Abstract：Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) is one of the pioneers and realist writers of modern American novels. At that time, The America was transitioning from a production-oriented society to a consumer-oriented society. Most of his works aims to reveal the social reality of the United States. Sister Carrie, published in 1900, is one of his typical representatives. This thesis will analyze the image of the heroine Carrie from the perspective of consumerism in details.

This thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter mainly introduces Dreiser, the novel Sister Carrie and previous researches about Sister Carrie. The second chapter is a brief review of   consumerism and consumerism in the 20th century in the United States. The third chapter is the main part of the thesis, expounding the heroine Carrie's pursuit of value symbol and the image transformation under the influence of consumerism. The fourth chapter is the elements affecting the transformation of Sister Carrie's image. The fifth chapter is the conclusion, which mainly summarizes the main arguments of this thesis.

  Key words: Theodore Dreiser  Sister Carrie  Consumerism   Transformation of image

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction1 

1.1 Introduction to Theodore Dreiser2

1.2 Introduction to Sister Carrie3 

1.3 Literaturereview .3

Chapter Two Consumerism.5 

2.1 A Brief Review of Consumerism5 

2.2 Consumerismin the 20th Century Society 6

Chapter Three Consumerism in Sister Carrie.8 

3.1 Sister Carrie's Pursuit of Value Symbols8

3.1.1 Clothes.9

3.1.2 Wealth and Status.10

3.1.3 House.10

3.2 Sister Carrie's Transformation of Image.11 

3.2.1 Loss of Innocence12

3.2.2 Pursuit of Hedonism12 

3.2.3 Achieving Independence.13

Chapter Four The elements affecting on the Transformation of Her Image14

4.1 Cruel Consumer Society.14

4.2 Indifferent and Ruthless relationship.14 

Chapter Four Conclusion 15

References 16