Sister Carrie

Theodore Dreiser, born in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA, was raised in poverty and in a German-speaking environment. He left home for Chicago at age 16. After a period of odd jobs and a year at the University of Indiana, he became a Midwestern newspaper reporter and, in New York after 1894, a magazine feature writer. In 1892, married Sara White, but their marriage wasn’t happy, so they have been separated since 1909 and never officially divorced

Sister Carrie (1900), his first and still highly regarded novel, was withheld from general distribution because of it was supposed amoral, and its commercial failure plunged him into financial distress and mental breakdown. Some reasons which caused the difficulties of publish can be seen from the social background of the society of that time. At the time, United States is experiencing a rapid social change, it was transforming from free capitalism transition to the monopoly capitalism. The whole American literature was indulged in idealism, many writers preferred to describe the optimistic aspect of life. The novel is regarded as entertainment products; works is full of illusory ideal and covered by romantic color. The exploiter and exploitee lived a completely different life. The ugly phenomenon in the society was not reflected in literature works. In Sister Carrie, Dreiser truthfully reveals the dark side of the social life, and that’s the reason why the author constantly suffered from persecution. The novels have been classified as "banned", and can not be published in the America.

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Vivid Heroine

——On Sister Carrie

Carrie was such an ordinary rural girl at the beginning of the story. Sitting on the seat of a bus, she couldn’t help feeling exciting at the sight of the metropolis’ spectacle. She was impressed deeply by large crowd on the avenue, the spacious square or tall buildings.

Far more different from other heroines, Carrie was not a plain pure angel like Snow-white, nor was she brave enough to be a heroine of revolutionist or even a reformer, nor was she so clever as to be a successful career woman who start from scratch.

What attracted her most, after her entering this huge metropolis was the incredible fineries, fashion shoes, smart handbags displaying in the shop windows, the jewellerys shining brightly behind the glass. She dreamed that one day, she could wear all of these, jogging gracefully into the most luxurious hotel with focused sights of admiration.

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《嘉莉妹妹》读后感

----“美国梦”的扭曲与幻灭

何为“美国梦”？“美国梦”是指在美国，无论地位出身、种族和性别等方面有何差异，只要具备聪明、勤劳和坚韧不拔等必要条件，任何人都可能在相同的条件下，通过自己的诚实劳动与他人进行公平竞争，获得最终的成功和幸福，使自己的梦想变成现实。

嘉莉妹妹的创作背景是20世纪初处于变革中，被金钱至上的思想索充斥的美国大都市。女主人公利用不道德的手段成就她的财富与跻身上流社会的梦想。小说揭露了资本主义社会贫富悬殊的对立，抨击了美国大都市金钱万能、道德沦丧的残酷现实。

在嘉莉追求梦想过程中，她的梦想随着欲望的不断上升而发生改变。嘉莉较为典型地代表了当时一心想往上爬的美国下层人民。嘉莉为了追求自己的梦想先后做了推销员杜洛埃的情妇，后来由于更大的欲望又做了酒店经理赫斯渥的情妇，但是她的这种做法是有违当时社会的传统道德的。她的命运充满了偶然性，偶然中她认识了杜洛埃，偶然中她认识了赫斯特沃特，偶然中她登上了舞台饰演罗拉的角色，偶然中她在饰演中脱颖而出，成就了她的“美国梦”！虽然嘉莉最后实现了她的美国梦，但这是失败的， 因为她始终找不到自己所想要的幸福。物质上的充裕和精神上的匮乏使得她继续更深一层去寻找她所想要的东西。

在小说最后那里说到，“尽管常常感到幻灭，她仍然在盼望着那幸福的日子，能在成为现实的梦想中被指引着前进。阿姆斯已经指出过走得更远的一步，不过，超越了这一步，前进再前进，要是圆满实现的话，在她的面前还会有更进一步的境界。人们永远追求不懈的正是那种在世界上照亮着远处山头的令人喜悦的光芒。”这表明在资本主义社会中，人们追求奢侈糜烂的物质生活，奉承享乐主义的原则，这决定了当时社会人们的欲望是不断膨胀并且永远也得不到满足的，这恰恰是扭曲的“美国梦”的真实写照。

