sister carrie

Chapter 4

Chapter 2 Threatened by Poverty: Granite and Brass High-rises
Minnie lived in a flat—the flats in strata, as they were called in those days—on West Vanbrunnstrasse.That's where the workers and employees live.The number of new arrivals is as high as 5 people every year, and it has not declined to this day.It was on the third floor, the front windows looked out over the street, and at night the grocery store was lit and children were playing.The streetcar passed by, the little bell ticked and disappeared, and it sounded pleasant and new to Carrie.Minnie brought her into the front room, and she gazed at the lighted street, and was fascinated by the noises, activities, and whispers of the great city stretching out in every direction.

Mrs. Hanson handed the baby to Carrie, after speaking of the civilities, and went to prepare supper.After asking a few questions, her husband sat down to read the evening paper.A taciturn man, born in the United States to a Swedish father, he now works as a refrigerated truck cleaner on a livestock farm.To him, it doesn't matter whether his wife's sister is present or not.She had no influence on him here at all.The only thing he said about Carrie was what the chances of getting a job in Chicago were.

"It's a big place," he said, "and you can find a place in a few days, as everybody does."

There was an understanding in advance that she had to find work and pay for food.He is honest by nature and loves to save. He has pre-purchased two pieces of land in the western suburbs and paid in monthly installments for several months.His ambition is to build a house there one day.

Taking advantage of the time between cooking dinner, Carrie took a good look at this floor.She was born with a bit of a gift for observation, and what every woman is rich in - intuition.

She felt the pressure of a poor life.The wallpaper in the room was messy.There are mats on the floor, and a broken carpet in the main room.It can be seen at a glance that the furniture has been scraped together by poor families from installment houses.

She was in the kitchen with Minnie, holding the baby in her arms, and then the baby began to cry.She just walked and sang all the way in the kitchen, and then Han Sheng couldn't read the newspaper because of the noise, so she came over and took the baby.The kind side of his character is shown here, and he is patient.You can see that he is focused on the child.

"Oh, oh," he hummed as he walked, "good, good." He spoke with a slight Swedish accent.

"You're going to do some sightseeing first, aren't you?" said Minnie.At this time they were eating. "Well, let's go for a walk on Sunday and see Linkin Park."

Carrie noticed that Han Sheng hadn't said anything about it.He seemed to be thinking of something else.

"Okay," she said, "I think I can go out and see tomorrow. I'm free on Friday and Saturday, no problem. Which side is downtown?"

Minnie began to explain, but her husband took it up.

"This way," he said, pointing to the east, "this is east." Then he went on and on about the topography of Chicago, "You'd better look at those big factories along Franklin Street, right there On the other side of the river." He finally said, "There are many female workers working there. It is also convenient to go home, not very far."

Carrie nodded and asked her sister about the neighbors.Minnie spoke in a low voice, telling the little she knew; Hanson, for his part, was busy with the children.Later, he jumped up and gave the child to his wife.

"I have to get up early in the morning, and I'm going to bed." So he walked away, and went into the dark bedroom on the side of the living room, where he disappeared all night.

"He works on a cattle ranch far away," Minnie explained, "so he gets up at 05:30 every day."

"What time do you get up to make breakfast?" asked Carrie.

"About twenty minutes to five."

Together they finished the day's work, Carrie doing the dishes and Minnie undressing the baby for bed.Minnie was so agile that Carrie could see that she had worked so hard all year round.

She began to understand that her relationship with Drouet must be abandoned.He cannot come here.She could see from Hanson's demeanor, Minnie's resignation, and the whole atmosphere of the apartment that they were absolutely against anything but hard work.Since Hanson stayed in the front room every night, reading his newspaper; since he went to bed at nine o'clock every night, and Minnie went to bed a little later, wasn't it clear what they wanted from her? She realized that she first The thing is to find a job and be able to afford living expenses before we can talk about things like making friends.Her flirting with Drouet now looked out of place.

"No," she thought to herself, "he can't come here."

She asked Minnie for paper and ink, which stood on the mantelpiece in the dining room.When Minnie went to bed at ten o'clock, she took out Drouet's card and wrote to him.

"I can't let you visit me here. You'll have to wait until my next letter. My sister's place is too small."

She wondered what else to write in the letter.She wanted to mention their relationship in the car, but she was too timid.She finally thanked him in general for his care, and then was puzzled about what format to sign.It was later decided to use a serious manner, and wrote "your truest" at the end of the letter, which was later changed to "your honest".She packed the envelope, wrote the address, went into the front room, where there was an alcove where her bed was placed, then pulled the rocking chair to the open window, and sat looking out at the night and the street, thinking silently. .Later, tired of thinking, sleepy in the rocking chair, wanting to sleep, changed clothes and went to bed.

