Abstract：Sister Carrie is a novel telling the story of a small country girl Carrie who moves to Chicago to pursue her “American Dream” and eventually becomes a Broadway star in New York. Despite living a luxurious life, she is lost in spirit. After reading the novel, we might easily notice that Carrie’s different needs and desires are arising gradually with the time passing by. And in the process of pursuing material gains, Carrie betrays the traditional moral code.

    The paper analyzes Carrie’s various needs at different stages of life, mainly based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, to explore Carrie’s viewpoints towards life. Sister Carrie brings some enlightenments to contemporary youth: in modern society, material supplies become more and more abundant, but we should pay much attention to happiness and stability created by spirit instead of pursuing material wealth blindly. It is essential for us to establish a right viewpoint towards life and ponder the significance and the value of life.

Keywords: Hierarchy of Needs   Carrie  Viewpoints towards Life   Happiness

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Theodore Dreiser and His Literary Works-1

1.2 A Brief Introduction to Sister Carrie-1

1.3 Literature Review-2

1.4 The Composition of the Thesis-2

Chapter Two Analysis of Carrie’s viewpoints towards Life from Hierarchy of Needs-4

2.1 Hierarchy of Needs by Maslow-4

2.1.1 The Definition of Hierarchy of Needs-4

2.1.2 The Implication of Hierarchy of Needs in Sister Carrie-4

2.2 Carrie’s Viewpoints towards Life-5

2.2.1 Satisfying the Basic Needs for Survival-5

2.2.2 Pursuing Sense of Security-6

2.2.3 Longing for Love and Sense of Belonging-7

2.2.4 Desiring for Material and Respect from Others-8

2.2.5 Seeking for Self-actualization and Spiritual Happiness-8

Chapter Three Enlightenments to Contemporary Youth-10

3.1 Material Wealth Can Not Bring Permanent Happiness-10

3.2 All Youth Shall Acquire Self-esteem, Self-improvement and Self-reliance-11

3.3 Everyone Shall Establish a Right View towards Life-11

Chapter Four Conclusion-12

References-13