In Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser creates a world in which people are defined by desire. Looking at this world through the eyes of its protagonist, Carrie, the reader becomes aware of a dichotomy. On the one hand, there is the desire for wealth, status and material possessions. While most of the novel is devoted to this type of desire, there is another type of desire of the "spirit that feels" (398), which longs for beauty. Throughout the novel, Carrie becomes increasingly aware of the superficiality of the first type of desire, as well as the nobility of the second, which she explores through her experience as an actress. At the end of the novel, Dreiser commends Carrie for transcending the first type of desire and embracing the second, a nobler type of desire. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay When Carrie is taken in by Drouet, she faces intermittent instances of moral doubt about her situation. Dreiser writes: “[Carrie] looked into her glass and saw a prettier Carrie than she had seen before; she looked into her mind and saw something worse. Between these two images, she hesitated, unsure which one to believe” (74). When Carrie is alone, a voice says to her: Oh, you are failing! Look at these. Look at the ones who are good. How would they despise doing what you did? Look at the good girls; how will they move away from you, when they know that you have been weak. You didn't try before you failed. (75) These flashes of morality, which become virtually dormant throughout most of the book, reappear in the voice of Ames, who is extremely influential in helping Carrie shed the desire for materials and focus on the desire for beauty . playing marks the beginning of one's exposure to the positive type of desire. However, at first she only likes performing for the praise she receives; she is unaware of her potential to have a positive influence on the world. The following passage, in which Dreiser addresses the reader, is one of several passages that discuss Carrie as an actress. These passages serve as benchmarks in Carrie's realization of the best kind of desire: Carrie was possessed of that sympathetic and impressionable nature which, always in its most developed form, made the drama famous. She was created with that passivity of soul which is always the mirror of the active world. She had an innate taste for imitation and significant capacity. And shortly after: In such weak tendencies, as we know, such a realization of the desire to reproduce life is the basis of all dramatic art. (125-126). In this passage, Dreiser recognizes Carrie as a talented actress, capable of "reproducing life." The importance of this ability is later explained by Ames. During her first meeting with Ames, Carrie begins to see the artificiality of the desire for material wealth in the following passage: "I don't care if I'm rich," he told her, as dinner progressed and the provision of food warmed his sympathies; “not rich enough to spend my money that way.” “Oh, isn’t it?” Carrie said, the new attitude clearly impressing itself on her for the first time. “No,” he said. "What good would that be? A man doesn't need that sort of thing to be happy." Carrie thought about it doubtfully; but, coming from him, it weighed on her. (257) This “new attitude” explicitly denounces the desire for wealth and everything material. At this turning point, Carrie begins to see how misguided her desire to adopt the "cosmopolitan standard of virtue" (1) is. Not only does she begin to see this, but she also begins to see the rightness of thepursuit of a better kind of desire, which she demonstrates through action. Carrie certainly gets this idea when she asks Ames shortly afterward, "Don't you think it's pretty good to be an actor?" (258). Ames' approval is all she has to put her on the path to the right kind of desire. Dreiser indicates this realization: “Through a fog of longing and conflicting desires, she began to see. Oh, you legions of hope and pity of sorrow and pain! She swayed and began to see” (258). A critical point in the novel, Dreiser begins the plot chiasmus between Carrie and Hurstwood. Carrie, because of her growing consciousness of the right path, begins her rise, while Hurstwood, for opposite reasons, begins his decline. The key idea of ​​Dreiser's analogy between a man's material progress and his bodily growth is that once a man stops advancing, he begins to waste away. Carrie doesn't waste away because she keeps looking forward. In fact, she is constantly striving for something that can never be achieved. However, it is this perpetual desire that keeps her in an “accumulation of youth” (259). On the contrary, Hurstwood never transcends the emptiness of the desires of the material world. It lives for itself and then begins to deteriorate. This passage parallels that at the end of the novel, in which Ames advises Carrie on the evanescence of her gift as an actress: You can lose it, you know. If you turn away from it and live to satisfy yourself, it will go pretty quickly. The gaze will leave your eyes. Your mouth will change. Your power to act will disappear. You might think not, but they will. Nature takes care of it. (386) The first significant part of this passage concerns the danger of living to satisfy one's self alone. This is precisely why Hurstwood doesn't stand up like Carrie. The other important point is Ames' comment that "nature takes care of it." Ames's mention of nature as the agent of destiny is a direct reference to the passage in which Dreiser describes the scientific process of growth and decay, which, in Hurstwood's case, results in "slumping on the side of the grave" ( 259). When Hurstwood chooses not to go out that winter day to look for work, he stops looking for something more and nature takes over. The preceding paragraph is preceded by a paragraph in which Ames tells Carrie how she has the power to express the feelings of others. “The world still has a hard time expressing itself,” he told her, and “most people aren't able to express their feelings. They depend on others” (385). Regarding her “sympathy” and “melodious voice,” he tells her to “make them precious to others.” This will make your powers last.” This is Dreiser's way of suggesting that the best way to preserve oneself is to use one's valuable abilities for others. Dreiser concludes the scene by saying, “There was a long way to this better thing” (386). At this point, Carrie fully realizes her duty in using her gift to express the desires of others. She realizes that this is a “better thing” than living for herself and aspiring to material goods. Although this kind of life seems "a long way" to Carrie, it is important to note that she longs for something that can never be achieved. Just as the desire for social status will never be satisfied, “the blind strivings of the human heart” will never cease. But it is from the desire of that which cannot be attained that those of the feeling minds derive their pleasure. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In Dreiser's final pages, Carrie reflects on the futility of.