When he woke up at eight o'clock the next morning, Han Sheng had already gone out.Her sister was busy in the dining room, which also doubled as a sitting room, where she was sewing.She dressed, arranged breakfast herself, and asked Minnie where she was going to see.Minnie had grown a lot since Carrie had last seen her.She is now a 27-year-old woman, thin and tough, her concept of life is deeply influenced by her husband, and her view of joy and responsibility is becoming narrower and narrower than when she was young when her life was monotonous and narrow. It has to get worse.She had invited Carrie, not because she longed for her company, but simply because Carrie was unhappy at home, and perhaps a job could be found here to pay for her board and lodging.She's also happy to see her, but when it comes to job hunting, her opinion mirrors that of her husband.Anything, just pay—say, at the beginning, five dollars a week.In their minds, as a newcomer, Carrie was destined to be a shopgirl.She might as well go into a big shop and work hard until--well, until the opportunity comes.Neither of them knew exactly what it was.They didn't expect any promotion.Nor were they explicitly thinking about marriage.It would go on, though, and something good would come out in the end, though dimly thoughtful, and Carrie would be rewarded for her hard work in the great city.It was with such wishful thinking that she went out to look for work in the morning.

Before we follow her job search, let's take a look at the local environment that will reveal her promise.In 1889, Chicago was so developed that young people thought they had reason to come here and try their luck.The thriving commerce and reputation here made it a great magnet for the hopeful and the hopeless, from far and wide--those who wanted to start a family business, or already had it elsewhere. steep downhill.This is a city with a population of 500000. Its ambition, aggressive style, and vigor are no less than a metropolis with a million people.Streets and houses are scattered in this area of ​​75 square miles.

The population here prospers not so much from commerce as from industry, and it is industry which prepares to accommodate the men who come after them.The hammering of new buildings can be heard everywhere.Big manufacturers are moving in one after another.The giant railway companies, which recognized the development prospects here early, have now seized a large amount of land for transportation and shipping.Streetcar routes have been extended to the far suburbs and are expected to develop rapidly.The city has paved countless miles of streets and sewers in many areas, where there may be only a single house today-but it may become a bustling street in the future.In some areas, it is still under the wind and rain, but the lights have been on all night, and the long rows of gas lamps are swaying in the wind.The narrow boardwalk stretches out, and the places it passes are far apart. There is a house here, a shop there, and it stretches to the vast grassland.

The central area is a vast wholesale and commercial area, and job seekers who don't know the truth often come here.One of Chicago's peculiarities, not generally found in other cities, is that each store always occupies its own building, regardless of its size.It is possible to do this because there is plenty of land, which makes most wholesale stores very impressive. The offices are located on the first floor of the facade, so that the situation on the street can be seen clearly.Large windows, which are commonly used today and quickly became popular at the time, made the offices on the first floor of the facade extraordinarily impressive.Pedestrians who occasionally stroll through here can see rows of exquisite office equipment, large pieces of frosted glass, clerks working hard, and some wealthy businessmen, wearing neat clothes and clean shirts, Lounging on a seat or sitting in a group.At the gate made of ashlar, a shiny bronze or nickel plate marks the name and business of the store in concise and cautious sentences.The whole metropolitan center had an air of haughtiness which would frighten and discourage the average job seeker, and widen and widen the gulf between rich and poor.

The timid Carrie walked into this important business district.She went east along Van Buren Street, through a section that became poorer as she went on, then came to a section of low houses and coal stacks, and finally came to the river.She went forward bravely, honestly hoping to find a job.Along the way, what she saw in front of her made her almost stop every step she took; seeing the magnificence that she couldn't understand, she couldn't help feeling extremely terrified.Where are so many huge buildings? Such a strange spirit, such a large-scale enterprise, what are they for? The small stone workshop in Columbia City, for a certain person to chisel small pieces of marble, she can understand that , but what I see now is the site of a huge stone company, with special railway lines everywhere, flat cars running, the wharf deep into the river, and wooden and steel cranes overhead, these are in her small world I just feel at a loss, and really don't understand why.

She also couldn't understand the vast site of the train station, the rows of boats in the river, and the large factories along the river that she saw along the way.Through the open window she could see men and women, in overalls, hurrying about.Those avenues were, to her, mysterious places between high walls; those large offices were strange labyrinths, concerned with some great personage from afar.All she could think of was that these people were counting the money, dressed in fancy clothes, and coming and going in carriages.As for what they do, how they do it, and for what purpose, she has only a very vague audience for these.Everything is so remarkable, on such a scale, and everything is so far away.The thought of going into one of those imposing shops and begging for a job--a job she could do--any job--her heart sank and her heart trembled.

(End of this chapter)