Carrie lives in a world where material objects carry great importance, and she believes that owning exquisite material objects will provide her with happiness. Often, Dreiser describes Carrie's self- philosophy as conditional; if only I can have this, I will be happy. The city is a place where Carrie believes she can succeed on her own. Dreiser describes her as "A half equipped little knight she was, venturing to reconnoiter the mysterious city and dreaming wild dreams of some vague, far-off supremacy which should make it prey and subject, the proper penitent, groveling at a woman's slipper," (Dreiser, 4). From the opening of the novel, Carrie is not pictured

Throughout the novel, Dreiser portrays Carrie's desire to be the object of gazing. Carrie learns to envy being gazed upon, and the social grace that accompanies the act as Drouet gazes upon a girl who "was pretty in a way, the chief impression she made by being by grace of a certain hauteur of glance, or better, no glance" (Dreiser, 101). Carrie begins to adopt mannerisms in order to attract male attention, most importantly to be looked upon by Drouet the same way he watched other graceful women. She looked in the mirror and pursed up her lips, accompanying it with a toss of the head as she had seen the railroad treasurer's daughter do. She caught up her skirts in an easy swing, fir had not Drouet remarked that in her and several others, and Carrie was naturally imitative. Dreiser, 104 Repetition of these instances, as well as the attention it brought to her from Hurstwood helped Carrie to develop from a youthful innocent, into a modish young woman. While in New York City, Carrie again envies the gaze that other women receive while she goes out to the matinee with Mrs. Vance. Men in flawless topcoats, high hats and silver-headed walking sticks elbowed near and looked too often into conscious eyes. Ladies rustled by in dresses of stiff cloth, shedding affected smiles and perfume. Dreiser, 323 Dreiser summons up Carries dream of self-worth defined through material things, social graces and to become the object of a gaze. "At the same time she longed to feel the delight of parading here as an equal. Ah, then she would be happy" (Dreiser, 324). Carrie's desire for happiness is conditional on the attention she can obtain from others.

Carrie begins to pursue her dream of success as she arrives in Chicago and throws herself into obtaining employment. After a tiresome search, Carrie finds employment at a shoe factory, even though she was not earning the amount of money she felt she needed to pursue her dreams, she was "revived by the possibilities, sure that she had found something to do at

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Approximate Word count = 1347
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)