Abstract: Theodore Dreiser is one of the outstanding authors in the American history. As the author of the Sister Carrie, he depicted a representative figure of that time, the heroine Carrie was a young and beautiful girl who longed for the material life of the big city. In order to pursue her ideal life, she left for Chicago alone and experienced many difficulties. In the end, she became a famous actress of the Broadway by virtue of her beauty and talent. However, she felt very vacuous in her mental life. The paper analyzes the different value concepts in the novel and the factors influencing the value concepts in order to have a deeper understanding of Carrie in this novel.

Key words: Sister Carrie; material value concept; mental value concept

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Carrie’s Value Concepts-2

2.1 Carrie’s Material Concepts-2

2.2 Carrie’s Mental Value Concepts-5

3. Factors Influencing Carrie’s Concept of Value-6

3.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs-6

3.2 The Social Reasons-7

3.3 Carrie’s Personal Reasons-8

3.4 Influence of People around Carrie-8

4. Conclusion-9

References-11

Acknowledgments-12