Sinclair Lewis, the author of Babbitt, devised several key literary elements to explain his full effect and purpose for writing his novel. Babbitt is a satirist look, at not only one man, but an entire society as well. He exposes the hypocrisy and mechanization of American society in the 1920’s. In the story Lewis focuses on his main character George Babbitt, the protagonist throughout much of the book, who is a business with lofty aims and a desire to climb the ladder of the social class. To fully achieve his opinions and beliefs, Lewis used literary effects of irony and theme. The novel begins in the 1920’s, a decade that had started in economic boom and avid consumerism, only to end crash and depression. This was a parallel used by …show more content…
By these terms George Babbitt, and many of this acquaintances are quite the bigots toward all of those who appear different than he is, especially immigrants and minorities in America. The blame should not be placed squarely on these men,s shoulders for processing such hate filled beliefs, but their own opinion of the matter is generated through the generations, that immigrants and minorities are far less superior than the “native” white men who have “always: lived in America. The irony of this subject in the book is that although men of Babbitt’s stature openly shared and joked with one another about their superiority to all other races, not one would ever admit that he was even by a small degree a bigot. Buying only the very best material items and throwing dinner parties are only a few of the ways Babbitt tried to accomplish a more noteworthy place in society and impress his peers. He is more concerned about these items than about his wife and children and to him, “God was Modern Appliances” (Lewis pg 114). However, at the end of the story, the irony is no more evident when Babbitt admits to his son that he has wasted life. He confides in his Ted that he has ruined his whole life shooting for goals which, in Babbitts lifetime, are realistically unattainable. He tells Ted that hopefully, the new generation (Ted’s generation), can recover from Babbitt’s ill fated dreams, and lead their own lives the way
In the novel, the setting takes place in the Salinas valleys of CA, 1930s. In American history, the 1930s was a time period where there was a constant strive for hope that the economy
What does the novel say about materialism? What, if any, are the similarities between the 1920s American society and the 21st Century American society with regard to materialism?
The roaring 20’s was an astounding time in the history of the United States of America. Many authors published novels, poems, and other works of literature to show their readers what it would be like to experience this time frame. Some examples of these works include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “Harlem” by Langston Hughes. Both of these pieces of literature include literary elements to appeal to the reader’s senses and imagination. A prevalent theme that has been found in works of the roaring 20’s is the wealth that someone may or may not achieve. Literary elements such as figurative language, irony, and symbolism are profound in both The Great Gatsby and “Harlem”, adding depth to both literature works.
The novel is set during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. During this time, many
The novel opens with TODD GRAY returning to his home in Palouse Hills, Idaho after being on an important business trip in Chicago to deal the rapid inflation rate driving the American economy towards collapse, which he refers to as “The Crunch.” After news of riots breaking out, Todd invites members of his Survivalist group to come to his compound in Idaho so they can thwart off the imminent breakdown of society. He explains that after “the crunch,” the American dollar became worthless, every major city quickly was ravaged by looting, murder, and robbery and power outages allowed 80% of the country’s prison population to escape.
The Black Wall Street, Harlem Renaissance, Great Migration, and Great Depression are all period that came in mind, while reading this novel. To begin, the novel presented aspects of The Great Depression and Great Migration because it represented African American people escaping from the poverty, segregation, racism, violence, and lack of job opportunities they were exposed to in the South by migrating to the North. The novel itself represents The Harlem Renaissance because it was written when importance of literature during the time period for the African American people and the Black experience was growing. To continue, the Brothers throughout the novel were reminded of their class and race, which made them constantly aware of who they were and where they came from. This can be related to modern day Black men who experience poverty because they ar
reader's mind about what life was like in the 1930's showing the reader that the world was
The setting of this novella takes place in Salinas Valley in California during the 1930s, the time of the Great Depression. The Great Depression began when the stock market in the United States dropped rapidly.
Fitzgerald is writing a satire that comments on American ideal by showing the desire for wealth, the carelessness of the wealthy during the 1920s, and the attainment of a dream.
Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt portrayed a man bent on following his political party; his actions seemingly followed that religiously, and today's version of the Republican Party is proof that we are not too far off from Lewis' version, despite the expanse of time. George Babbitt, the main character in Lewis' novel, viewed the world in the eyes of a businessman. He saw immigrants as a waste to society, business and the means to survive, and the ability to own the latest and greatest inventions as top priorities in his life. One must, in the 1920s and well as in today's world, set themselves in a political affiliation, generally one that describes the person and how he is. To
The novel's very title has become a kind of buzzword for periods of excess and fake luxury. The economic collapse of 2008 brought back distant and unwelcome memories of the stock market crash of 1929, casting the boom times of the 1990s and early 2000s as the modern-day version of the Roaring Twenties.
The Great Depression broke down security and belief in American society during the early 20th century and brought out hidden prejudices. The once optimistic mood during the Roaring 20’s turned to pain. The dire economic situation caused Americans to return to past social stigmas where certain groups of people were seen as inferior; as a result, the American Dream, where everyone could seek their ideal of success, was reduced to merely a dream. John Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Like in his later work, The Grapes of Wrath, he was inspired by his environment to expose the lives of people during the Great Depression using Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Steinbeck demonstrates in Of Mice and Men through the characters that the American Dream was naturally discriminatory towards certain groups of people because of common perceptions held during that period.
Have you ever heard of the book called The Jungle? This book was written by Upton Sinclair, a muckraker. Harry Sinclair Lewis was a janitor at Upton Sinclair's socialist colony and he was influenced by Sinclair’s idea of socialism. Therefore, their ideas are very much alike even though their childhood backgrounds were completely different. Upton Sinclair had a great impact on society by addressing social issues in the early 1900’s, so what is the significance of Lewis’s works? Some of his major representative works are Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith (“Assignment Five -- Sinclair Lewis Babbitt”). These books played a big role on muckraking the social corruptions in his time period.
All characters represents an actual person in American society during the 1930s. The linking between the book, characters and The Great
The novel is set in the twenties, following World War I. The economy is booming, which is crucial for the ability to convey the themes of the American Dream and post-war moods. Set in New York City, the book opens in the West Egg, a new money part of the upper class neighborhoods.