow Carrie be happy. Drouet is represented as a symbol of the new economic construction. He can be called a commodification of a life being. He is non a consumer, he sell things to other people. Carrie is an active consumer in the bosom of Black Marias, so she longs to be close wealth and prosperity. It is non hard for her to understand that holding a nice face she attract work forces ‘s attending. She understands that work forces treat adult females as trade good. And she does non mind to sell herself in order to acquire everything she desires. She is besides eager to fall in the universe of consumerism as it promises her many pleasances and joys. She throws herself into Drouet ‘s weaponries, who appears to be so nice and generous purchasing her new apparels and giving money. Relationss between work forces and adult females are shown from the consumerist side: work forces can purchase adult females, and adult females do non object to be bought at all. Consumer outlook governs even intimate relation between people. Carrie urgently wants to hold money. Time had non come for her to understand that money entirely is deserving of nil. She still believes that if she could purchase everything she would hold no jobs. Carrie is non presented as an lone fallen adult female who should be condemned by a reader. She is one of many other adult females who had no pick during those times. Or at least they thought that there was no other manner for them.
Hurstwood is a adult male from another universe, the universe of rich people and affluent life. He is a capitalist. He must be happy in his life as from the first point of position he has everything a hapless adult male or adult female ( such as Carrie ) may desire: beautiful married woman, which is his proud in the eyes of the neighbours, educated and intelligent kids, who will enrich their wealth after their matrimonies. Hurstwood made a good calling and his place brings him a really good net income. So what is the ground to his sadness, asks Theodor Dreiser. What happened to the adult male who can non acquire pleasance from the affluent life? The reply appears to be non hard at all. There is no bound to a individual ‘s consumer desires. Carrie is hapless and she want to purchase pretty apparels and have money for her simple amusements, while Hurstwood ‘s married woman agony are non less than Carrie ‘s, because she can non afford herself an expensive resort circuit. Unsatisfied desire is the land for all the problems: all the members of the consumer society are non satisfied with what they have, everybody wants to hold more. No affair how much money you already have the thought that person has more bashs non allow people kip. So Carrie wants to acquire entree to the universe of George Hurstwood, but his married woman and girl want to acquire entree to the higher circle of the richer people.
Hurstwood ‘s married woman Julia is non happy in her matrimony. She can non stand the place of the adult female who is controlled by her hubby, the place of the adult female who is possessed by a adult male and is told what to make and where to travel. Hurstwood truly treats his married woman as his ownership and enjoys the thought that he can demo her as one of his properties as a manifestation of his wealth. But their matrimony was besides based on the consumerist rule: Hurstwood married her and hence allow her come in his rich universe, while Julia sold him the sole right to hold her organic structure in his ownership. That really happened to Carrie when she accepted Drouet ‘s courtship and agreed to hold intimate dealingss with him. So Mrs. Hurstwood understands that holding really sold herself to a adult male she made a error. Marriage bonds burden her, she suffers from the inability to make what she wants to. Carrie besides suffers, but the grounds of her agonies are rather opposite: she feels humiliated holding to feign that she is Douet ‘s married woman, while she is non. She sees redemption in the matrimony bonds while Julia Hurstwood wants to acquire rid of them. Still neither Carrie nor Julia acquire satisfaction after making their ends. Julia Hurstwood is still covetous and angry that her hubby left her. Carrie can non happen satisfaction in matrimony to Hurstwood, particularly when he stops to give her money for all her amusements. This illustration illustrates that consumerist position of life influences every domain of life.
Carrie ‘s matrimony to George Hurstwood is really a consumerist title. She does non believe about her feelings towards him. She merely attempts to expect whether it would convey her any net income or non. Having counted that Hurstwood has more possible that Drouet, she does non waver to do a determination at one time: Drouet is needed no more. Theodore Dreiser tells us nil about love between them. After George Hurstwood proposes Carrie to remain with him, she does non immerse into drawn-out negotiations about love or any other feelings between them. She considers a mere buss to be adequate to subscribe a consumerist contract between them. She really sells herself for the 2nd clip to another adult male. Carrie ‘s computations are non hard: Hurstwood has money ; he can be utile for her. The lone job is that her computations are non really distant: she does non anticipate that George Hurstwood stole the money from his company and has to return them in order to avoid public dirt. Carrie manages to do a calling of an actress. She starts making good money. While Carrie is making a success and is going more and more popular, Hurstwood is worsening – non merely in stuff facet, but besides in the psychological 1. So he represents consumer involvement for Carrie no more. He has no money and can give her nil. Her demands and desires grow every twenty-four hours on a high velocity. She wants to do friends with rich adult females, who do non desire to cognize her, because her hubby is non in his top signifier any longer. Carrie is ashamed of Hurstwood, she does non desire this feeling prevent her from come ining the higher circles of the affluent society. So there is a determination of the job: Hurstwood has done what he had to and should be displaced from Carrie ‘s successful and happy life.
Carrie reaches the wealth she desired so much. But to her great surprise she does non go happier than she was earlier. She has rich apparels, so much than she does non even have clip to have on them all ; she has a batch of supporters, but they follow her non because she is an outstanding personality as she would wish to believe but because she represents a really nice trade good they would wish to buy. Still attending of many work forces is attracted by Carrie ‘s high monetary value she managed to set up for her nice face and empty psyche. Neither her success nor popularity give emotional and moral pleasance for everything she does. Being already a rich adult female she is still every bit suffering as she was when she had nil to eat and twenty dollars given by Drouet could do her the happiest adult female in the universe. She is an impersonalized representative of the universe of rich people. In this regard the contrast between rich and hapless people is emphasized by the captain. He is a adult male, who has no place and lives in the street. Every twenty-four hours he gathers the other hapless people around him and together they try to pass a twenty-four hours of their life. They beg for nutrient and some money. Stoping legion walkers he manages to roll up money for a dark in a inexpensive shelter for every one of them. He persists in his beggary until every adult male has a topographic point to kip that dark. This character symbolizes the dehumanised life of hapless people, their despairing state of affairs. He is besides a personification of human kindness, love for neighbour in the center of the immense metropolis where it is highly hard to continue human feelings and experience charity. Not merely does he inquire for money, but he tries to gain it making everything he can – entertaining people, doing public presentations for them. He is an histrion as Carrie, but their intents are different. While she is seeking to quench her thirst for money and can non make it, this adult male manages to make his end every twenty-four hours, gaining less that Carrie. He achieves his purpose and can gauge the existent cost of money. Meanwhile Carrie got confused: with all her money she has she can purchase a batch of things. She can afford herself purchasing even love, at least love as she understands it. The job is that she does non cognize what can do her happy. She is wholly baffled: she considered money to be the lone means that could do her happy. Now she has no ends, no objects. It is hard to state even herself what she wants from life now.
