Babbitt
āĻāĻ āĻ āĻĄāĻŋāĻāĻŦā§āĻā§āĻ° āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇā§ā§
In this sardonic portrait of the up-and-coming middle class during the prosperous 1920s, On the surface, everything is all right with Babbittâs world of the solid, successful businessman. But in reality, George F. Babbitt is a lonely, middle-aged man. He doesnât understand his family, has an unsuccessful attempt at an affair, and is almost financially ruined when he dares to voice sympathy for some striking workers. Babbitt finds that his only safety lies deep in the fold of those who play it safe. He is a man who has added a new word to our language: a âBabbitt,â meaning someone who conforms unthinkingly, a sheep.
āĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ āĻ āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻ¨āĻžāĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋ
āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻā§
Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930, the first American novelist to be so honored. Born in Minnesota, he attended Yale University but left before graduation to work in Upton Sinclairâs socialist colony at Helicon Hall in Englewood, New Jersey. Unable to make a living as a freelance writer, he returned to Yale and earned his degree. In 1914, he published his first novel, Our Mr. Wrenn: The Romantic Adventures of a Gentle Man. But it was not until his sixth novel, Main Street, that he won recognition as an important American novelist. His other major works include Babbitt, Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth, and It Canât Happen Here, which he also wrote as a play. Lewis was a prolific writer, publishing dozens of books and innumerable articles throughout his career.
