The excerpt provided has reflected the life in New York City as challenging especially to the girls who are leaving home at the age of eighteen. From the excerpt, it is easy to note the different forces that are present in the city that can help the girl become either better or worse. The forces may seem appealing and attractive but in reality, the forces may be misleading. The excerpt also shows the city to be having human beings who have hidden agenda but present themselves as people who are willing to help others. Life in the city is compared to a roar of a lion that shows that life is not pleasant in the city.
The language in the epigraph is meant to prepare the read to expect any side of the city either good or bad. The epigraph also gives the perceptive of socio-economic differences in the city. For instance, Carrie acquires wealth in the city that leads to her independence. Hurstwood, on the other hand, moves from richness to poverty still in the same city. When one looks at the epigraph, the city is portrayed as an attractive force that different people are drawn to. The attractive force is also seen in the use of images. For instance, a magnet was used to describe the city. Another perspective of the city portrayed by the epigraph in the book is it is seen as a trap trapping several people. It is also portrayed by use of a spider web (Canada, 227). The men Carrie encounters in the city are described as spiders by Dreiser because how they seduce her. Dreiser has also used the picture of a moth being attracted to the light. The use of insect to represent human beings is common in the story. In this case, a moth is attracted to light, and the candle light can harm it. The two comparisons show the social aspects in the city the people are attracted to which can be of harm to the lives of the dwellers similar to the life of Carrie.
Dreiser epigraph has shown the city of New York to have a culture that one’s identity is shown through what they consume. The other picture painted by the novel is a growing city that has problems with sewers and housing. The city has people living in extreme poverty. Moreover, the novel explains how the expectations of men and women were changing. The sexual relationship between men and women has also demonstrated. For instance, Dreiser talks of how men seduce Carrie.
Dreiser has realistically presented the contemporary urban life of New York that is expanding at a high rate of technology, commerce, population, and industry. The novel was able to highlight a materialistic society that had the influence to change the moral behaviors of a young girl. Similarly, in the modern urban life, people are choosing money over their moral belief and behavior as they strive to get out of poverty life. The novel has also touched how the city is growing with the problem of sanitations that is similar to the current situations with urbanizations and increased populations (Canada 240).
In conclusion, the novel has shown the New York economic, industrial, and social transitions. It also explains how the above transitions influenced the lives different characters. The novel proves to be an important literary device effective to documents the history of the city.
Work Cited
Canada, Mark. "The Critique Of Journalism In <I>Sister Carrie</I>". American Literary Realism 42.3 (2010): 227-242. Web.
