Elmer Gantry (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Sinclair Lewis
- First Published: 1927
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Time of Work: 1915-1925
- Setting: Midwestern United States
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Satire
- Subjects: Sex or sexuality, Religion, Midwest, 1910’s, 1920’s, Ministry or ministers, Greed, Moral conditions, Ethics, Preaching, Corruption, Fraud, Fundamentalism
- Locales: Midwest (U.S.)
Characters Discussed
Elmer Gantry, a brawny football hero and indifferent scholar at Terwillinger College. After his inadvertent conversion to Christianity, Elmer makes a successful, plagiarized speech that serves him for years. His call to the Baptist ministry is achieved with the aid of whiskey. After two years at Mizpah Theological Seminary, Elmer is given a small church, where he seduces (and forgives) Lulu Bains. Postponing an Easter meeting to drink with friends, he is asked to leave Mizpah. Later, he finds a job as an assistant to evangelist Sharon Falconer, who becomes...
[The entire page is 1103 words long]
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