Abstract:  Carrie, the heroine of Dreiser’s SISTER CARRIE, who comes to Chicago with confidence in hopes of realizing her American Dream someday. However, in order to meet her own desire, Carrie indulges herself in pursuit of material and compromises her moral standards constantly, which results in the final disillusionment of her American Dream. The paper aims to probe into the causes of the disillusionment of Carrie’s dream through the analysis of the process of her pursuit of her dream. Part one introduces the author Therodore Dreiser and the impact of American Dream on Americans. Part two describes the process of Carrie’s change from an innocent girl to a selfish material girl. Part three analyzes the causes of the disillusionment of Carrie’s American Dream from the perspectives of Carrie’s personality and American social background.

Keywords: American Dream; desire; disillusionment

CONTENTS

摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Theodore Dreiser and Sister Carrie

1.2 The Introduction to American Dream

2. Carrie’s American Dream 2

2.1 Carrie’s Youthful Fantasy  

2.2 Carrie’s Pursuit of Material

2.3 Carrie’s Longing for Love

2.4 Carrie’s Self-realization

3. The Disillusionment of Carrie’s American Dream 5

3.1 Carrie’s Dissatisfaction with Desire

3.2 The Consumer Culture’s Negative Impacts

3.3 The Rapid Development of Capitalism

4. Conclusion8

Bibliography9

Acknowledgment 10