C++ :: Pointer Passed To Function Value Doesn't Change

when i pass a string pointer to a function such as string *str = new string(""); and pass that string to a handleElement() function e.g. handleElement(str), and i change the value in the function it simply doesn't change when the function exits as though it's passing it by value or something, even though it gives the pointer address.. I've now changed the code to use double pointers and pass the reference of the str pointer and it works but it seems ugly to use double pointers for this.

//handles when a new element is encountered when parsing and adds it to the parse tree
bool ParseBlock::handleElement(char cur, string *curString, int count, bool isOperator) {
countNode = new ParseNode(count);
//keep track of numbers and strings if they exist and insert them
if(!curString->empty()){
if(isNumber(*curString)

[code].....