Rewrite Sister Carrie

The theme of unrequited love and unfulfilled ambitions, against a backdrop of a nation being transformed by industrialism and capitalism, provides the substance of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie. During the late 19th Century we encounter three main characters who demonstrate this underlying motif: Carrie Meeber, Charles H. Drouet, and George W. Hurstwood. Carrie will fulfill many of her desires for riches and success, but her insatiable appetite will leave her feeling dissatisfied at the end of the novel and all alone. With respect to the two men who most covet her affections, Charles Drouet and George Hurstwood we have a study in contrasts. About the only thing Drouet and Hurstwood have in common is that they both desire Carrie's love. Both Drouet and Hurstwood love Carrie, but Drouet is a materialist and Hurstwood is a romanticist � a fact that will enable Drouet to survive the loss of Carrie as Hurstwood commits suicide over the loss.

From early in the novel we see Drouet established as a representative of the new America � industrialism, capitalism, and nouveau riche successes. When Carrie meets Drouet on the train, his manners and fine dress impress her but they are only a cover for an identity that believes he needs to impress others to be successful. In other words, Drouet's manners and attitudes are put on like so many new clothes, discarded when they no longer fit his purposes. However, it is exactly these superficial qu

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reality despite the fact that he is not fooling anyone, not even himself. When Carrie leaves for London without so much as informing anyone, Drouet's reaction is described by Dreiser (353) as follows, "'She isn't so much,'" but in his heart of hearts he did not believe this" (Dreiser 353). Drouet loves Carrie no less than Hurstwood, but he is more practical, more a materialist than the impractical and romantic Hurstwood. Hurstwood's love for Carrie is so great because of his romantic desires that he becomes impractical and foolish. He argues with his wife and leaves her, not realizing she has control over all the family finances. Penniless and reduced to common labor, Hurstwood then absent-mindedly makes off with $10,000 in stolen funds from his employer. He tries to run a business to support Carrie in the style to which she would like to be accustomed, but this ends in failure. He is not someone like Drouet who can use looks, charm, and youthful energy to compete in a material world. He eventually becomes lost, confused, broke, and homeless. Unlike Drouet who tries to assuage Carrie's loss through the pursuit of superficial pleasures of escapism, Hurstwood is unable to do so. For if Hurstwood and Carrie share on thing

Category: Literature - R