As a matter of fact, Carrie is under the drive of desire that never made her satisfied, and she constantly search for another goal. her desires were produced by many factors. This paper gradually reveals Carrie's lost heart under the garment of beauty and innocence. She fulfills her desires and her dreams but she sees no happiness, since she gets on the wrong track and can't find herself.
The paper firstly gives introduction to Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs' theory. The paper secondly analyzes Carrie's desire in different period based on Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs' theory, which went through the progress from money worship to spiritual self-actualization. Finally, the paper expounds the implications through Carrie’s instable desire and other driving forces..
The last chapter is conclusion—the warning and enlightenment from Sister Carrie: It seems to tell people, with the increasing of the material supplies in the modern society, people should not blindly pursue the material enjoyment, and we have cognizance happiness and stability that the spirit brings us satisfaction. It is necessary to ponder the significance and the value of the life.
1. Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs' theory
The 'hierarchy of needs' theory, also called the motivation theory by Maslow, is the most important part of his theories on personality. It was for med in the middle of 1940s. Abraham Maslow is a renowned psychologist for his fundamental and universal literature called 'self-actualization' or 'hierarchy of needs theory'. The heart of the theory is that human satisfy their needs from a level (basic needs like oxygen, food, water, shelter) to the other (social needs, love and affection needs) up to the self-actualization needs and the fulfillment of one level is the prerequisite before you can even plan for the next. The needs of human can be divided into five levels: the physiological needs, the needs for safety and security, the needs for love and belonging, the needs for esteem, and the needs t o actualize the self.
Physiological needs are the most basic needs such as water, food, oxygen, protein, salt, sugar, calcium, and other minerals and so on. For the most part, physiological needs are obvious-they are the literal requirements for human survival. If these requirements are not met, the human body simply cannot continue to function. we may come down with diseases or feel uncomfortable, restless, sleepless, etc. and are unable to live as a normal individual. These sufferings motivate us to alleviate them as s oon as possible so that we can survive, only if they are alleviated can we think of other things.
When the physiological needs are largely taken care of, the next level of needs, the safety needs, will come into play. The need for security includes need to protect oneself from getting bodily injury, illness, unemployment, and financial crisis. Maslow believes that any organism has the tendency to seek security, including
