Happiness in Sister Carrie
"Sister Carrie," written by Theodore Dreiser, portrays the life of a young, innocent girl whose lifestyle is drastically changed when she moves into the city. Carrie, the main character, is very optimistic and imaginative. She views life as a dream with its many luxuries and pleasures. At first, she lacks all the things she sees in her dream, but through acquaintances and relationships, she hopes to satisfy her needs and be happy in life. Carrie is only eighteen years old and is allured by the opportunities and glimmer of city life when she boards a train headed for Chicago. She believes it will be much more fun, elegant, and exciting than living on a farm. This can be seen when the author says, "She felt.... out of place, but the great view of the room soothed her and the view of the well dressed throng outside seemed a splendid thing." Carri
e is very much indeed out of place. She has no money and can only find a meager job. She also finds the situation at home with her sister very frustrating and depressing. Carrie now feels that the city is not all that it seems to be. It seems that Carrie has finally found a match and is finally settled, possessing all the things she dreamed of. However, when Hurstwood is fired and runs out of money, Carrie, with her increasingly larger and successful role in the theater, looks upon Hurstwood as a burden and leaves him in order to fulfill her destiny as an actress. No later does Carrie realize that her whole life is a mess and that she is not truly happy, but has brought down sadness and loneliness upon herself. Drouet is a very important figure in Carrie's life. He meets her on the train to Chicago and amazes and entices her with his looks, smooth man
Some common words found in the essay are:
Theodore Dreiser, Maybe Carrie, Unlike Drouet, Drouet Instead, Carrie Drouet, Carrie Hurstwood, Moy's Hurstwood, Sister Carrie, life carrie, carrie drouet,
Approximate Word count = 580
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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