Babbitt (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: Sinclair Lewis
- First Published: 1922
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social satire
- Time of Work: 1920’s
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire
- Subjects: Values, Family or family life, Midwest, 1920’s, Moral conditions, Liberalism, Business or business people, Conformity, Prohibition
- Locales: Zenith (fictive)
Places Discussed
Zenith. Midwestern city that Lewis made a principal setting in this novel, as well as in Elmer Gantry (1927) and Dodsworth (1929). The opening sentences of Babbitt celebrate the material majesty of the twentieth century city: “The towers of Zenith aspired above the morning mist; austere towers of steel and cement and limestone, sturdy as cliffs and delicate as silver rods. They were neither citadels nor churches, but frankly and beautifully office- buildings.” The physical beauty of “a city built—it seemed—for giants” dwarfs...
[The entire page is 1004 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
Related Topics
