嘉洛琳·米贝追求美国梦时的依赖性和独立性_英语论文

Caroline Meeber’s Dependence and Independence in Her Pursuit of American Dream

摘要

《嘉莉妹妹》是西奥多德莱赛的第一部作品。当时美国正处于从农业化向工业化的转型时期，这部作品使嘉莉作为一个美国梦的追寻者而不朽。在二十世纪初，当《嘉莉妹妹》初次发行时，来自读者的批评声不断。因为小说中展现的“金钱至上”的观念不能被这些读者所接受。新的价值观念和传统价值挂念之间的冲突也使他们感到困惑。

本篇论文展现了嘉莉在经济和感情上的独立和依附，表现出现代女性独立意识的艰难觉醒。嘉莉不能如她希望的那样获得完全的独立，也不会变成一个完全独立的新女性。在工业化的社会背景下，嘉莉对自己美国梦的追寻，也体现了在二十世纪初，传统价值观念的改变。由于特殊的社会环境，嘉莉的美国梦最终走向了幻灭。

关键词：美国梦；独立；依附；女性自我意识 

Abstract

Sister Carrie is Theodore Dreiser’s first novel. It immortalizes Caroline Meeber as a woman pursuer of American Dream when American society is in transition from agriculture society to the industrialization. When first published in the early 20th century, Sister Carrie aroused a great criticism from readers with the concept “money is the highest” fully embodied in the novel. 

This paper displays Caroline Meeber’s dependence and independence in economy and emotion and it shows the harsh and bitter development of modern women’s self-consciousness. Women, like Croline can’t and won’t be a totally independent new women as they wish. Caroline’s pursuit of her American Dream in the background of industrialization also indicates the change of traditional values in the early 20th century. Due to the special social environments, Caroline’s American Dream finally becomes a disillusion.

Key Words: American Dream; independence; dependence; women’s self-consciousness