Abstract

Theodore Dreiser was one of the greatest writers in American literature in the transitional period between the 19th and 20th century. Sister Carrie is his first novel, which broke the genteel tradition of previous literary works, honestly reflecting the cruel reality of his time. His novel also reveals some social problems, such as sharp disparity between the rich and the poor, and the decadence of traditional values.
“American Dream” plays a significant role in the American culture, representing the American spirit. In its original sense, American Dream stresses that everyone has equal opportunity to realize his dream without regard to one’s origin or position. However, when it entered into 20th century, American Dream began to corrupt.
The paper tends to analyze the heroine Carrie’s pursuit and disillusionment of her American Dream and explore the causes for her disillusioned dream. Carrie is a miniature of the American society. Through the description of Carrie’s ups and downs, Dreiser presented the tragic fate of people in the money-oriented American society, and expressed his pessimistic view of the American society.
 
Key words: Sister Carrie  American dream  pursuit  disillusionment   

摘要

西奥多·德莱塞是美国十九世纪末二十世纪初美国文学史上最伟大的作家之一。《嘉莉妹妹》是他的第一部小说。小说打破了文学史上一贯的文雅作风，真实地反应了当时社会的残酷。同时，他的小说也展现了社会贫富差距过大，传统道德观崩溃等社会问题。
“美国梦”代表着美国人的精神，是美国文化重要的组成部分。起初，美国梦强调每个人无论出生、地位如何，都拥有均等的机会去实现自己的梦想。然而，到了20世纪，美国梦开始腐化。
本文旨在分析小说女主人公嘉莉对美国梦的追寻及其幻灭，并剖析嘉莉美国梦幻灭的原因。嘉莉妹妹是美国社会的一个缩影，通过对她生活起伏的描写，德莱赛描绘了人们在金钱至上的社会中的悲惨命运，并且表达了他对于美国社会的悲观论调。

关键词：《嘉莉妹妹》；美国梦；追寻；幻灭
 
Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Introduction to Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haule, Indiana on August 27, 1871. As the twelfth of thirteen children, he was raised in misery and scarred by the poverty. He attended Indiana University in the years of 1889-1890 and began his literary career from his writing for a newspaper which helped him have a deep understanding about the social reality. When securing success in his job, he finally settled in New York as a magazine editor.
The year 1990 witnessed the publication of Dreiser’s first novel Sister Carrie. “The novel reveals Dreiser’s basic style: simple in language, tight in structure, serious in time, and intense, dramatic in action.”(Wu Dingbo, 1997: 117) In 1911, Dreiser published his second novel Jennie Gerhardt, which restored his fame. In 1925, An American Tragedy was published. This novel was based on an actual New York murder case and regarded as the representative novel of Dreiser. In 1922, Dreiser published an autobiography A Book About Myself. His last novel The Stoic was finished in 1947.