Exposition of Social Evils in American Society: A Study of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie

Abstract

This paper looks at how Theodore Dreiser criticised the fabricated objectives of American society that depended on the American dream and revealed the social ills of the day in his novel, Sister Carrie. A farm girl enmeshed in the glitz and grime of the city is the subject of this meticulously detailed novel. The public was astounded by Dreiser’s depiction of the sinful female characters because of their candour and compassion. The novel tells the tale of a normal American rural girl who relocates to the large metropolis of Chicago only to lose her morality, which is more valuable than wealth, clothing, and fancy homes. She loses her joy as well. The novel is made possible by the struggle for survival in the city, the need to find a place in the sun, the consciousness of one’s social elevation, and a strong longing for feminine beauty. The entire fabric of American civilisation, which denied its citizens the opportunity to live a happy and fulfilled life, was torn apart by Dreiser. His tirades centred on presenting truth as it was, without omitting anything.