Once again, I have my favourite teacher to thank for introducing me to this book. She recommended it to me in Year 12 when I was doing my AS English coursework, a comparison piece on 'The Great Gatsby' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and she described it as 'a female version of The Great Gatsby'. I researched the book and I was intrigued by it but I only read it a few weeks ago, after finding a copy of it in a charity shop for £1.99! If you like reading and buying books and you're well aware of how expensive it can be to feed this habit, try checking out your local charity shops. Most sell classics that are often in a very good condition quite cheaply but I am going off topic. This post is about Theodore Dreiser's 'Sister Carrie'.Published in 1900, Sister Carrie tells the story of a young country girl, Caroline 'Carrie' Meeber, who leaves her rural life in Wisconsin for Chicago, in search of a better life and adventure. On her arrival, she stays with her sister and her husband but dissatisfied with the simplicity and boredom of their lives, as well as how restricted she is living with them, Carrie leaves them and becomes a mistress to wealthy men, before becoming a famous actress.
Not all critics liked Sister Carrie when it was first published. Some viewed it as vulgar, due to the novel's sexual content. Again, from a 21st century perspective, this is minimal. Some critics believed that the book's title was misleading as the reader is initially led to believe that the titular character is a nun. Others said that the book gave out a negative message to young women, that Carrie's success in her immoral activities would persuade them to follow the same path, hoping for the same success but they'd probably end up living in poverty, the opposite of Carrie's wealth.
Sister Carrie is similar to The Great Gatsby through the way that both comment on the American Dream and the rise of capitalism and consumerism in Chicago and New York in the early 1900s. Dreiser shows this with the realism in his narrative, which emphasises money, putting a monetary value to everything and materialism with objects and possessions. This realism makes the novel more believable and the novel is written with a detached third person narrative that gives no judgement. So, it is left to the reader to make up his/her mind up on what to judge.
For me, Sister Carrie was a fantastic read. Although I see where some critics are coming from when they say that Dreiser's descriptions can get lengthy at times, they aid in creating characters that are well developed and relatable. As I'm now eighteen, I am the same age as Carrie at the beginning of the novel and I still don't agree with some of her choices. Just like Gatsby, I feel like she too suffers from Alfred Adler's 'superiority complex', which is when a person believes that he or she is superior to others and certain situations, and this is why both characters cannot bear circumstances where they are made to feel inferior.
Sister Carrie has many brilliant and timeless messages such as how money does not bring about happiness and satisfaction, how little, thoughtless actions can bring about downfall, how greed and desiring more can lead to emptiness and Dreiser also exposes the dark side to human nature, particularly how humans can be selfish in their willingness to 'sponge off' others.
It's easy to see why Sister Carrie has been called the 'greatest of all American urban novels' and if you're a fan of The Great Gatsby and have always wanted to see what it'd be like with a female lead in a similar situation, I'd say to definitely check out Sister Carrie.
Rating 4/5 ****
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sister-Carrie-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486434680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372098615&sr=8-1&keywords=sister+carrie
On an unrelated note, it was my eighteenth birthday party on Saturday and here are the twin cakes that a friend made for myself and my sister. How awesome are these?! Not only do they look awesome but they tasted awesome as well. Be jel
