Sister Carrie

 

Theodore Dreiser addressed the working conditions in Chicago through his writing in the Realism Era. In his turn of the century novel Sister Carrie , the protagonist Carrie Meeber moves to Chicago from the small town of Columbia City. She is bored with her simple life and wants to become economically autonomous in the thriving city. The thought of working for wages and spending her hard-earned money on frivolities such as plays and clothes excites Carrie's adventurous mind. She plans to stay with her sister and brother-in-law in the city and find a well-paying job to help her maintain her ideal cosmopolitan lifestyle. However, Carrie's experience with the city is not what she had in mind.

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When Carrie first arrives to her sister Minnie's apartment, she is shocked at the living conditions of the family of three. The cramped space houses Minnie, her husband Hanson, their baby boy, and now Carrie. She does not have a bedroom, and, much to her surprise, must contribute part of her wages for the weekly rent. It soon becomes apparent that city life is much different than Carrie had imagined…

 

Minnie Hanson Carrie

 

 

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