正文： It is popularly held that Carrie’s to fame is a process of degeneration. However, that statement is really worth pondering. At least, Carrie wins what she dreams of –wealth, status, fame. Furthermore, against all odds, she never loses hopes for the betterment of life and the desire to rise above others.
2.1 The factors for her wrong choices Admittedly, she uses man as a step in her ladder to success. She is not a ruthless self-seeker, who may do anything for self-interest.
She feels ashamed to take Drouet’s money and always considers returning it.
She agrees to stay in Drouet’s flat, because she practically is not welcome in her sister’s house and she has no elsewhere to go.
She dates with Hurstwood on the condition that Drouet fails his promise to merry her all the time.
She drops Hurstwood, because the latter sinks into depression and has no power and no heart for supporting the family.
There stand limited options for her to choose the way she would like to live. In most cases, she simply has no choice but to accept things as it is.
Therefore, if confronted with these dilemmas, most people may make the exactly same choice as Carrie does.
Carrie’s tragedy lies in her inability to revise her wrong decisions and what she can do is only to repeat them.
The causes for Carrie’s tragedyChapterⅢ 3.1 The hardness of life
From the very beginning, Carrie expects to toil to pay for the fine clothes and smart shoes on the shelves. In this respect, she indeed matches her words to her deeds. She does her utmost to hunt for a job and exerts herself to do it well.
However, the reward is so meager that even not enough to leave some dollars for a warm coat. No matter she lives with Drouet or Hurstwood, her carefree days will not last long. Moreover, people around her are always ready to take advantage of her. She goes to astray simply because she wants to live comfortably. Even after obtaining what she wants, she does not achieve happiness, because she realizes she loses something that may weight more.
3.2 Her strong material desire As a young girl, she loves fashionable pleasures and wants to associate with the civilized and elegant class which is beyond reproach, yet the unending pursuit of material comfort totally defeats her ration. She accepts what has happened as it makes her closer to what she wants.
Pitifully, in the process of realizing this kind of dream, she loses herself and even gives up her will. Consequently, she is still lonely and unhappy.
3.2 Her wrong ideas about happiness She mistakes richness for happiness. However, they two can never totally equal to one another. In Carrie’s mind, money to some extent means everything including happiness. She is always prior the thought for luxuries life in her consideration for next step. Material temptation lures her to march forward even at price of her innocence and purity. Despite the attainment of wealth and fame, she finds her unhappy, because what she pursues and worships all the time is something hollow. It seems that she never truly grasps the meaning of happiness.
CONCLUSION Carrie is a controversial figure who always evokes people’s sympathy as well as condemn. She tries to fulfill her dream on her own but she fails. As a poor girl from lower middle class, she resorts lovers’ assistance to get closer to the glittering and comfortable life of upper class. She fails to achieve happiness even after getting hold of wealth and fame. Because she is unable to make it clear that the empty pursuit for the dazzling wealth will not bring froth happiness as she anticipates. Instead, she will lose something that worth more.
The Carrie cut’s girl is not rarely seen in our society today. They rely on outside power particularly man’s to gain material comfort. Dreiser’s novel may serve as an warning to alarm this group, so that they will not repeat Carrie’s tragedy.
To wind up this paper, I would like to say the fundamental significance of life lies in the pursuing a meaningful and lofty end on one’s own.
Bibliography 德莱赛著， 王勋、纪飞译. 嘉莉妹妹﹒北京：清华大学出版社，2011﹒
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