Theodore Dreiser is an excellent realistic writer in the history of American literature who lived in the period of the rapid development of American capitalism. Dreiser is one of the writers who lived in the 19th century and witnessed the changes. In the 19th century, America industrialized rapidly and capital was controlled by the great capitalists. The monopoly groups appeared, the mild mask of capitalism was torn up and the rich led a luxurious life while the masses struggled for living. This influenced the creation of many writers, including Dreiser, who objected to the Genteelism popular at that time and their works featured profound naturalism. Dreiser is good at exposing the cruelty and contradictions of capitalistic society, which made him one of the important writers in American literary in the early 20th century. Sister Carrie(1900), which traces the material rise of Carrie Meeber and the tragic decline of G.W.Hurstwood, was Dreiser’s first novel. Because it depicted social transgressions by characters who felt no remorse and largely escaped punishment, it was virtually suppressed by its publisher, who printed but refused to promote the book. Since its reissue in 1907 it has steadily risen in popularity and scholarly acceptance as one of the key works in the Dreiser canon. “Though turn-of-the-century readers found Dreiser’s point of view crude and immoral, his influence on the fiction of the first quarter of the century is perhaps greater than any other writer’s.” (We Weiren 134) It sets Chicago and New York in the late 19th century as its background to show the rapid development of the capitalism and it tears the gentle and cultivated front of the bourgeoisie. It shocks the whole society because of the exposure of the dark sides in American society, such as the description of characters, environment and sex. Meanwhile, it also attracts many readers because of Dreiser’s affirmation to the awakening of self-consciousness of Sister Carrie.