随着历史的变迁，“美国梦”的含义一直在发生变化。虽然不同的人眼里，“美国梦”的具体涵义有所不同，但“美国梦”的精神却一直扎根于美国人民的心中。“美国梦”不仅仅包括金钱、地位，也应该包括亲情、爱情等一系列精神层面的东西。在20纪初的美国，贫富差距扩大，下层人们拼命追求金钱、地位，上层社会的人们纸醉金迷、贪图享乐，通过努力奋斗而致富的“美国梦”早已失去了原来的意义。它再也不能给美国人带来为之奋斗的力量了，人们追逐享乐却最终得不到快乐，从而也揭露了在资本主义的美国不可能实现真正的梦想，不可能获得真正的幸福。梦想可以去追求，可如果追求的欲望过度，“美国梦”就会变成恶梦。从嘉莉奋斗历程来看，她在一定程度上的确获得了成功，但她为此付出了失去亲情、背叛爱情的惨重代价。更为可悲的是，最终仍实现不了她理想中真正的幸福。在小说的结尾，我们看见嘉莉仍然坐在摇椅里摇荡着、低吟着：“坐在你窗边的摇椅里梦想，你将永远独个儿渴望下去。坐在你窗边的摇椅里。你将梦想你永远不会感到的幸福。” 《嘉莉妹妹》这部作品向人们展示了一个金钱掌控世界，人的本性被扭曲的事实。金钱只能满足人们物质的需求，但是却得不到快乐。它体现出美国梦已经从一种通过勤劳苦干、艰苦奋斗和诚实经营实现个人价值的美好梦想蜕变成为一种不择手段获取财富的扭曲的梦想，也深刻的揭示了美国梦仅仅是一个骗人的传说，终将走向幻灭。

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《嘉莉妹妹》英语读后感

Vivid Heroine

——On Sister Carrie

Carrie was such an ordinary rural girl at the beginning of the story. Sitting on the seat of a bus, she couldn’t help feeling exciting at the sight of the metropolis’ spectacle. She was impressed deeply by large crowd on the avenue, the spacious square or tall buildings.

Far more different from other heroines, Carrie was not a plain pure angel like Snow-white, nor was she brave enough to be a heroine of revolutionist or even a reformer, nor was she so clever as to be a successful career woman who start from scratch.

What attracted her most, after her entering this huge metropolis was the incredible fineries, fashion shoes, smart handbags displaying in the shop windows, the jewellerys shining brightly behind the glass. She dreamed that one day, she could wear all of these, jogging gracefully into the most luxurious hotel with focused sights of admiration.

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一． 故事的梗概

这本书讲述的是一个本性善良天真的农村姑娘为了摆脱穷苦只身一人来到芝加哥寻找幸福的生活，因为生活所迫不得不出卖灵魂和肉体，先后成为两个男人的情妇，最后与情夫私奔到纽约，一个偶然的机会成为红极一时的歌星，在流光溢彩的百老汇大街上实现了她一直梦幻的上流人士生活，然而在她拥有了一切之后，却始终没有找到幸福。

人物的特征

书中的赫斯特伍德是一个悲情人物，放弃了家庭，放弃了体面的工作，放弃了名誉和地位以及家财万贯，他居然偷了保险柜的钱带着嘉莉逃走了。更可悲的是，他成了一个穷人却不肯承认。他并没有摆脱过去奢华生活留给他的体面的自尊，以至于放不下架子为生计而工作，在身无分文的时候，在向女人伸手要钱的时候，甚至在冰冷的雪地里乞讨的时候，还在用奢华的回忆填补一个男人的自尊。剥离了阶级地位，剥离了华丽的服饰，剥离了尊严，赤裸裸的求生欲望体现的悲凉真真切切，最终他用乞讨来的一毛五分钱结束了自己的生命 因为它真实的反应了当时社会底层民众的疾苦生活，赫斯特伍德只是美国大街上无数个乞讨者之一，那个时候无数饥饿的流浪汉在乞讨，在呻吟，在风雪交加的夜晚等待住宿，等待食物。 阿姆斯，这个人物没有多少故事，却很重要。他有更高的智慧，超越了杜德艾，超越了赫斯特伍德，更重要的是他超越了嘉莉并且没有被她的曼妙的脸蛋和迷人的身材迷住。嘉莉在那里达到了她智慧的顶端，她再也没能力攀到更高，故事也就这样结局了。她拥有了她梦想的一切，钱财、美丽的服饰、尊贵的地位、无数人的追捧和最奢华的房屋，她已经成了一个红人，然而直到了终点，她迷失了。

