Abstract

This essay focuses on studying Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie in the viewpoint of materialized interpersonal relationship in consumer society. In order to analyze consumer culture reflected in the novel better, the main body is made up of three chapters.
Chapter one discusses consumption of material goods in the consumer society from the three aspects: clothing, residence, restaurants. In the consumer society, consumer culture overturns the traditional social workings by replacing the common and normal desire for a basic supply of life’s necessities, a solid family tie and stable social relationships with a shallow and insatiable craving for material things, services and recreational stuffs. Driven by the consumption ideology, people try to use spending and materialism as a way to become a new person by buying products which support their self-image. Consumption shows people’s identity, social status, wealth and so on. Consumption conveys more information than the commodity itself. Thus, consumption can meet people’s vanity of showing-off.
Chapter two discusses money worship in the consumer culture. Sister Carrie is set in America in the 1900s. From 1870 to 1900, the United States underwent an economic transformation marked by the maturing of the industrial economy, the rapid expansion of big business, the development of large-scale agriculture. Indispensible to this growth and development were an unprecedented surge in immigration arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe, from Asia, Mexico, and Central America. The transformation indeed resulted in prosperity for many, but meantime it meant virtual poverty for lower class people. American industrial workers lived a very difficult life in 19th century. They often took low wages, but worked long hours in unhealthy and dangerous working conditions. Thus, the great economic gap stimulates the money worship in American society. Money worship regards money as the highest value, and all the thoughts and behaviors should submit to money. Money worship thinks that money is all-powerful and is a measure of all actions. Money worship lays too much emphasis on money so that people become money-oriented and spiritually empty. This chapter discusses Carrie and Hansons’ two different lifestyles, Drouet pleasure-seeking lifestyle, Hurstwood’s consuming family, which all reveal their money worship despite of their different social class.
Chapter three discusses alienation of human psychology relationship from the three aspects: kinship, friendship, love. We consume not only material goods but also human relationships in the consumer society. In the consumer society, all things are measured by money; the traditional human relationships are changed greatly so that people become more and more alienated.
To conclude, the whole thesis focuses on the features of consumer culture represented in Sister Carrie by means of the cultural approach. Through studying Sister Carrie in consumer culture, the thesis reaches a conclusion that Dreiser successfully describes the commercialized world that is built up on the basis of the law of exchange-value on the effect of consumption ideology. With no doubts, the novel presents a real and vivid picture of consumer society during the late nineteenth century in America and Sister Carrie can be treated as a modern metropolitan novel that demonstrates the authentic and distinct features of consumer culture.

Key words: Sister Carrie; consumer culture; consumption of material goods; money worship; alienation of human psychology relationship

摘要

本论文立足消费社会中物化的人物关系对美国著名作家西奥多.德莱塞的《嘉莉妹妹》这部小说进行解读，本论文将由三部分组成。
论文第一章讨论物质消费在消费社会的三个方面:服装、住宅、饭店。在消费社会中,消费文化颠覆了传统社会工作，取代了对常见的基本生活用品的渴望。一个稳定的家庭和稳定社会关系对物质，服务和娱乐的东西变得贪得无厌。受消费意识形态的驱使,人们尝试购买，消费主义成为了通过购买产品支持他们的自我崭新形象的一种方式。消费显示了人们的身份、社会地位、财富等。消费传达出更多的信息，不仅仅是商品本身。因此,消费可以满足人们的虚荣心。
论文第二章消费文化中的拜金主义。《嘉莉妹妹》创作背景是在19世纪的美国。从1870年到1900年,美国经历了一个经济转型,在这个期间工业经济变得成熟,大型企业快速扩张,大规模农业进行发展。来自欧洲南部和东部,亚洲、墨西哥和中美洲移民空前激增,是这个时期增长这个增长和发展不可或缺的因素转型确实带来了很多繁荣,但这同时这意味着下层阶级的贫穷。美国生活在19世纪的产业工人过着非常困难的生活。他们经常工资底,但却长时间工作在不健康和危险的工作环境中。因此,巨大的经济差距刺激了美国社会的拜金主义。拜金主义把金钱价值看作最高价值、一切价值都要服从于金钱价值的思想观念和行为。拜金主义认为金钱不仅万能，而且是衡量一切行为的标准。拜金主义了过于强调金钱,导致了人们唯利是图和精神空虚本章讨论了嘉莉和汉森的两种不同的生活方式,杜洛埃享乐的生活方式, 赫斯特伍德的消费家庭,这些都来展示他们的拜金主义,尽管他们来自不同的社会阶层。
论文第三章从亲情，友情，爱情讨论了《嘉莉妹妹》中。在消费社会中我们不仅消费物质层面的东西也消费人际关系。在消费社会中所有的事情都是以金钱衡量。传统的人际关系受到很大挑战，人们变得越来越冷漠。
总之，本论文采用文化分析的方法着重描述消费文化特征在小说中的具体体现。通过《嘉莉妹妹》在消费文化语境下分析，本论文最终得出结论:作为商品化社会的积极参与者，德莱塞成功描述了一个消费意识形态影响下基于交换法则的纯粹商品化世界。该小说生动描绘了19世纪末美国商品化社会真实而生动的画面。《嘉莉妹妹》可视为一部展示消费文化真实和显著特征的现代都市小说。

关键词:《嘉莉妹妹》; 消费文化; 物质消费; 拜金主义; 冷漠的人际关系