Sister Carrie

Whenagirlleavesherhomeateighteen,shedoesoneoftwothings.Eithershefallsintosavinghandsandbecomesbetter,orsherapidlyassumesthecosmopolitanstandardofvirtueandbecomesworse.'ThetaleofCarrieMeeber'srisetostardominthetheatreandGeorgeHurstwood'sslowdeclinecapturesthetwinpolesofexuberanceandexhaustioninmoderncitylifeasneverbefore.ThepremierexampleofAmericannaturalism,Dreiser'sremarkablefirstnovelhasdeeplyinfluencedsuchkeywritersasWilliamFaulkner,F.ScottFitzgerald,SaulBellow,andJoyceCarolOates.Thiseditionusesthe1900text,whichisregardedastheauthor'sfinalversion.