Interpretation about Lure on Sister Carrie

【Abstract】The novel tells a story about how a young girl pursues her dream and loses herself gradually in the big city. It reflects the social conflicts and the corruption of humanity. The society shapes the undoing of unsophisticated and natural mind， to an adult. And this kind of “evolution” reappears Sister Carries growth， or in turn， the latter is the former in miniature to some extent. The transformation is embodied in two aspects-appearance and desire.

【Key words】Sister Carrie； lure； college students

Carrie is a 18-year-old country girl who dreams of going to the big city and finding her own happiness. But in Chicago， for lacking of experience and knowledge， she only finds a job of making shoes. While before long she cant stand the terrible working environment and the heavy tasks.

Hopelessly she meets Drouet again—a rich salesman. Though felling ashamed and ambivalent， she lives a good life after all. At this time， there comes another man named Hurstwood. As a socialite， he falls in love with Carrie crazily. And for the vanity， Carrie betrays Drouet.

Hurstwood loves Carrie so much that he wants to be with her forever. After his extramarital affair being founded by his wife and his reputation being threatened， he decides to elope with Carrie. Stealing a lot of money， he tricks Carrie into eloping with him to New York. While during that time， Hurstwoods offence is founded， so he has to return the money. He tries to make money again， but all fail. In the meantime， Carrie finds a well-paid job in an opera house for her beauty and charming voice. The ending of the story is tragic： Hurstwood kills himself. While Carrie， she becomes a famous actress and lives a rich life as she had expected. However， she fells lost and vacuous， still pursuing the significance of happiness.

Freshmen are possessed of a mind rudimentary in its power of observation and analysis. Self-interest with them is high， but not strong. It is， nevertheless， their guiding characteristic. Four years later， the university， or the society， finally shapes the undoing of unsophisticated and natural mind， to an adult. And this kind of “evolution” reappears Sister Carries growth， or in turn， the latter is the former in miniature to some extent.

The transformation is embodied in two aspects-appearance and desire.

Colorful curly hair replaces stupid mushroom haircut； high-heeled shoes neglect dirty sneakers； the glittering array of BB creams， lipsticks， and mascara creams are spreading every corner of the desk. Sister Carrie realizes how much the city holds-wealth， fashion， ease-every adornment for women， and girls together with her long for dress and beauty with a whole heart. In the meantime， they， naturally imitative， begin to get the hang of those little things which the pretty women who have vanity invariably adoptions. After they graduate from college， their knowledge of grace doubles and with it， their appearance changes. They become girls of considerable taste， like red and ripe apples. Frankly speaking， we agree with these tolerable changes for beauty.

But when we go further， we may encounter the problems of the underlying ethical principle.

Freshmen come fresh from the air of study， the light of study still in their eye. Here is neither guile nor rapacity. They are too full of wonder and desire to be greedy. We can feel the bloom and the youth. And once they make connections with the outside， they become desperate for peoples attention and a higher vanity. The experiences in and out of the classroom expose them to new behavior and activities. The narrow life has fallen from them as a garment. In the same time of Carries entry into the entertainment industry， students distinguish themselves on their stages with great ambition. There is nothing such inspiring in life as the sight of a legitimate ambition， no matter how incipient. It gives color， force and beauty to the possessor.

Unfortunately， sometimes excessive desires can ruin everything. Carrie abandoned Hurstwood and Drouet， and she would dream such happiness as she may never feel， because she had lost herself. And in real world， the whole society is startled at the speed of college womens corruption. Mistresses， “adopted daughters”， one-night stand… It seems that they have tried all kinds of ways to challenge the bottom line. Nevertheless， a new wave of disappointment is coming. “Nude loan” （College women use their nude photo as guaranty to ask for a loan.） becomes a hot issue. Its totally beyond understanding. Their moral values are completely twisted. But students are not the only criminal. In fact， they and Carrie are the victims of the miserable society.

For whom the bell tolls？ For the lost girls， and for the lost world.

References：

[1]Theodore Dreiser，Sister Carrie，https：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_Carrie.

作者簡介： 王璇（1995.5-），女，汉族，河北石家庄人，本科在读，现就读于河北大学外国语学院，英语专业。