Theodore Dreiser Theodore Dreiser was born August 27, 1871 in Terre Haute, Indiana. The younger brother of Paul Dresser, a well-known songwriter, Theodore was a famous novelist known for his outstanding American writing of naturalism. He was also a leading figure in a national literary movement that replaced the observance of Victorian notions of propriety with the unflinching presentation of real-life subject matter. Even though a majority of his works were about his life experiences, he also wrote
At the time of Theodore Dreiser’s writings world culture was looking to find the psychological reasons for society’s miscreants. Psychology was the new science fad due to the popularity of Freud and other psychologists. People were beginning to delve into the world of the subconscious as the source of their troubles. No longer were all mental illnesses considered maladies of the brain. Some were being able to be treated through the treatment of the psyche, a Freudian term. Hypnotism was a popular
Theodore Dreiser was a writer whose dramatic life shown through into his works indirectly. He led a life that could be considered a “typical American” one by the standards of persons reflecting back upon his upbringing and his climb to literary greatness. Dreiser was influenced by the social and political changes during his lifetime, as well as his family and upbringing and the impression those around him had on his life. Born in 1871 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was the ninth of ten siblings
"Main themes in "Jennie Gerhardt" by Theodore Dreiser ". Gunel Akhmedova Qafqaz University Master student guncik113.91@list.ru Theodore Dreiser was one of the most eminent novelists of the end of nineteenth and the beginning of twentieth century. He was highly praised both by critics and his fellow writers. Dreiser was the only writer whose novels were included in the compulsory study at universities during his lifetime. One of his well-known novels is “Jennie Gerhardt”, which was published in
was appalled by the thought of independent young working women, they were also fascinated. Therefore, the attitudes of the public toward these women can be seen in the literature that was produced at that time. The works of Edith Wharton and Theodore Dreiser immediately come to mind as dramatizations of the life of women of this period. Slowly, attitudes began to change. The employment opportunities for women enlarged and women began to slowly gain their rights as full citizens, finally receiving
Money Makes the Man in Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy and Sister Carrie Through the social criticism of Theodore Dreiser, the plight of the poor is compared against the actions of the rich. In both An American Tragedy and Sister Carrie Dreiser presents characters who are driven “by ignorance and in ability to withstand the pressures of the shallow American yearning for money, success, fashion -- dreams about which Dreiser himself was indeed an authority” (W.A. Swanberg 254). Throughout
Author 1. The author of the novel is Theodore Herman Dreiser. 2. He was born in August 27, 1871 and died in December 28, 1945. 3. Theodore Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters that succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency. The novel Sister Carrie, written by Dreiser, is a story of a woman who flees
from life experience are Sister Carrie by former newspaper reporter Theodore Dreiser, and The Day of the Locust by screenwriter Nathanael West. In obvious ways Sister Carrie shares its subject matter with the newspaper. As it is well-known, the model for Sister Carrie’s main character is Dreiser’s sister Emma, who fled from Chicago to New York with her married lover after he stole money from the saloon where he worked. Dreiser based the character of Sister Carrie on family experience, but the novel’s
In August of 1889, Carrie Meeber leaves her small town to find employment in the city of Chicago. Theodore Dreiser, the author of Sister Carrie, informs the reader that, "Self-interest with her was high, but not strong. It was nevertheless her guiding characteristic.". With her youth and innocence she hopes to seek employment so that she can get and buy all the nice things that she wants. Carrie does not have any idea how hard this is going to be. When she tries to find a job, she is scared. Carrie
To best analyze the works of James and Dreiser, the terms realism and naturalism are critical to comprehend. Realism, as noted in the Norton Anthology, emphasizes, “the interior moral and psychological lives of upper-class people” (9). Accordingly, realism reflects a natural depiction of self, relationships and social interactions (and the class-system). Realist writers explore true interpersonal dilemmas, interactions and experiences within society, highlighting the character rather than a story’s
convention, and doubting the ignorant assumptions of society. Three such characters that were born of American realism are found in the novels The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; Daisy Miller, by Henry James; and Sister Carrie, by Theodore Dreiser -- and the characters of interest to this paper happen to be the very same after which these novels are titled. Though these three stories are vastly different, each places its protagonist in a testing environment, against challenging obstacles
Characterization in 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
Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie is a simple tale of a young, pretty eighteen year old girl Caroline Meeber also know as Carrie. When Carrie got on the train from Columbia City to Chicago she had only few cheap items in her trunk and her sister’s address on a piece of paper. Being only eighteen she was still "full of the illusions of ignorance and youth"(Dreiser, 7). She was both afraid of the things to come and exited by the countless possibilities offered by one of the largest cities of the late
it can cause, accurately summarizes social mores of this and any time period. Before Theodore Dreiser was born, his father, a devout German immigrant, lost everything when his large wool mill burned down (kirjasto.sci.fi 1). After a beam hit his head, Dreiser's father was subject to dramatic mood swings; this brain damage caused him to became an evangelist (Survey of American Literature 571). Theodore Dreiser, the twelfth of 13 children, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1871. By this time, his
The Fall of Carrie and Hurstwood Sister Carrie, written by Theodore Dreiser, is a tale of Carrie, who comes to Chicago to somehow make the money she has always dreamed of having. In pursuit of the material possessions and success she dreams of, she involves herself with two different characters, Drouet and Hurstwood. She eventually finds herself in New York, where she has a successful performing career. Even with all the success and material possessions she has attained do not bring her happiness
presented jobs for both men and women. Not only did these jobs provide an income in which the employee could spend at city department stores (such as New York’s Macy’s) but also the income provided greater equality for many minorities as well as women. Theodore Dreiser’s further encouraged the glamorous city life belief when he wrote Sister Carrie (1990). The lure of the city had one drawback, it attracted so many people that soon the cities became vastly overcrow...
There are many aspects of Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy that involve the moral decision versus the immoral decision and God. The main theme that Dreiser maintains throughout the novel is Immorality. Each character in the novel possesses one or more characteristics that show that he or she is partially immoral. When combined, all these elements have a strong message, that there is consequence to straying from God's path.Clyde Griffiths is the perfect example of how a person is led from God's
both had populations that exceeded a million. With the growing population, the economy’s stability began to fluctuate. The instability within the states gave rise to two distinct populations within America, the upper and the working classes. Theodore Dreiser, knowing the volatile state America was built upon, highlighted the economic differences between the wealthy and the poor in his novel Sister Carrie. During the eighteenth century, America had transformed from a simple homestead into an ornate
Chicago. In New York, Hurstwood means nothing. The setting creates different expectations to people. During the reading of "Sister Carrie", I was interested in searching and revealing the different kinds of desire. Generally we can say that Dreiser deals with the desire of wealth, social status, material things which are represented by money. Within this generalization, we can find and identify many other faces and forms of lust and longing. Carrie, as an ambitious and strong woman embodies
The Struggle for the Perfect Man in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God When we find a love interest and have an opportunity to commit to him or her, we usually do, not noting the consequences we may face by doing so. The first few times around, however, the outcome is usually not the one we had expected and hoped for. Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God portray two young women on their trek to