How does consumerism, materialism, and the decay of the American dream relate to Sister Carrie?
ivana Student College – Senior Consumerism, materialism and the decay of American dream are prominent features throughout the novel. It is not restricted to any particular chapter since these themes are the base of Sister Carrie. To start with, the very first line in the novel informs us about material possessions of Carrie and that is relevant because in American society of the time everything resolves around money: ‘When Caroline Meeber boarded the afternoon train for Chicago, her total outfit consisted of a small trunk, cheap imitation alligator-skin satchel, a small lunch in a paper box, and a yellow leather snap purse, containing her ticket, a scrap of paper with her sister’s address in Van Buren Street, and four dollars in money.’ Furthermore, in the first chapter one of the reason why Carrie is attracted to Drouet is his well -to- do appearance and purse full of money: ‘He reached down in his hip pocket and took out a fat purse. It was filled with slips of paper, some mileage bo
