World Literature Library -- Jeanie Girl

Author: Dreiser
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-05
Features: is Dreiser's second novel. The novel depicts Jenny, a poor girl of humble origins, who is naturally beautiful and faces the temptation of Senator Brand due to the pressures of life. Soon after, Brand dies, leaving her with an illegitimate child and sowing the seeds of tragedy in her fate. After meeting the wealthy Lester, she falls into the same trap again and lives with him for several years before being abandoned by him. The novel follows Jenny's tragic experiences as its main thread, portraying the growing unemployment and poverty in American big cities, vividly depicting the extravagant and decadent life of the upper class of the bourgeoisie, and revealing the insurmountable gap between the rich and the poor. On one hand, it praises the excellent qualities of the working people—hardworking, upright, and self-sacrificing. On the other hand, it condemns the various evils of a materialistic and money-dominated society. The entire novel is ingeniously crafted, with a natural and tight plot, free of artificial. The characterization tends toward typicalization. Jenny embodies beauty, poverty, kindness, hard work, and self-sacrifice, filled with love for the world yet receiving no return. Her character fully reflects how the capitalist system is the profound root of the tragedies faced by the working people. Dreiser's early difficult experiences made him deeply empathetic to the lives of the lower class, allowing him to portray the characters in the novel with profound insight, vividness, and lifelike detail, bringing the characters to life on the page.