W poszukiwaniu szczęścia - wędrowki bohaterów w "Siostrze Carrie" Theodora Dreisera

Abstract

This essay presents different types of journeys undertaken by the characters in Theodore Dreiser’s novel Sister Carrie (1900). The aim of the journeys, both those made in a literal and in metaphorical sense, is to achieve happiness, most often understood as financial success. Few characters manage to achieve it; while some characters quickly climb the social ladder, others fall to its bottom. This novel, showing the shallowness and superficiality of the American Dream, lays emphasis on the simple truth, that money alone does not guarantee the feeling of fulfillment. Therefore, unaware of what gives true happiness, man is “sentenced” to constant searching.