On Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie

    I want you to think about the theme of drifting. We have seen Edna Pontellier drift away from her roles of mother and wife, and drift literally out to sea. Isabel Archer drifts in her travels. We’ve also seen many of our characters drift in their imaginations, and at the end of Sister Carrie, we now see that it is Carrie’s longing for a deep and expansive life that allows her to drift from situation to situation, geographical locations, and away from her family. Drifting also allows her to find the theater, while it leads to Hurstwood’s demise. We will perhaps see the same theme surface in Nella Larsen’s Quicksand. Prompt: How does the text convey “drift” (whatever that means to you!) to reveal meaning in the text. Successful Papers will: 1. State an argumentative and SPECIFIC thesis that goes beyond a “yes or no” answer 2. Provide adequate textual evidence for the paper’s claims 3. Maintain clear paragraph organization throughout 4. Discuss formal elements in the text that help convey your argument