On Sister Carries Desire for Clothes Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.docVIP

On Sister Carries Desire for Clothes Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 　　【Abstract】The American novel Sister Carrie told the story of a country girls social climbing in the urban world. This paper used Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for an in-depth examination on the heroines desire for clothes as it changed throughout her life. 　　【Key words】Sister Carrie； Maslow’s hierarchy of needs； desire 　　In Theodore Dreisers novel Sister Carrie， the heroine is portrayed as a passive girl. The name Carrie has the same pronunciation as “carry”， this pun indicates the author’s belief that every person is carried by superhuman forces. The characters in this novel have no control of their own fortune； their success and failure are merely by chance， or fate. 　　But there’s something besides chance that helps Carrie to rise in the society―her desire. Desires are the forces that stimulate her to climb higher. Driven by endless desires， Carrie is always pursuing different things， such as clothes， security， love， friendship， and fame. To better understand the driving forces behind her endless desires.， this paper focus on her desire for clothes using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. 　　According to Maslow， human beings’ needs fall into five hierarchical levels， from low to high 1） Physiology needs for food and clothes； 2） Needs for Security； 3） Needs for belongingness and love； 4） Needs for esteem； 5） Needs for self-actualization. If a lower level of need is satisfied， it releases a new and higher need， making desire possible. 　　In the whole novel， Carrie seems always in need of clothes. At the beginning， she judges men according to their clothes. When she is talking to Drouet， the well-dressed salesman， she becomes conscious of her inferiority because of her plain， even shabby dress and shoes. This feeling also haunted her when she works with the better-clothed girls in the shoe factory. 　　When Carrie lost her scantly-paid job， her situation becomes worse. Cold and in need of a new j