¶ … Sister Carrie and a Modern Instance and discusses the characters geographic attempts to escape their problems. The writer compares and contrasts the stories and argues that social norms continue to follow the characters wherever they go. There were two sources used to complete this paper.
Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie and William Dean Howells' A Modern Instance are classic examples of the way people try and change their personalities and their lives by geographic changes. Both of the stories test the belief that greater mobility translates into greater freedom as well as address whether social norms follow the people or if social norms are changed in new environments.
Throughout history authors of literature have used their work to convey messages. Sometimes the message is open and blunt while at other times it is a subtle hint of idea that promotes the message. In the two classic stories of change and move Sister Carrie and A Modern Instance the reader is taken on a journey by which they experience social change as well as personal growth while they move to escape their reality. Both of the stories combine a deep need for self-reflection with the metamorphous of the characters as they grow and work through their lives.
Modern Instance is a strong example of the changes that take place within characters that move. It also displays an understanding that the social norms do not change, it is instead the character who changes the environment which puts them in a different context and realm of what is socially normal and acceptable.
Howells PG) When Bartley and Marcia meet and fall in love they each have crosses to
Marcia suffers from being extremely self-centered while Bartley feels that the world is his for the taking and it does not matter what he has to do to get what he wants. Between his lack of values and morals and her refusal to see beyond her own needs the two of them run into trouble from the start. Her family opposes the relationship, and when the reader goes through the story it become apparent that the self-centered attitude has been promoted and caused by the actions of her family. They are agains the relationship between Marcia and Bartley so the two decide rather than face their own flaws they will blame the environment that they live in. They make the move to Boston in the belief that once their environment is changed so will their life. Of course everywhere they run, there they are and the same character flaws that were there before the move are still there after the move is complete. Because of Marcia's jeaslousy and self-centered attitude and Bartlets refusal to adopt a sembelance of moralistic behavior their
marriage is tested even in the new environment. This is the point that the reader becomes aware that social norms do not change with geographic changes, but instead they stay the same and the character flaws are as evident in the new environment as they were in the old. The marriage falls apart as the reader observes others in their circle who do have moral fiber begin to thrive. The evident moral beliefs of the others in the story serve as another reminder that social norms do not change unless one goes to a different
culture all together.
The story is also a picture of the dislocation one feels when they make a geographic changes and suddenly the familiar sites and shops are no longer available.
When Bartley abandons her a friend of his harbors a secret love for Marcia. He too chooses a geographic change to try and change what he feels in his heart. Because of the geographic change he manages to pay personal penance and become a minister, yet he did not change the social norms, instead he changed himself.
In Sister Carrie a similar lesson is learned not only by the reader but by the characters. Carrie makes several geographic moves in her attempt to…
