【正文】 ” 3 Until now, consumer culture has been applied to a variety of fields, including cultural studies, theology, sociology, psychology, marketing, anthropology, philosophy, etc. As a result, not only scholars in different fields but also those who are specialized in the same field tend to define consumer culture in different ways. Thus consumer culture theory has bee a area to be studied from various perspectives which concentrate on the general idea that consumption has an essentially cultural structure in all human societies, and it is central to the cultural as well as the material reproduction of social lives and relationships. The earliest research in consumer culture can be traced back to Q Simmel and Thorstein Veblen(18571929)， the American social critics and economists who put forward the famous concept of “conspicuous consumption39。 body consumption。 a brief review of the research achievements on Sister Carrie and on consumer culture at home and abroad. And then ,it further illustrates the reason and significance for choosing this topic . The body of the thesis includes two chapters. Chapter One introduces consumer culture, followed by a review of the emergence of modern consumer culture in America as well as its reflections in Sister Carrie. What?s more, how is consumption desire stimulated by the needs of society at that time and the tragic resultdisillusionment brought by consumption. Chapter Two discusses the The Features of Material Consumption, Emotion Consumption and Body Consumption in Sister Carrie. Influenced by consumer culture, women at that time are eager to be a consumer in their own ways,which breaks the traditional female identity as “mother and wife”as Carrie?s sister Minnie． It also focuses on the relationship between Carrie and Drouet and Carrie and Mr. Hurstwood?s , and the relationship between Mr. Hurstwood and his family as well as the relationship between Carrie and her sister?s family under the context of consumer culture which further explains the indifference and cruelty of consumer culture to all kinds of relationships, while the same time explains women?s dilemma during their pursuit of selfdevelopment in a iv maledominated consumer society—they want to be consumers with relatively high social status whereas they are consumed by men at the same Conclusion part summarizes the main idea. Consumer culture and consumption ideology are thoroughly showed in this novel. However, consumption in this novel is actually a kind of flamboyant consumption to prove one?s social status and identity, as well as prestige and honor brought by status. Carrie ultimately bees a victim of consumption. Her life direction is mainly drawn by the strong desire of consumption。由此更好地解釋了消費(fèi)文化對(duì)各種關(guān)系而言是冷漠與殘酷的。 論文主體共兩章，第一章介紹消費(fèi)文化的概念、美國(guó)現(xiàn)代消費(fèi)文化的產(chǎn)生及其在《嘉莉妹妹》中的體現(xiàn)，另外還介紹了《嘉莉妹妹》中的社會(huì)需要如何激發(fā)消費(fèi)欲望膨脹及消費(fèi)帶來的悲劇的幻滅感。德萊塞的處女作《嘉莉妹妹》真實(shí)地反映了這一時(shí)期美國(guó)興起的消費(fèi)熱及由此帶來的人們意識(shí)形態(tài)的轉(zhuǎn)變。西奧多德萊塞的生活背景，回顧了國(guó)內(nèi)外對(duì)《嘉莉妹妹》的研究成果，同時(shí)介紹了國(guó)內(nèi)外學(xué)者對(duì)消費(fèi)文化的研究并在此基礎(chǔ)上提出論文選題理由和意義。同時(shí)作者也在消費(fèi)文化的背景下關(guān)注嘉莉與德魯埃的關(guān)系，嘉莉與赫斯特伍德的關(guān)系，赫斯特伍德的家庭關(guān)系以及嘉莉與姐姐姐夫的關(guān)系。嘉莉最終淪為消費(fèi)的犧牲品，強(qiáng)烈的消費(fèi)欲望指引著她的人生方向，并且在某種程度上決定了其最終命運(yùn) . 關(guān)鍵詞 ：消費(fèi)文化；物質(zhì)消費(fèi)；情感消費(fèi)；身體消費(fèi)；意識(shí)形態(tài)； iii A Study of the Consumer Culture in Sister Carrie Abstract At the turn from the l9th century to the 20th century, American society was undergoing a radical social change, turning into a spendthrift and consumptive mercial society. Theodore Dreiser?s first novel, Sister Carrie, actually reflects the consumption craze prevalent in America during this era as well as the resultant change of people?s ideology. This thesis tries to make a research of the reflection of consumer culture in Sister Carrie and its influence for individual as well as the whole American society. The introductory part introduces the background of the author, Theodore Dreiser。 emotional consumption。?by many reviewers . In 1981, another edition of Sister Carrie was issued by Pennsylvania University Press. It ended with Mr. Hurstwood?s suicide instead of Carrie?s??rocking and thinking39。d expected. Carrie starts to look for a job, but is constantly rejected. Although she finds a job as a female worker eventually, she loses it because she is too tired to do the job. With all of these disappointments, Drouet?s temptation, and the expanding desire of Carrie herself, Carrie makes her final decision to live together with Drouet. However, she abandons Drouet then embraces Mr． Hurstwood , who has wife and children ,when her desire expands to the degree at which Drouet is not able to satisfy her any Mr. Hurstwood is in terminal decline, Carrie starts to seek job again. The difference is that she turns into a famous actress by accident. As a result, she obtains the luxurious life she wanted for so long, while at the same time she falls into the emptiness inside. The story ends in Carrie?s??rocking and thinking39。 don39。s the matter with you.” “Where can I go?” “Why, there are lots of places,” returned Lola, who was thinking of her own lightsome tourneys with the gay youths. “You won39。s success. “There are lots would give their ears to be in your shoes.” Carrie looked out again at the passing crowd. 8 “ I don39。s later success on stage as a famous actress. The two women lead two different lifestyles respectively. Through the years, Minnie has accepted the conventional life principles and believes in slow build up of wealth which requires 10 continuous saving and long hours of hard work, but Carrie discards this lifestyle because what she has always been striving for can never be fulfilled by this slow accumulation of wealth. She dares to try every possible means to elbow her way into the world of wealth and fort regardless of the conventional conventional moral rules. Third, Mr. Hurstwood3