Appearance
Sister Carrie (The Dollar library of American fiction)
You're not happy -- so you do something about it. To make yourself happy, you compete with others and the strongest will survive. Hints of Darwinian thought mix with Dreiser's own opinions on society as the reader follows the tale of Carrie and Hurstwood. Carrie goes to the city from the country and proceeds to work her way up in life. Hurstwood begins in a good position yet makes a tragic choice to end up down in life. The strongest survive in the city, and Dreiser's characters are all trying to survive. Works laced with determinism are not the most fun to read, but often have very important things to say about society. Sister Carrie is a profound book and well worth the time and effort.
Sister Carrie (The Dollar library of American fiction)
Typos, punctuation and grammatical errors were so distracting that I gave up on this edition after only a few pages.
Sister Carrie (The Dollar library of American fiction)
I was so disappointed in this ebook. I could hardly wait to sit down and begin reading and then discovered it was filled with errors. I found it unreadable.
Sister Carrie (The Dollar library of American fiction)
I do not recommend this ebook version even though it is free. Whoever transcribed it made mistakes on every page, often multiple mistakes. It seems very carelessly transcribed and is too frustrating to read.
Sister Carrie (The Dollar library of American fiction)
This novel is amazing in that it makes one want to read on and on, even while finding all of the characters deplorable. Much like Dubus' House of Sand and Fog, we find a story in which the dilemma(s) are wholly interesting, but the characters are impossible to sympathize with, Carrie especially. Okay, I'll admit, I had a pang of feeling for Hurstwood toward the end, but even he is too much of a horse's ass to take seriously. Every character's favorite phrase is "I don't know," and it is true. None of them have any clue. It's all about surfaces/appearances. This is what the characters live for. They are all shallow and pathetic...and somehow, Dreiser still manages to deliver a good read---you know what they say about a train wreck... The fact of the matter is, the characters have no substance; they care too much about getting ahead to think about consequences. I once read that this novel was a favorite of F. Scott Fitzgerald (my all time favorite author). AFter having finished it, and comparing it to some of Fitzgerald's own shallow, self-absorbed characters, I can see why.This is a book that you will love to hate, at least as far as the main "players" are concerned. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though I would never want to meet a Carrie, Hurstwood or Drouet in person :)
Sister Carrie (The Dollar library of American fiction)
"Sister Carrie" by Theodore Dreiser portrays the different lifestyles of the turn of the century. I think the main theme of this book is greed. The characters will do anything for money even jeopardize their relationships. The main character, Carrie, even leaves her family to go find money. She moves to Chicago to find work, which will end up being wealth for her. During this time large cities such as Chicago were places of great economic growth. They were full of factories. A fair amount of unwed women were working in these dirty factories to make around $6 a week. This money was just enough for food, rent, and maybe some odds and end stuff but definitely not enough for a young woman to be happy.During this time, and like today, people are judged by how much money they have. People will stare and know if you are of a lower class than them or of a higher and then they envy you. Your clothes play a big role in distinguishing between the different classes of wealth. Carrie hated her life as being in the poor class and wanted bigger and better things for herself and she knew the only way for that was with money.She gets in with two guys and we know she is just in it for the money. They are using her for her body and she is using them for their money. Both are forms of prostitution. They take care of the bills and by that then they own her and can do whatever they want. She is always acting. She is never a "genuine" character. She knows what kind of woman these high risers like and that's what she portrays herself as.Her acting continues throughout her life and never ends. She is used for her beauty and never for anything else. I think we as the readers know more about her life and what she is doing to it rather than she does. Even at the end of the story she doesn't know what her life means. She is lonely and doesn't understand why.This book is good but can drag on at times. The middle is a little dreary but perks up at the end. I enjoyed reading it especially with it being a historical fiction. Dreiser does a great job showing what life was really like at the turn of the century. The great moral of the story to me is that wanting is fine but if it interferes with the rest of your life is not worth wanting.