Carrie
Carrie was the youngest daughter of a mill worker who was born at the bottom of the society. She did not want to live a monotonous and narrow life in her native country. At the age of 18, she boarded the train to Chicago with a young and ignorant fantasy to seek for a new life and happiness.
In the car she made the acquaintance of a young salesman, Drouet.
His descriptions of the bustling scene of Chicago interested Carrie.
Carrie had a very fine picture of Chicago.
But when she arrived in Chicago, her dreams were shattered.
Carrie was disappointed that her sister Minnie's house was cramped, narrow, and smelly.
Even at her sister's, she had to pay for board and lodging, and the next morning, with dim hope, Carrie set out in search of work.
But all she got was a cold "no one" reply.
Finally, I found a job in a shoe factory. It was very hard work.
Still, all she could earn was four and a half dollars a week.
When winter came, she had no coat, fedora, and cotton shoes. She shivered when the wind blew against her.
Just as Carrie was in despair, she met the young drummer, Drouet.
Carrie soon became his mistress.
In fact, Drouet was just playing the old courting game.
Carrie longed to be happy, but she was often troubled by the fact that Drouet did not marry her properly, by the fact that she did not love him, and by the fear of losing his regard.
It was at this time that Hurstwood, the manager of Fitzgerald and Moy's in the city, appeared, and the balance of Carrie's feelings swung towards him, until Drouet discovered him and, in a fit of rage, he left Carrie and went off alone.
Carrie, longing for freedom and loneliness, at last threw herself into Hurstwood's arms.
The author describes Carrie's disillusionment with the pursuit of happy life in a broad social background, exposing and criticizing the darkness of American capitalist society in the 19th century. It is impossible to find a way out by honest labor, and only by moral bankruptcy and selling oneself can one get money and status. In such a society, one can have real happiness.
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