Details on American Literature美国文学012.pdfVIP

in misery and poverty. At 15, he fled from home and went to Chicago, where- he dreamed of wealth and social success. His first novel Sister Carrie ({jiSitV^i^)) was published in 1900. In 1900, Dreiser began to give his entire time to writing fiction . His heroes and heroines, his settings, his frank discussion and celebration of sex were all new and shocking to the reading public, thus he opened a new ground of American Naturalism . His masterpiece is An American Tragedy ((^@;16@J)) and he is also the author of Trilogy of Desire ((afcilE^W) , which includes The Financier ({^SfQ), The Titan. ({EA^) and The Stoic ({Br^®^)» while his most popular work is Sitter Carrie. Sister Carrie The novel is about the story of a poor country girl Carrie who comes to the city to seek whatever she can find . Her goals are clothes, money and fame and the means by which she achieves them is relatively unimportant . More important is that she is a seeker and lover. In the end of the story, Carrie succeeded while her lover killed himself. Dreisers real theme in the novel is the purposelessness of life. While looking at individuals with warm , human sympathy , he also sees the disorder and cruelty of life. While one character Carrie gains fame , another character Hurstwood loses his wealth and social position. His tragedy is just as accidental as Carries success. The ubiquitous ( $!j At ?? % ) rocking chair is the perfect symbol for Sn-ter Carrie, which is an instrument that forever moves but never goes anywhere and never truly achieves anything. 4.