Summary and Analysis of sister carrie
Chapter 1 Caroline Meeber, or Carrie, leaves her home in Columbia City to go live in Chicago. ... Carrie is then described as being a "half-equipped little knight" (2) venturing out into the world. ... Carrie decides to tell him, and they end up trading names and addresses. ... Once the train stops, they get off together but Carrie refuses to allow him to carry her bags. She meets her sister Minnie at the station, looks back at Drouet one time, and then starts to feel alone in spite of the fact that her sister is now with her. Analysis The first chapter sets up a great deal of the overall plot and theme of the novel. Sister Carrie leaves home, makes her first entrance into the world, and is forced to immediately start growing up. ... In having Carrie trade addresses with Drouet, Dreiser takes advantage of the "fallen woman" genre of literature. ... Indeed, Sister Carrie is largely a novel about materialism and taking advantage of what is offered. ... Carrie will not be a traditional fallen woman because she does not "fall" for passion or emotion. ... Carrie is to be lauded for her desire to succeed, but mercilessly slandered for her amoral ways of going about it. ... It should not be forgotten that Dreiser later became a communist, and Sister Carrie shows some of the ideological doubts that Dreiser had about American society at the turn of the century. ... Thus Carrie is beginning her new life in Chicago in this chapter, ending her life at home. ... Thus Carrie will never write home, and she will never want to return there. ... Chapter 2 Carrie arrives at her sisters house where the sisters husband Mr. ... Even her sister is far more concerned with what Carrie can do for them financially instead of being excited to have a member of her family live with her. Carrie realizes that Drouet cannot visit her at the Minnies house, and so she writes him a letter telling him to wait for her to contact him. The next morning Carrie gets up around eight in the morning, significantly later than both her sister and Mr. ... Slightly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of commerce going on around her, Carrie is frightened of going into one of the concerns and asking for a job. Analysis There is a great deal of irony at the beginning of this chapter. ... Hanson only speaks briefly with Carrie before going to bed earlier than his wife, claiming that he has to get up early the next morning. Carrie learns that Minnie, who stays up with her, actually has to get up even earlier in order to make him breakfast and get him ready to go to work. ... Carrie is unable and unwilling to live the kind of life that Minnie is satisfied with. Thus, Carrie gets up at eight in the morning, much later than her sister. ... They are too dull, too dreary, and they lack the magic and fate that Carrie is searching for. ... We are presented with the daunting spectacle of Chicagos rapid growth but also of the many workers that Carrie sees through the windows. Thus the chapter ends with Carrie feeling her spirit sink at the "thought of entering any of these mighty concerns" (14). Chapter 3 Carrie wanders around the streets of the commercial district looking for work. ... Carrie then enters another building only to be harshly turned away. ... Eventually Carrie wanders into a cap mill where the women are all stitching. ... Carrie, emboldened by having received an offer, continues applying for jobs at many different places around the town. ... Carrie goes in and is directed upstairs where she meets a Mr. ... To tired to protest the low wages, Carrie accepts and happily returns home, thinking about Drouet on the way. Analysis Carries search for work provides a fascinating insight into the difficulties of getting started in a new place without any sort of references. ... When Carrie enters the factories she is stunned by the mediocrity of the working conditions. ... He struggles throughout Sister Carrie to make his reader view "permanent" structures as only temporary. ... This is exemplified later by Hurstwoods loss of his ability to generate income, an ability that is transferred to Carrie when she becomes a performer. ... It is the only sort of environment in which hope can really thrive, and thus provides a very mobile background within which Carrie can advance herself. Chapter 4 Carrie is elated as she returns home having gotten her job. ... Hanson arrives he is in a dour mood, but after listening to Carrie talk excitedly about her day he too cheers up. Minnie starts to even tell Carrie about the various places in the city, but both she and her husband fall silent when Carrie asks about a nearby theater. ... Carrie, oblivious to their disapproval, asks her sister Minnie to go to the theater with her that night. Minnie struggles to figure out how to convince Carrie not to go, and finally agrees to ask her husband Sven if he wants to go. He immediately refuses and Carrie, upset by the response, leaves the room. The next day Carrie merely wanders around looking at the wealthier middle class houses in the area. ... Carrie struggles to keep up the pace of her work so as not to slow down the entire line which depends on a constant supply of material. ... Carrie eats her lunch on her workbench, watching the other men and women interact. ... At the end of the day, several try to accompany her home, but Carrie is frightened of them and rushes away. Analysis The distinction between the Hansons and Carrie is drawn even wider at this point, and the issue that divides them is money. For Carrie, money represents possibilities. ... Indeed, as Dreiser tells the reader more than once, their entire reason for accepting Carrie is because she can pay rent. Minnie Hansons disapproval of the theater is interesting at this point in light of the fact that Carrie will later become an actress. ... The primary factor that distinguishes Carrie from Minnie happens to be the speed at which she hopes to achieve her goals. Whereas Minnie has accepted the slow-motion build-up of wealth that requires constant saving and long hours of toil, Carrie has not, and nor will she ever. Carrie instead discards this lifestyle as being too boring, it essentially misses out on the rapid growth that Chicago is undertaking by being far too slow. Thus for Carrie, the theater is the Hollywood of her day, the trains are a new and exciting means of travel, and the department store provides unlimited commercial possibilities. ... He is rejecting the Hansons way of making money as being too slow, but he is also indicating that it is a safe way as opposed to Carrie who will risk losing her wealth the way Hurstwood does. ... Carrie has really only met three types of men thus far: the smooth, carefully Drouet, the hardworking but suspicious Sven Hanson, and the crass working men in the shoe factory. ... In her choice of men, Carrie can be seen choosing one lifestyle over another, the upscale, mobile lifestyle represented by Drouet over the seemingly solid, but boring lifestyle of the working classes. ... Chapter 5 Drouet has received the letter that Carrie wrote him and promptly forgotten about her. ... Analysis The use of material comforts here is quite fascinating since it powerfully represents the upward drive. Drouet is doing exactly what Carrie hoped to do; he is sharing in the rich lifestyle before he has even become rich.