看完《嘉莉妹妹》，心里有一点酸，有一点咸……有人说，她是个成功者，她在带着年轻与漂亮只身到新城市寻梦中，一步步走向辉煌；有人说，她是个失败者，她追求的是浮华，更是虚幻，她迷恋的那些男士身上的光圈一旦隐去，她便毫不留情地飞走，最终，她只能自己坐在摇椅里幻想她永不可及的幸福；有人说，她是个祸水，因为她，那位很像绅士的赫斯渥身败名裂、命丧他乡……我觉得这不仅仅是她人生的悲凉，是一个社会阶段妇女的追求失控，更是美国那个年代人性的一幅写照：虚荣与冷酷。

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西奥多·德莱塞（1871～1945）美国杰出的批判现实主义小说家。1871年8月27日生于印第安纳州的特雷霍特镇，出生于破产小业主家庭，曾长期在社会底层劳动挣扎。19xx年，第一部作品《嘉莉妹妹》问世，引起轰动。此书通过农村姑娘嘉莉到芝加哥谋生而成为名演员的故事，揭露了资本主义社会繁荣的表面底下的失业、贫困和饥饿，对美国贫富对立的社会作了深刻的描写。《嘉莉妹妹》用巴尔扎克式的现实主义写成为美国文学开创了一个新的天地。它虽在美国被禁，后来却在英因出版。19xx年终于在美国再次出版。

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无论如何都不算是先锋人物的德莱塞，在美国文学史上的地位也许就只能显得这么尴尬。但他却以艺术的方法表现主人公对女人、宅第和艺术品的追求，旨在表现他崇尚人的本能和享乐，表现他对新兴的消费意识形态的赞同和宣传。在这种意义上说，《嘉莉妹妹》不是对资本主义制度的颠覆，而是对其进行宣传，因为人们对舒适和享乐的追求无疑会刺激经济进一步的发展。

此书讲的是漂亮而胆小，年轻无知，美丽聪明，爱慕虚荣，对家人故土充满了留恋之情，对大都市繁华生活的充满了幻想，嘉莉只身来到芝加哥谋生，去投奔她的姐姐，寻求新的生活。都市耀眼的万点灯火驱使她登上了去芝加哥的火车，但是她不知道那耀眼的光华掩盖了多少谎言、谬误、邪恶和伪善。为了生存先后成了德鲁埃、赫斯特伍德的情人，最后因机缘巧合而成了红级一时的女演员的故事。

有人说，她是个成功者，她在带着年轻与漂亮只身来到一个全新的城市寻梦中，一步步走向辉煌；有人说，她是个失败者，她追求的是浮华，更是虚幻，她迷恋的那些男士身上的光圈一旦隐去，她便毫不留情地飞走，最终，她只能自己坐在摇椅里幻想她永不可及的幸福；有人说，她是个祸水，因为她，那位很像绅士的赫斯特伍德身败名裂、命丧他乡??

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Living in a Small City May Be Happier

After reading the masterpiece of Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie, what I want to say most is that living in a smaller city may be happier. Carrie Meeber was a girl from small town. She was young, charming, beautiful and pure. She was eager for material enjoyment and the life in the big city. She thought that she could find everything she wanted in Chicago and moved there. At first, she experienced a tough time. Then, by chance, she became a famous actress in Broadway. She really got the things she dreamed for, money, career, reputation, and high social status. But she didn’t get a family and she felt lonely. She’s not happy.

In this novel, I see two girls named Carrie. One of them had nothing, but the other had everything. The two different girls gave me different feelings. The one with nothing reminded me of a group of young Chinese people known as “Beijing Floater”. They are also young people who expect to realize their dreams, ambitions and values in big cities and their lives are also not stable. The difference between them and Sister Carrie is that most of them have knowledge and more gracious goals, not just chasing superficial enjoyment. The one with everything reminded me of a sentence. That is “I would rather cry in a BMW than laugh sitting on a bicycle”. I don’t want to simply criticize the people who have such an idea and call them mammonist. After all, we all hope to have enough money to live in decent conditions. But why would the people in a BMW cry? Why would Sister Carrie feel unhappy when she got everything she wanted? I think that’s the point. Maybe they realized this kind of life was not so wonderful as they thought. They got too much pressure from work. They couldn’t tell who their true friends were and who’s just trying to use them. They felt tired of the things they had to do. Anyway, they got too many reasons to complain that this was not what they wanted and they didn’t feel happy.

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