When Babbitt was first published in 1922, fans gleefully hailed its scathing portrait of a crass, materialistic nation; critics denounced it as an unfair skewering of the American businessman. Sparking heated literary debate, Babbitt became a controversial classic, securing Sinclair Lewis’s place as one of America’s preeminent social commentators. Businessman George F. Babbitt loves the latest appliances, brand names, and the Republican Party. In fact, he loves being a solid citizen even more than he loves his wife. But Babbitt comes to resent the middle-class trappings he has worked so hard to acquire. Realizing that his life is devoid of meaning, he grows determined to transcend his trivial existence and search for greater purpose. Raising thought-provoking questions while yielding hilarious consequences, and just as relevant today as ever, Babbitt’s quest for meaning forces us to confront the Babbitt in ourselves—and ponder what it truly means to be an American. Following the critical and commercial success of Main Street, Sinclair Lewis directed his barbs at the American businessman in "Babbitt. The central chauracter, George Follansbee Babbitt, is a middle-aged realtor living in Zenith, the Zip City. He is unimaginative, self-important, and hopelessly middle class. Vaguely dissatisfied with his position, he tries to alter the pattern of his life by flirting with liberalism and by having an affair with an attractive widow, only to find that his dread of ostracism is greater than his desire for escape. He does, however, encourage the rebellion of his son, Ted. Lewis's seventh novel defined an American type and gave the language a name for the smug person who readily conforms to middle class standards and conventions.
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Harry Sinclair Lewis
Escritor e crítico social norte-americano, conhecido pelos trabalhos satíricos e documentários, Sinclair Lewis foi o primeiro do seu país a receber o Prêmio Nobel de Literatura, em 1930. Nasceu em Sauk Centre, Minnesota e, em 1902, entrou para a Universidade de Yale e, em 1907, para a comunidade Helicon Hall, onde conhece o escritor Upton Sinclair e os filósofos William James e John Dewey. Sua obra mais famosa é <i>Babbitt</i> (1922), história de um empresário de meia-idade submetido ao espírito conformista de seu meio. O nome do personagem principal virou sinônimo de provincianismo e conservadorismo. Outros livros de sucesso são <i>Arrowsmith</i> (1925), uma sátira à medicina, <i>Elmer Gantry</i> (1927), crítica ao fanatismo religioso e à hipocrisia e <i>Dodsworth</i> (1929), que narra os contrastes de valores entre a América e a Europa por intermédio das experiências de um homem de negócios e da sua mulher durante a sua primeira viagem ao Velho Mundo.
47 Livros
7 Seguidores
Minnesota, EUA