Table of Contents
What did Theodore Dreiser do?
Dreiser was a committed socialist and wrote several nonfiction books on political issues. These included Dreiser Looks at Russia (1928), the result of his 1927 trip to the Soviet Union, and two books presenting a critical perspective on capitalist America, Tragic America (1931) and America Is Worth Saving (1941).
What did Theodore Dreiser believe?
Like other naturalistic novelists of the 1890s Theodore Dreiser believed in evolutionary and materialistic determinism and gave these ideas powerful expression. Preoccupied with sex, he demanded the freedom to write about it as he saw fit.
What is the setting of the American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser?
While working as a bellboy at an exclusive club in Chicago, he meets his wealthy uncle Samuel Griffiths, the owner of a shirt-collar factory in the fictional city of Lycurgus, New York.
How does Theodore Dreiser critique American society in Sister Carrie?
Capitalism in “Sister Carrie” by Dreiser and the desire to consume is the driving force and desire becomes more important that genuine sentiment. In this novel, characters change in class status and are constantly at risk of being lost in the sea of the urban landscape.
Why is Carrie unhappy at the end of the novel?
And at the very end of the novel, she’s basically back to where she was at the beginning: longing for that elusive something that will make her happy. Even worse, this line doesn’t make us very hopeful that she’s going to achieve it any time soon. It’s pretty rare for this to happen to a major character.
How does Sister Carrie end?
Carrie decides to leave Hurstwood on his own, for he has become a deadweight to her. In a few years Carrie gains fame and fortune as a stage comedienne. Hurstwood continues to decline until he becomes a Bowery tramp and finally commits suicide.
Who is Carrie jealous of?
When she loses her job, her sister and brother-in-law cannot support her, so she becomes Charlie Drouet’s mistress. Afterward, she becomes infatuated with another man, George Hurstwood.
What is the significance of Sister Carrie?
Sister Carrie was the first masterpiece of American naturalism in its grittily factual presentation of the vagaries of urban life and in its ingenuous heroine, who goes unpunished for her transgressions against conventional morality.
What was the purpose of Sister Carrie?
Sister Carrie was a movement away from the emphasis on morals of the Victorian era and focused more on realism and the base instincts of humans. Sister Carrie went against social and moral norms of the time, as Dreiser presented his characters without judging them.
What kind of person is Sister Carrie?
Carrie is the central character of the novel, but in many ways she is no ordinary protagonist. She is not notably courageous, honest, intelligent, or unselfish. She is the result of Dreiser’s desire to portray “life as it is,” sympathetically showing imperfect humanity in an uncertain world.
Who is Hurstwood?
George Hurstwood is the manager of Fitzgerald and Moy’s, a saloon in Chicago. At the beginning of the novel, he is a wealthy, important man. He falls in love with Carrie after meeting her through Drouet.
How did Sister Carrie end?
Carrie, unaware of Hurstwood’s reason for quitting, leaves him. Hurstwood ultimately becomes one of the homeless of New York, taking odd jobs, falling ill with pneumonia, and finally becoming a beggar. He ultimately commits suicide in a flophouse.