DREAM AND DISILLUSIONMENT IN THEODORE DREISER’S 'SISTER CARRIE' (Pages 01-16) by Dr. K. Ankanna in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Theodore Dreiser is a distinguished American writer of the first quarter of the twentieth Century. The biggest credit paid to Dreiser comes in the words of his critic friend H.L.Mencken who opined that if at all American writing is to be classified, then it should be done as ‘before Dreiser’ and ‘after Dreiser’. This shows the kind of radical influence Dreiser had exercised on American writing. As such, he did not follow the ‘Trend’ but became a ‘Trend-setter.’ Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, published in 1900 resulted in several controversies. However, it later proved to be his most successful and much acclaimed novel. The novel primarily revolves around eighteen year old Caroline Meeber, Carrie, in short, who, leaves her village in order to make ‘something big’ in Chicago. She, in the train, instantly comes across Charles Drouet, a travelling salesman who is loquacious and flashy. She falls for him and so does he. They depart temporarily. Carrie reaches her sister’s house but soon discovers that the relationships are purely materialistic and she has to work to fend for herself apart from giving a part of it for rent and food in her sister’s house. She finds a job in shoe factory for four and a half dollars a week. In course of time, she falls sick and loses her job. Drouet takes her to his house and she becomes his mistress. Events take a different turn when Drouet brings to his house George Hurstwood, the manager of a prosperous bar and introduces him to Carrie. Hurstwood is a married man and is a modern day capitalist. He gets fascinated by Carrie and drifts from his wife Julia and children Jessica and son George Jr. Julia files a scandalous suit for divorce and Hurstwood almost becomes a pauper. He hides his status before Carrie. Drouet discovers Carrie’s passion for Hurstwood and vice-versa and walks out on her. Hurstwood, in a strange twist of fate, unwillingly and unconsciously is compelled to steal ten thousand dollars cash, left unprotected in the locker at his workplace. He takes Carrie away to Montreal promising her to marry. Initially, she supports him financially but later shuns him. After some twists and turns, Carrie becomes a renowned actress. Hurstwood comes down to rags and finally commits suicide. This research paper seeks to study Sister Carrie as a major commentary on American Society, which, in pursuit of an ‘American Dream’ actually has become to decay. The novel is not necessarily a work about morality. Dreiser seems to suggest that human beings are the prisoners of fate and are ‘more sinned against than sinning’. The society is to be blamed for the disintegration of people living in it. This paper also is a sort of critique of the fondest idea of the American society – ‘American Dream’ getting thwarted in pursuit of riches and materialistic contemplations. Keywords: American Dream, Capitalism, Consumerism, Cosmopolitan virtue, Dehumanization, Commodification.